Has anyone here had experience with Speedball Speed Screens? I’ve had some at home for several months now and I’m finally thinking about making my own stencils. Would love to hear your tips!

Like many of you, I get a lot of inspiration for glaze combinations from your YouTube videos and from Instagram. Thanks to @Sheila Van der Valk ‘s notebook, I’ve also started writing down combinations I see in videos so I don’t forget them.🧠📝 But when it actually comes to glaze day, I often end up doing something completely different. Either I make something up in the moment or I fall back on combinations that I already know work.🙈 So I decided to give myself a little challenge for my next kiln load.🔥🔥🔥 My kiln usually holds around 17–20 pieces, depending on the size. For this next firing, I will glaze every single piece using only glaze combinations that I have already saved on Instagram. I have a folder with glaze combinations there — some of them I saved more than a year ago.📲 The rule for this challenge: I’m not allowed to add anything new or search for new ideas. I can only use what’s already saved in my Instagram glaze-combination folder.🙏🏻 I want to challenge myself to actually use the inspiration I’ve collected over time and push myself a little outside of my usual comfort zone. And now I’m curious about you: Do you also save glaze ideas on Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook… and then never actually use them when you’re glazing?🫟🖌️ Do you ever go back and look at those saved ideas when you’re working, or do you also tend to fall back on the combinations you already know? Maybe you’d like to try this challenge with me for your next kiln load! I’ll keep you all updated on how it goes.🤗💛

I’ve just got these lovelies out of my kiln and had to share with you all, Kim & Todd inspired me to do bright and jolly glazes from Mayco, I know Kim doesn’t like Amaco River Birch but I think it’s looks good on these with the drips😊 I won’t be able to make the chat tonight as my daughter is down from London to celebrate Mother’s Day with me 🤩

Do you have tips that you wished someone shared with you as a new potter? Here's one i came up with to help me with kiln loading. My large batts are a similar size to my kiln shelves. So I prearrange my pieces inside before carrying them to the kiln. That way it easier to shuffle and rearrange to make the best use of space, and to match pieces of similar height.

Hello lovely makers, The call for a beginner-friendly challenge has been getting louder… so I’m adding a little twist to our April Challenge. For April, I’d love you to make something animal-shaped. 🐣🐰 Anything goes! Chickens, bunnies, spring creatures, mugs with animals, sculptures, little critters — whatever fits the theme. Think Animals, Circle of Life, Spring energy. So if it has ears, wings, paws, or a tail, it qualifies. 😉 Now about the fountain… Building a fountain can take time (and maybe a few cups of coffee and a lot of thinking). So instead of rushing it, we’re upgrading it to something bigger: 💧 The Fountain will become our Year Challenge for 2026. That gives everyone plenty of time to: - plan - experiment - build it step by step - and maybe even rebuild it once or twice (because… pottery 😄) But first things first… 👉 Let’s finish March. Then we jump straight into April: Animal Shaped. I can’t wait to see what kind of creatures appear in the studio. Have fun with it! 🐑🐢🐓