It's always special to meet another potter in person. I had dinner with @Kimberly Cook yesterday. Today I'll meet @Angela Petty , @Lori Turner and @Kendall Carpenter .

I had the pleasure and honor of meeting @Lori Turner , her hubby Tim, and @Kendall Carpenter today. Plus, Lori and I will be part of one of Kendall's upcoming videos! It was a great day!

First off, my husband grew up on a Dairy & Pig farm, when I showed him the little wavy dish he said" I really like that" and then followed up later with "do you know what it reminds me of" ? ? ? "a cows placenta" eeeeeuuuuu how gross is that?

My first bisque fire was successful! I just emptied it a little on the warm side (~175F) and everything seems to have fared well. I was a little concerned that I’d have major cracking on some of the thicker pieces, but I guess they were dry enough. I have some mugs, some plates/platters, and a lot of kiln cookies and test tiles. I’m hearing some pinging, so I’m guessing something is going to crack, but we’ll see tomorrow! Overall, I’m happy and looking forward to glazing later this week if it’s not too hot in here.

They’ve just said on the news that we’ve had the warmest spring on record, and now we’re in a heatwave with temperatures expected to reach around 38°C. Apparently we’ve not seen June temperatures like this since 1976, so no wonder it feels a bit extreme! Never seen the map look so fiery hot on the news!!!! Normally my studio is actually the coolest place for me to escape to. It’s an annex on our grounds, with 18-inch thick stone walls and sits under the canopy of the forest, so it has been an absolute saviour in hot weather. Even our Rhodesian Ridgeback Kaiser follows me in there to lie on the cold floor tiles which is very unusual! But today even the studio was baking… although that may have something to do with the fact I fired Blaze last night. 😂 The good news is my greenware is drying quickly, but it’s definitely not ideal when I still need to handle pieces. I’m suddenly having to rethink my usual drying routines and keep a much closer eye on things than normal. For my fellow UK potters, how are you managing your clay, studio time, drying and firings in this heat? And for everyone else around the world… what are your weather extremes where you are? Hottest heat, coldest cold, humidity, snow, storms — I’d love to hear how your climate affects your pottery.