August already???

Summer is flying by... here it is, already August!

Bucket full of wedding favors!

I spent July hard at work making wedding favors. A bride-to-be in Canada found a photo online of the small vases I made as wedding favors for my daughter's wedding in 2006 and asked for something similar. She liked my existing glazes but also asked for some in amethyst. Not wanting to start experimenting with glazes, I got some amethyst glaze from Laguna at my local supplier (Tin Barn Pottery at Manassas Clay in Manassas, VA). It turned out so well that I went back for more. I think that this fall there are going to be a lot of yarn bowls glazed in amethyst! It's a beautiful satin matte glaze that breaks into lavender as well.

Lots of little vases!

So far I have resisted commercial glazes but this will be my second commercial glaze. I'm already using a satin white that I think is also from Laguna (not sure since I get them at Tin Barn Pottery). As I'm getting older I'm starting to see the advantage of not trying to reinvent the wheel. I never thought for a minute that to be a potter I needed to dig my own clay (although it would be cool to do it once!), so why do I think I must mix my own glazes?

Oh, I'm not going to stop using my tried and true glazes... but from now on, I think that I won't snub my nose at what's already available and will start to make things easier on myself by relying on commercial glazes when the need arises. I want to spend my time throwing and making, not fussing with glazes! What do you all think?

Amethyst glaze by Laguna