Etsy Mud Team Post Holiday Sale!

We can't have an after Christmas Sale because the Etsy Mud Team is a diverse group of potters who are Pagan, Jewish, Christian, Ba'hai, and more. So, we are having a Post Holiday Sale, instead. A lot of shops a participating, but check out ours first!

We planned this sale earlier in the year, but most of us had such great holiday sales, we were left with empty etsy shops. So instead of getting the left behinds, the forgotten, or the sub par, you can find newly listed, fresh from the kiln pottery! Lucky you!

Anyone who buys from a participating shop will be entered into a drawing for more free pottery! You can look over the raffle pieces on the Etsy Mud Team web site.

Val's Turquoise

I found the formula for this glaze in a Clay Times forum archive. I believe it is probably a Val Cushing glaze, but I am not sure. I made a test batch and tested the glaze on a buff stoneware and a darker speckled stoneware from Midsouth Ceramics. I was not crazy about the test on the buff clay, but the darker clay showed promise. The formula is available by clicking the test tile photo.
This mug does a better job showing off the glaze. It is a rich turquoise, but it has a lot of interest. Where it is thick, it is prone to blistering, so take care to finger sand any drips well. Hopefully, you can see this glaze is glossy and smooth. The turquoise color ranges from pale to almost teal in places. Even where the glaze breaks over the rim and handle, the surface remakes silky.

Love is...

I am in love... with my latest glaze formula! I have been mixing and testing new batches of glaze in order to expand the look of our line. The process is loads of fun, if you happen to love meticulously measuring hazardous chemicals with your triple beam scale. Of course, I happen to get all kinds of giddy when the needle on the scale finally settles on the mark!

The process is slow, but I get so excited. Measure, mix in water, a little more water... a little more... and let it rest. Then, mix and run the glaze through a sieve twice. I create a little tool that makes short work of this - I epoxied four cheap bristle brushes together to push the glaze through the sieve - works like a charm and is so much faster than a scraper.

Finally it is time for a test tile. this is the hardest part. I hate to wait for the test tile and want to jump right to trying the glaze on some pieces. However, after ruining some lovely work by jumping the gun, I am trying to maintain some sort of self control.

If the results are pleasing and seem predictable, it is time to try it on a pot of two. And here is the latest love of my life - Xavier's Warm Green Jade revised. It's got a catchy name, doesn't it? I am thinking I need to call it something else for my item descriptions, so if you think of anything better, let me know!

Bad Blogger

I have been a bad, bad blogger! But honestly, this holiday season has kicked my butt! From family issues to a slammed business, I am not sure what day it is or who I am.

One thing that has kept me busy is a custom tea set that I just shipped off the Canada. I love doing custom work. The idea that someone has enough confidence in my work to ask me to create something completely new is an amazing boost. However, while we work on that project, it consumes me. As for this order, Alex was the work horse! He started with the creamer and sugar bowl and when he unveiled the creamer after attaching the handle, I shed a tear it was so beautiful! Seriously.

Getting ready for the holidays always seems to catch me by surprise. It's as if I don't know that Christmas follows Thanksgiving by a mere month. Every year, I wake up around the first of December and think, "OMG! I have 3 weeks left!" To make matters worse, our studio is overwhelmed and we work 7 days a week from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve. No time to do laundry, shop, wrap presents... what?! A Christmas Tree? We need a Christmas tree, too?! *sigh*

I really do love the holidays and every year I say, "Next year I will be better prepared." It never seems to happen. In July I say, "Next month I'll start gearing up for Christmas." But by August I think, "Oooh, the last days of summer... I'd better drink them up!" Then school starts and my world begins spinning way too fast.