The real stars of this kiln are the new gnome mugs and the ghosts. I don’t know why I’ve never put a gnome on a mug before, they are so cute! I made these ghost mugs last year, but they were all white. I’m loving the evolution this year with the orange and purple on the inside.

For the vinyl ghost mugs, I super wiped around the bottom for these and they still dripped around the handle :(

I definitely like the crochet pieces more now that I’ve been able to hold them in the light and get a better look at the colors. I’m really happy with the pink and orange. I love the purple in some places, and I’m okay with it in others. It definitely works really well over the texture, but I’m less happy with it on the smooth insides.

The blue/green is a different story. It looked so much better on the test tile. I don’t hate it, but I don’t think I’ll be using it again.

Laguna 60 Mayco black ug wiped back Inside and Heart: Mayco Red Gloss x2 Hands Mayco Cotton Tail	Laguna 60 Mayco black ug wiped back Inside: Mayco Red Gloss x2 Gnomes: Mayco Hot Tamale, Just Froggy, Cotton Tail, Tuxedo, Cutie Pie Coral
Laguna 60 Mayco black ug wiped back Inside: Mayco Frosted Lemon x2 Night Moth x2 Gnomes: Mayco Cotton Tail, Sour Apple, Carribean Blue, Fruit of the Vine, Tuxedo, Cutie Pie Coral	Laguna 60 Mayco black ug wiped back Inside: Mayco Lavender Mist x2 Muddy Watters x2 Gnomes: Mayco Cotton Tail, Teal Next Time, Carribean Blue, Tuxedo, Cutie Pie Coral
Laguna 60 Amaco Snow x3 Insides Mayco Orange Gloss x2 or Eggplant x3	Laguna Bmix Outside Clayscapes Pitch Black dipped twice Inside: Mayco Orange Gloss x2
Laguna 60 Mayco Appricot ug wiped back Clayscapes Tiger Lily dipped twice Button: Mayco Milk Glass	Laguna 60 Mayco Appricot ug wiped back Clayscapes Tiger Lily dipped twice Button: Mayco Milk Glass
Laguna 60 Mayco Appricot ug wiped back Clayscapes Tiger Lily dipped twice	Laguna 60 Mayco Appricot ug wiped back Clayscapes Tiger Lily dipped twice
Laguna 60 Mayco Appricot ug wiped back Clayscapes Tiger Lily dipped twice	Laguna 60 Spectrum Bougainvillea 1 heavy coat then swiped Button: Mayco Milk Glass
Laguna 60 Spectrum Bougainvillea 1 heavy coat then swiped Button: Mayco Milk Glass	Laguna 60 Spectrum Bougainvillea 1 heavy coat then swiped Button: Mayco Milk Glass
Laguna 60 Spectrum Bougainvillea 1 heavy coat then swiped	Laguna 60 Spectrum Bougainvillea 1 heavy coat then swiped
Laguna 60 Clayscapes Royal Purple dip Button: Mayco Milk Glass	Laguna 60 Clayscapes Royal Purple dip Button: Mayco Milk Glass
Laguna 60 Clayscapes Royal Purple dip	Laguna 60 Clayscapes Royal Purple dip
Laguna 60 Clayscapes Royal Purple dip	Laguna 60 KY Mudworks Bluegrass x2 Button: Mayco Milk Glass
Laguna 60 KY Mudworks Bluegrass x2 Button: Mayco Milk Glass	Laguna 60 KY Mudworks Bluegrass x2
Laguna 60 KY Mudworks Bluegrass x2	Laguna 60 Mayco black ug wiped back Inside and Rim: Mayco Frosted Lemon x3 Night Moth x2 Mayco Sour Apple, Tuxedo, Cotton Tail, Silver Lining, Carribean Blue, Hot Tamale 2167 Clear
Laguna 60 Mayco black ug wiped back Inside and Rim: Midnight Ceramics Bogeyman x3 Mayco Sour Apple, Tuxedo, Cotton Tail, Silver Lining, Carribean Blue, Cutie Pie Coral 2167 Clear	Laguna 60 Amaco Snow x3 Mayco Tuxedo x2, Orange a Peal x2
Laguna 60 Mayco black ug wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale, Carribean Blue, Sour Apple, Cotton Tail, Tuxedo, Cutie Pie Coral 2167 Clear	Laguna 60 Mayco black ug wiped back Mayco Fruit of the Vine, ??? 2167 Clear
Laguna 60 Amaco Snow x3, Cobalt x3	Laguna 60 Amaco Snow x3
Laguna 60 Mayco black ug wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2 Norse Blue x2 Light flux sweeps 2167 clear	Laguna 60 Mayco black ug wiped back Mayco Hot Tamale x2 Norse Blue x2 Light flux sweeps 2167 clear
The Ceramic Shop Sea Glass Aqua, Sea Glass Blue, Sea Glass Green, Wintergreen, Astral Blue

I’ve been doing a bunch of tests for my crochet work, and I finally decided to take the plunge and actually glaze some of the pieces. Looking at the top of the kiln, I’m somewhat happy with the results, but not entirely. Now I just need to let everything cool enough to handle so I can get a closer look and decide how I really feel about them!

I’d been watching my elephant ears grow, and just when they were finally big enough to use, a storm ripped holes in them. So I’ve been anxiously waiting for a new set of leaves to grow in. With another week of storms in the forecast, I knew I had to use them while I had the chance.







I’d made this form once before, but that one was also destroyed in a storm. I’ve been wanting to make another ever since.




This piece was more of a creative experiment than anything else. I think it would make a really beautiful bird bath.

I meant to make texture plates last year, but somehow the summer got away from me. I had time in winter, but of course nothing is blooming then. This summer I finally had both the time and plenty of flowers and leaves ready in the garden.

The idea behind these texture plates is simple, they’ll be bisque fired and become reusable tools for creating textured slabs in future pieces. Instead of using fresh plants every time, I’ll be able to press clay into these molds to capture all those beautiful natural details.

My garden is overflowing this time of year, but I had to be selective. I looked for plants that weren’t too thick, since bulky stems and flower heads can push right through the clay. As much as I love my echinacea and Black-eyed Susans, their large blooms just aren’t a good fit for this process.

This first plate is ferns.
Here is a look at everything I pulled from the garden. Some grape vine, dill, a few types of fern, thai basil, small elephant ears, shiso, petunias, violas, and some thyme.	And some more ferns, mint, lupine, and lavender.
Here’s a before-and-after of the grapevine. I think this texture is really going to pop on a mug!
This is a mixture of mint, lupine, celosia, and petunias.
A mix of everything. I missed the after on both of these!	This is a mixture of a bunch of different types of ferns. I wish I had more fiddleheads, but this was the only one in my garden.
One last giant texture that mixes everything.