I have to admit... and a little tool talk

Ok I have to admit that I am a bit of a Wino. I may have confessed this before but my addiction has escalated since I burned my fingers sneaking these out of the hot kiln. Once again, it was a custom order request that made me get down to the business of perfecting my wine mugs.

I am one of those 'no advanced planning' kind of potters and I needed to get at these mugs immediately. I wanted to get a really good hand-hugging shape that I have had in my mind for a while and wanted it to be somewhat consistent. I knew that I needed a guide for this rounded shape so I did what I usually do... scavenged my studio for ideas.

I had been saving a bunch of those plastic gift card that just get thrown away once they are used up. They are a study enough plastic with a straight edge that I often find uses for. I took my studio scissors and started cutting different profiles into the cards. I just freehanded the angles since I had a bunch of them. They worked quite well and I found one profile to be almost perfect. Now if I get the urge and energy, I can duplicate this profile into a more sturdy wooden tool. But that is a project for another day.

Tool Talk - Heat Gun

As you might already know, I just spent 2 weeks in Saskatchewan visiting family and fishing on those fabulous lakes in the northern part of the province. When I get to go back home, I love hanging out with my Dad because we can talk tools together. This time we were meandering through a liquidation tool center together and we found a heat gun for $15. Good thing that my hubby had extra room in his luggage so I could take it back on the plane.

If you haven't seen one before, think industrial strength 'hair dryer.' Mine even has two settings for light and heavy blowing action. Just be careful with it because it gets red hot and can melt those lovely plastic bags that we use to cover our work in progress.

A heat gun is great for setting up a soggy bowl that feels like it may slump. It firms up my tiny teabowls so that they do not dent as I remove them from my wheel head. Even better, it speeds up the production of my popular soap dishes. I never have enough of those in stock because of the long prep time. I designed a slight curve to my soap dishes to allow a small catch basin for handmade soap residue. The only problem was that I had to let them firm up before I could attach the feet or they would lose their lovely curve. This sometimes took all day depending on the humidity and if I forgot about them while they were drying, I would find warped dishes that could only be recycled again. Thanks to my new heat gun, I can just give them a blast of hot air and they are ready to go. And thanks Dad, for shopping with me :)

Tool Talk - Cutters

I have found a new obsession with a certain clay tool and have started to hunt them down. I actually plan on making them into a collection. I plan to start perusing ebay and craigslist with a newfound passion. I had forgotten that my Mom left me a few in her box of old ceramic tools but now I plan to search those out too! It is a tool that is scavenged from the kitchen (like most of my favorite clay tools). It is the humble cookie cutter!

Now I don't plan on just taking the cookie cutter and cutting away and that is that. I will use it as I do any other tool. I will manipulate, texture, score, attach and who knows what else will happen to the clay on its journey to a final piece that is fired. The difficulty of using the cutters is to find the right size. Clay shrinks up to 15% throughout the drying and firing process so I have to be able to consider the shrinkage when I am contemplating a new cutter. I know how to make my own stamps and textured tools but cutters are a different world to me. I love that they have a sharp edge that cuts cleanly into clay. It is a bit tricky to get the clay out of small cutters without distorting the image, especially since I texture them prior to cutting.

My favorite so far are the vintage animal cutters. I just love my little pig and am waiting to complete my first piggy ring. Hilarious!

I would love to be able to make my own cutters so if anyone out there knows anything about making them please let me know. Otherwise, keep your eyes open for any cool vintage animals. I am on the lookout for bunnies!