We bid farewell to our beloved summer days to embrace the crisp bite in the fall air, along with a bite of a tasty candy apple. If you love Halloween as much as we do at Stone Leaf, get psyched for our specials this month!

As an extra-special special, we’re bringing back an oldie and a goodie to celebrate this month: if you show up to Stone Leaf in costume and say “trick or treat” on Thursday, October 31st we’ll give you candy!

Upcoming Workshop

Create Your Own Pumpkin Workshop
Saturday, October 5, 2024
10 AM to 1 PM

Upcoming Electric Kiln Workshops

Create Your Own Pumpkin Workshop
Saturday, October 19, 2024
8 AM to 1 PM

Create Your Own Pumpkin Workshop
Saturday, December 7, 2024
8 AM to 1 PM

CLAY OF THE MONTH
Coleman Porcelain Cone 10 - $1.15/lb, up to 100#

Here’s a gorgeous, ghostly cone 10 porcelain to celebrate the month! This true Grolleg porcelain, developed by Tom Coleman, is renowned for its excellent fit with most glazes and translucency when thin. Flexible and plastic, it’s a lovely porcelain to both sculpt and throw. With 0% water absorption and 13.5% shrinkage at cone 10, it’s ideal for delicate and large pieces. Our staff notes it blushes beautifully in a wood-fire kiln. Coleman’s probably the best domestically-produced porcelain you’ll ever find! Scoop up a bag today!

Want some examples of Coleman porcelain? Check out Tom Coleman’s Instagram demonstrating the clay body.

TOOL OF THE MONTH
Bats and Bat Systems - 10% off

Our punniest special of the year is bats! No, not the flying kind. We’re talking about the specialized pottery frisbee. No matter your area of expertise in the pottery world, bats are a useful tool. If you sculpt, they’re fabulous mounting plates. If you throw, they’re designed to fit on the wheel! Wedging or reclaiming can also be done on these versatile discs. This fabulous deal extends to Hydros, Speedball plastics, and even SpaceSavers! Whatever your project, there’s a bat for that. If you’re unsure which bats you need, be sure to ask the Stone Leaf folks up front!

Here’s a great video on bat tips and tricks!

GLAZE OF THE MONTH
PC-56 Ancient Copper - 10% off

A reformulated wonder, this stunning glaze that brings a rich, metallic look to your pottery, perfect for adding a warm, autumnal touch to your pieces. Inspired by classic tomato red reduction glazes, Ancient Copper is an iridescent, iron red glaze that breaks dark brown over texture and pools dark yellow-green, giving it a weathered appearance. Depending on the firing schedule you go by, Ancient Copper can also produce small crystals that bead across the glaze. Don’t miss out on this awesome special!

Curious about the differences between the old Ancient Copper recipe and the new one? Check out this awesome informational  video!

October Public Events

Need some inspiration to get yourself in the haunted holiday mood? Check out this YouTube video on how to throw and sculpt a witch’s teapot!

For seasonal events, check out the Fall Arts Invitational happening at Cheesman Park on October 5 - 6. The event will feature a wide variety of local and nationally touring artists, all with a plethora of incredible artwork.

Just beyond October on November 3 is the Autumn Artfest! With over 75 artists and creative businesses in residence, you will be sure to find amazing work around every corner. There will be live demos all day long, so be sure to stop by.

Stone Leaf Pottery is hosting a Create Your Own Pumpkin Head workshop! Taught by Peri Charlifu, this workshop will walk you through how to hand build lidded pumpkins. Stone Leaf will provide each participant one starter pumpkin about 6” high for you to sculpt facial and lid features. Click this link for more information or to sign up! Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to make your very own Great Pumpkin.

We also have an Electric Kiln Workshop this month on October 19, 8am - 1pm. These workshops are excellent for learning more about how to properly approach your electric kiln. The cost is $75 or free with purchase of one new kiln from Stone Leaf Pottery in the last two years! One kiln = one EKW. Sign up at the front counter, order online or give us a call! A workshop purchase is nonrefundable.

Reminders from Stone Leaf Pottery

First frost should hit this month, so no more clay returns will be accepted until winter is over! We do not accept clay returns during the freezing months.

We also wanted to give our customers a reminder: if you’re picking up 1000# or more of clay, please give us 24 hours notice prior to when you plan to pick it up! That way we can best prepare our staff to meet your needs.

Ingrid’s Tip of the Month:

The reason our business is named Stone Leaf Pottery is because for so many years my favorite motif was leaves. In the 70s I used to produce a line of stoneware with underglaze leaves on it. By the time I opened Stone Leaf Pottery a lot of my work was press molded with leaves.

Tip of the Month: test any leaf before you proceed to use it in production! Some leaves, like rose bush leaves and aspen tree leaves, do not leave a good impression. Aspen leaves on a tree that is sick or hasn’t had adequate water sometimes work, but most of the time they don’t leave a good impression. Peach tree leaves, which grow in a curve, will leave a fold in the impression. I have had beautiful impressions from oak tree leaves, poinsettia leaves, sunflower leaves, and green bean leaves. If you like the shape of a leaf, turn the leaf and look at the underside. You want a distinct, clear, raised pattern.

A leaf that is still moist leaves a more pronounced pattern and is easier to remove from the clay. Once I used some fuzzy, purple leaves, I don’t know what kind of plant they came from. The chemistry in the leaves was so powerful glaze crawled off the leaf impressions during firing, and the mold I used to press into was ruined. Despite scrubbing the mold and firing it again, every pot made in the mold also caused glaze to crawl. Test! Always test! I do not fire with leaves in my clay because I don’t want ash in my kiln. I remove the still-damp leaves using a pithing needle, inserting it under the central vein of the leaf, lifting the leaf and pulling it away with my fingers. Happy firing!

That’s all for now, folks! Happy autumnal making, and we look forward to seeing you around the store.

Elise and the Stone Leaf Pottery Crew

All Clay of the Month purchases are limited to 100# of clay. The sale price is valid only in October 2024 and not combinable with other discounts.

It's not uncommon for us to run out of the clay(s) of the Month, so we always suggest you shop early in the Month to ensure the clay is in stock. Also, when purchasing Glaze or Tool(s), or Equipment of the Month, again, it's limited to products on hand. So, if we don't have it when you shop, come shop with us again soon! We replenish our shelves constantly—we'll hopefully have more soon! Got more questions about how this works? Please, please reach out to us!