Last, but certainly not least - RAKU! We did four different raku projects. The saggar is definitely my favorite, followed closely by the naked raku. However, I love all of them.

First up the regular raku. We taped off our pieces and used 4 different raku glazes.


How gorgeous did this turn out? There is a tiny crack in the rim, but it's still amazing.




I glazed just inside the rim too.


Next up is the saggar. This is just yellow underglaze that was burnished. It's wrapped in copper, steel wool, and some yarn that I had.




This is the saggar container that was used in the kiln with a small kiln shelf top.




There were organics put into the chamber. Heather and I ate 5 bananas to put peels in. The pots were then stacked on each other, mine is the top left.




I can't get over the colors! The yarn acted a bit as a resist.




The other side looks completely different.




Next up is the naked raku. The pots were heated up and then dipped in slip. Then they were put back into the kiln with the slip casing.




When they came out they were put into garbage cans to reduce. The black is where the smoke went through the cracks in the slip.




Last, but not least, is the horse hair raku. This vase was normal white stoneware that was glazed with tera cotta engobe and Mayco milk glass.




When it came out of the kiln I had about 30 seconds to add the horse hair before the pot cooled.

Next up a spooky plate and a flower pot.

I really love this plate. I have a lot of ideas for this technique. This was done with Duncan EZ Strokes. The background and the lines were banded on. The trees and birds were hand painted.


Here is all of our plates laid out (mine is top left).




I've gotten much better at banding than I was when Michael first introduced me to it a few years ago. I do wish I had waited a few minutes more for the flecks to dry so it wouldn't have smeared, but I love this plate!




This flower pot was interesting, but not really my style. The flowers are done with Mayco's new snow gems. They puff up in the kiln and provide 3D texture. I'm just not feeling this design, but I do like the idea of getting some flower pots and glazing them for my garden.

It's May again and that means it was time for another workshop with Michael Harbridge. This year we focused entirely on glaze projects. First up is swirling. We did four different ways of swirling.

This first project used Mayco's rapid roll as a base and then a few different colors of stroke and coat.


The rapid roll is the cream is base color. We ran a brush end through the glaze and then dipped the mushroom top in it.




The bottom was done with a clear crackle glaze and then filled in with black Duncan EZ Stroke




This plate was done with the black and white rapid roll. We squirted it on and moved the plate around to get the swirls.




How gorgeous did this one turn out?




This next plate used Duncan thin and shade and then squeezed on stroke and coats. It was then raked through with a brush. My first attempt did not work out and I rinsed it off and started over. This one turned out much better.




This totally reminds me of 80s spin art.




This last swirly project was the messiest of the four. We used Mayco acrylic paints. Since it's 3D it was just a lot of dripping. In retrospect we should have done this outside.




How pretty is my little birdy?

The Maryland Sheep and Wool was awesome as usual. It was a little crazy when Saturday afternoon, not only was there a torrential downpour, but also hail. We were in the main building at the time, but when we came out the damage to the vendors who were just out in tents was heartbreaking! I can only imagine that happening at one of my shows and I remember why I have insurance.

I bought yarn from some of my go to favorites - Miss Babs, Kim Dyes Yarn, A Hundred Ravens, Neighborhood Fiber Co. I also bought from a few new vendors - Apothefairy Fabrics and White Birch Fiber Arts. White Birch Fiber Arts is where I got the green skeins in the bottom of this picture that are 50% camel and 50% silk - it might be the softest yarn I've ever felt.


I got some new buttons too. I'm really excited about all of these. It has got me thinking about making buttons out of pottery. I need to think about good ways to make the holes and keep them clean, but I think it could be fun.




Oh! I also bought wool sneakers. They are being shipped, more on that once they arrive.