It does not feel like summer. 😟
It’s has been cold, windy and humid.
So cold that even my mugs are bundled up on my back porch studio! 🥶
The odd combination of cool temperatures, high humidity and 18 to 20 miles/hour wind has led to uneven drying for the mugs.
The rims drying too fast.
The bottoms not drying fast enough.
So, I wrapped a towel around the body of the mugs to protect the rims from drying even further.
“The cooler the temperature, the slower the reaction rate, and the less frequent the chirps and the lower the chirp rate.” ~ The Almanac
I expedited the drying process of the bottoms by applying heat via my heat gun.
Why?
Because, I am Pauline, the impatient potter!
I wanted/needed to dry the bottoms of the mugs so I can trim/finish the bottoms before I attach the handles.
It’s a process.
Certain things must be done at certain times!
The heat gun worked!
The bottoms are dry enough to start trimming: removing excess clay with a trimming tool creating a smooth bottom because, after all, don’t we all want a smooth bottom. 😉
After I finish the bottom, I can add the handle!
Ta-da!
A handmade mug with a smooth bottom and handle!
Next, these mugs will dry slowly ~ wrapped in plastic for about one week then unwrapped and air dried.
When they are completely air dried (bone dry), the mugs will be ready for their 1st of two firings.
Not only are the cool temperatures affecting my pottery production on my back porch, the cool wet temperatures are affecting my garden.
I usually have a bumper crop of zucchini and yellow squash by the 4th of July but they have just started to bloom.
My beloved basil is hardly growing at all!
Like me, my basil does not do well in the cool wet weather.
I rescued it from the garden and potted it so I can nurture it to its full glory by keeping in warm inside on cool nights and setting it in the sun through the day.
Here’s to summer whether it feels like it or not.
“There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.” ~Celia Thaxter
Back Porch Studio 
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