Kiln unloading no 30 - 7 favorite ceramic pieces from my latest firing

Welcome to kiln opening number 30. I number my kiln firings. This was a glaze firing and here is the Earthie award show. 

(I want to share with you the 7 best pieces or groups of pieces the kiln gave me. I affectionately think of these picks as "Earthies" awards. (Earth=clay). At the end of the post I am going to declare the Kiln Winner. I have declared a kiln winner ever since my very first glaze firing. The Kiln Winner is the ceramic piece that makes me the most exited to pull from that kiln firing.) 

To build on the excitement, here are 7 categories where I nominate a piece or group of pieces for each one. The categories are:

1. 1. Noted glaze
2. 2. Knows its shape
3. 3. Pattern pot
4. 4. Flexing texture
5. 5. Favorite newcomer
6. 6. Stacks or groups
7. 7. Honorable mention

From this group of nominees I pick my favorite: the Kiln Winner. Here we go. 

This pastel green is a winner every time. It sits at such a great space between yellow and blue and has fast become a favorite. It has some variation to it which works great with the white clay. Duly noted. 

A very pretty vase with three handles, what is not to love. The addition of the extra handle pushes this otherwise traditional form into something a bit more new and exciting. 

Noted glaze

Knows its shape

While this is not much of a pot as pots go, the pattern from the stamp, which is a mistletoe, really lends some charm to this gift tag. You can write on it with a sharpie and then after Christmas you can erase it with an alcohol wipe and re-use the gift tag next year. Let's hear it for the environment!

Some beautiful texture is playing nice with the glaze in this popular shape of candle stick. I made two of these and they sold within about 10 minutes of being put on my table at the sale at St. Francis. 

Pattern pot

Flexing texture

Here is a favorite newcomer. A darling little ripple vase. Or pencil cup. or drinking vessel. The first two I made sold immediately and the next three that came out of the kiln the following week followed suit quickly. All went to great new homes.

This year I debuted these great little snowflake tree ornaments. I can't get enough of these. The color and texture play between the striped ribbon, the beige wood bead and the shadows of each tier. Yum! And as a group, they just look like little tree ballerinas, ready to be taken for a spin.

Favorite newcomer

Stacks or groups

Last up is an honorable mention: another new-this-year ornament, a Christmas tree dressed in white with snowy tips and a candy cane red ribbon. The shape itself has a lovely weight to it and it feels nice just to hold. This looks great both on the tree and as a gift topper. Again you could write on these with a sharpie and use as a gift tag. If you follow me on Instagram I may do a couple of gift wrap ideas there with my ceramics, well, I can almost guarantee it.

These are the seven picks from my 30th kiln opening and the winner is ... 

Honorable mention

The snowflake ornament trees just stole my heart right away. I love this so much. It's definitely here to stay.

Another wonderful group of ceramics that greeted me when I opened my 30th kiln. I am very pleased with these results.

Group picture! *snap*