Soup Bowls With A View

The deadline for making soup bowls for a fund raiser for the Draper Senior Center is swiftly approaching. This year, I've had a few requests for larger bowls and soup mugs. I've got to glaze all these and make at least 20 more. I'll definitely have to put in more hours to make this happen. Nothing like a deadline to get me moving faster.

Outside with the old

This is my first attempt ever at making a mug. A little wonkie I'd say but it does hold water despite the large glaze blisters inside. I had the right idea about stamping the bottom even 8 years ago. Since I need to make room for new and improved pottery, this piece will be relegated to the garden. It's good to keep that first piece for awhile and take note of style changes and hopefully progress.

Nutritious Props

My clay friends are very creative in many ways. All sorts of remedies are enlisted when newly added handles won't stay put. This particular method is my favorite so far!                        

Rain, What A Pain

Our winter weather was warmer than today's Draper Arts and Crafts Festival. Weird but true! The local ducks were happy with the all day rain but vendors.....not so much.
But a good day none the less.

Draper Arts and Crafts Festival

Time flies no matter what and I can hardly believe that the last time I blogged was in January.....oooops. The photo is a small sampling of the pottery I will be selling at the Draper Arts and Crafts Festival. It's happening Saturday, May 9 at Draper Park, for those Utahns looking to attend a fun event. Since I am a hobby potter and not into production pottery, I have more "one of a kind" pieces which makes my booth unique. I do struggle with getting my act together but I am probably not alone there. It's a good challenge for me and last year, I enjoyed meeting customers and the other vendors. Not to mention the thrill of selling something I made. That's why I'm back again this year!

Cookie jar

A while ago, I made some pieces that stayed in the bisque-fired stage for a very long time. I got stuck! I just wasn't sure how to glaze them. Initially, on this particular piece, I wasn't sure how to treat the medallions on the sides. I wanted them to be noticed but not so different they would look separate. Finally, I pushed past that and used multiple layers of multiple glazes. Adding bands of glazes around the medallions and around the whole piece successful solved my problem. I did make sure that one of the glazes I selected would be runny so as to pull down the sides and blend a bit. Seattle Pottery's Shadow Green, cone 5/6 does that job as long as you put on multiple layers. Now that I've got a "plan", I will be able to complete four more of my old bisqueware pieces and clean off the shelf.

Breaks Over

The soup bowl event was very successful but I was too lazy to blog about it. I took a needed break and now the holidays are here. The mug is a gift which will be mailed out very shortly. I've layered three different Seattle pottery glazes. One is runny and pulls the others with it, which is exactly what I want. The vase below that is a test of all the Coyote Clay glazes that I have. I put 2 bands on the rim with the hopes of finding that special winning combination. Some pleasant results but I won't be giving out any gold stars.