Expectations often don't match reality. . .

Hope Mother's Day was a good day for you, whatever your circumstances.

A little bit of everything here weatherwise: sunshine, heavy rain, sleet; light showers, sun again!

Part I...Things don't always work out as we expect they will when it comes to pottery:

1. I refired mugs made for Don after adding LOTS of white snow on the spruce boughs. He wants "very wintery" looking mugs like his favorite one made several years ago. Well, apparently the white glaze doesn't have quite the punch it once had, and the blue has changed, too. Below is Don's favorite mug, followed by those I recently fired with an extra snow load...but they will not likely measure up to the "very wintery" look desired. It may be time to start over with new mugs and some different white glaze. Sorry, Don. I'll get closer, eventually, but come take a look at how these look now. You may like the coloration change that happened in the refire. Thanks for your patience.

Less wintery...with subdued snow.

2. There are many ways to add text to pottery. This one did not work out well for me. I added text by carving letters into a red iron oxide background. The red iron oxide burned out in the firing, so the carved letters no longer show. It became white on white, which translates to no visible lettering. One of the pieces had a John Muir quotation, another an Alfred Tennyson quotation. Either a stronger concentration of the red iron oxide is needed, or a different background all together. Underglaze, perhaps. Here is a piece before its final firing...and then after its final firing. Time to experiment more with text on pottery since I like the idea of incorporating it into the pieces.

Guess the lettering is still there, just invisible!

Before the final firing...red iron oxide background for text

After final firing...the red iron oxide burned out...so no text is seen.

The best way to learn what works well and what does not is to try it. There is so much learning that happens in each firing, and that's a part of what makes this such a fun hobby. Sometimes what I expect does happen, but often the result is less than I had hoped for, sometimes more! Yes, I do keep a log of every firing and what it teaches me.

What people like is another HUGE variable. Take a mug for example:

What volume?

Shape?

Weight?

Thickness of lip?

Balance when holding?

Glaze coloring/ contrasts?

Surface design?

Foot?

Stackable?

Microwave and dishwasher safe?

Then there's the handle!! size, shape, thickness, opening, attachment, thumb rest, etc.