Silkscreening on the Cheap

For a few months, I have been toying with silkscreening. Nothing fancy - just making t-shirts and such for me and my family. I got a Speedball kit for Christmas and after a few false starts, I was printing! I wanted to do more, but screens are expensive and I worried about committing a screen to a design I'm not in love with.

So, a few weeks ago I came across this tutorial. I went and bought my cheap, sheer polyester and an embroidery hoop. In contrast to their instructions, I decided to try to use diazo on the screen instead of drawing it out by hand. I mean, what the use of something being cheaper if it takes a ton more time?

I readied the screen, burned my image in the noon sun for about 60 seconds, rinsed out the stencil and had a screen. I wasn't sure how it would print and my squeegee was too big to fit in the hoop, so I used a fake credit card (the ones that come in junk mail) to spread the ink. It worked! Hope it works for you, too!

Winding River Bud Vase

This little vase kind of reminds me a floating down the Nolichucky River in an inner tube, with an extra inner tube for the cooler. Add good beer, great friends, laughter and sunshine! It's a wonderfully, lazy way to spend a hot summer day. Available here.

Bodies in the Kiln

With all the kiln troubles happening lately, we were a little nervous putting something like a drum body in the first glaze firing since we did repairs. We are thrilled with the results and happy to announce our kiln is back in perfect working order!

This was the first time we put these glazes together. Foolishly, considering the size of this drum, we hadn't even done a test tile for this pairing. Still, we are thrilled with the results! The main glaze is Antique Iron and the glaze drip is Winter Day.

We hope to get this drum strung in the next week or so. Usually, the drum stringing is the hardest part of the process. Since Alex fashions the steel rings for each drum by hand, the stringing of the drum is time consuming. Don't worry! We'll show off the end result!

Wiring Harnesses and Relays

That title sounds scary! But what it means is, we replaced the wiring harnesses and relays in the kiln this weekend and test fired a batch of tiles. I am anxious to see the bisque fired tiles, but I know the true test will be an excellent glaze firing.

We are beginning to collect what we need to build our kiln at home. Alex has been drawing and redrawing kiln plans for 2 years and we believe we have what we want now. Thanks to some frineds on the building industry, we may be able to build our gas/wood kiln for LESS than we would pay for another large electric kiln.

Blossom

A blossom stamped into the thumbrest defines this potbelly mug. Just listed and already SOLD, this little beauty is feeling the love. Don't worry, there will be more to come.

Today is the day I replace the wiring harnesses and relays in the kiln. I have had a few misfirings and it is a job overdue. Hopefully I can get it done quickly and do a little test fire. I am anxious to get the misfired pieces back into and out of a working kiln so I can dance around the studio in excitement again!

Potbelly Pleasure

A caramel potbelly mug is the perfect pairing for your morning coffee. The potbelly shape keeps your coffee or tea warm and the side is bumped in inside the handle so your knuckles don't get burned. Buy it here.

Super Soft

These burp cloths are the best I've ever seen! Even the cotton backing fabrics are silky soft! A super sweet baby shower gift from Heart Stitches. And she'll customize them to suit you!