invitational

I can't tell you when I've felt such a sense of accomplishment (well, yes, I can, it was when I finished with my dinner set, but that was erased when I broke three of the dishes.  they're almost done!).  I needed to have 10 pieces (or groups of pieces) for the annual invitational at St. George's Independent School.  Now I need to go through them, separate them into groups, and price them.

There is no way I could have possibly made all of these without the help of my friend Natalie.  She wedged clay, rolled slabs and cut out all of the molds for my platters.  I did the finishing, decorating, and throwing, but she was instrumental in helping me work through this task.  I'm grateful and excited and ready to finish my last big assignment.  But before I do, look at what's coming! 

I made and bisqued some hex stamps to speed up my honeycombs.  One of my "eureka" moments came at Heath Ceramics when I was talking to Ali, the kiln-daddy and glaze mixer-master.  I kept staring that the hex nuts on the kiln and finally realized that they were the key to my honeycomb problems.  I'd been using a template to draw them, but I wanted larger shapes.  Hex nuts don't make a good impression in clay, but they do make a fine template for clay stamps.  I know it's obvious, but I'd been stumped and the answer was waiting for me in my hardware cabinet. 

Y'all have a nice end of your week and weekend.  My boys are going on a group camping trip and I'm taking the "extra" time to do a little housekeeping in the studio, pushing through the last of my production obligations, and get started on holiday production.  I'm late in the game and my work will be limited, but I'll have enough for a small studio sale, etsy restock, and to stock my local retailers.