Tree Woman Plate

Finally got everything to go right.  I'm so happy about the slip trailing.

Ran into Asheville last week and bought new slip trailing pens.  Then started slowly drawing the outlines for a tree woman, centered on a plate, with many little spaces.

Then I filled in the spaces with different color glazes.  Then I waited a while.

All that slip trailing gives me a lovely cramp in my hands, squeezing with my thumb every so gently.  I added my 1X magnifying glasses over my regular glasses so I could see where I was working.

I'm so happy.

Detail of sliptrail glazing

My girls thought "what's a plate good for unless it's full?"

Sell that teapot?

Yes, why not?  Did I make it to look at?  Well, yes, for someone else to look at.  And hopefully use!

New photos of a teapot that was made a few weeks/months ago...haven't made another one yet!

It was at the Tailgate last week, and if it didn't sell, it will be there again next Sat.

Here are some other teapots from bloggers I chat with often...

Gary Rith

Lori Buff

Lori Watts

Tony Clennell

Cedar Creek Gallery, Creedmore, NC

 
Smart Cat


Whynot Pottery

Three glazes on stoneware

Smallish jar of speckled brownstone clay with dip into 3 glaze colors

The inside is just matt bronze green

A matching pitcher, also smallish

It looks entirely different from different angles - and here you see the speckles from the clay come through the white satin glaze.

A bit of pitting where the matt bronze green was too heavy on the exterior.  Interior has no pits at least, but does have a big drip of the red coming inside over the rim.

Sugar Creamer set

It's all Molly's fault.  I had clay and was wondering what to make, so I said to the woman at the next wheel, what should I make?

She said a sugar creamer set. Since I had 4 balls of clay already wedged, I went to it.

The first lid for this little sugar bowl didn't make it, so this is lid number 2.  Glaze is shiney green inside, and then Satin White over the Green on the outside, which gives lovely variations of color.

I'm selling these as a set...for $30.  Do you think that is a  reasonable price?

To the market this last week

The brilliant blue of this heafty pitcher is one of my favorite glaze combinations.  Floating blue inside and out, then a coat of clear on the outside to get all those wonderful variations.  I've just reduced the price on this lovey.

Plates Cat-altered (Cataltered, caltered?)

Remember a few weeks ago during the night my cat stepped across the drying plates?  (Mentioned in my blog here.)

Well, I used 2 of them to test some new glaze techniques.  Using slip trailing and glazes, and then dipping the whole piece into a glaze bucket.

Here are the results.

 My conclusion is that slip trailing is still a messy job for glaze, and it allows the 2 glazes I tried for the plates to just intrude over it onto the faces...they used to have chins.  Vertical surfaces are a real no-no for this glaze technique.

On the plus side, putting a thin coat of clear over the slip trailed and glazed portions does work, no crazing which our clear glaze often gives.  However I think it contributed to the blurring.

I really want highly defined black lines, within which I can use different colors of glaze.

If you have a recommendation, please leave a comment.  Thanks!

Streaky glazes

I thought the glaze was too thin, there were streaks in the distribution when I dipped the bowls into it.

Then I saw how it also came out under-covered.

The raspberry continues to show the streaking after firing.  I've never under-stirred a glaze, but I guess this time I did.  So I re-dipped the one that was still waiting to be fired.  It came out ok in glaze, but had a crack in the rim...so it's toast.  The clay on that one was recycled, which probably wasn't as strong.

Three glaze combination the way it should look.  First into Matt Bronze Green (half of it, as shows on the right side of bowl).  Then into raspberry, which is the next hemisphere that gives an equator mark across the bowl.  Finally a smaller dip into Satin White, that is forming the three left hand colors of light green, white and shiney bright green.  It's a good test pot to show what the difference of one glaze over another is, which changes drastically when it is reversed.

To alter the plates

Last Thursday I was putzing around in studio before taking Muffin to the vet.  So I threw 3 plates, and was going to alter then when they had set up enough.  By bedtime they were still too damp.  So under plastic they went for the night.

Yep, the were altered a la feline during the night.  The window next to the work table was open, and I am sure Ms Panther had a bit of a surprise jumping on all that plastic noisy stuff that was squishy underneath.

After the glaze firing

New lidded jars!

So here are the jars after firing, that I showed you a while ago.

Most of them went to the Tailgate Market here in Black Mountain. 

The new turquoise glaze on speckled brownstone clay

None sold yet.  Oh my.

Eggshell glaze with blushes of matt bronze green for accent color.  Speckled Brownstone clay

 Do you think $30 is too much to ask for all that work?

Clay flowers - Five

Art in Bloom Information HERE

 

 Single piece flower with curly petals

 A large vase with several glazes and torn slab construction

This jar is for sale at the Tailgate Market in Black Mountain, 9-12 today.  I hope she goes home with someone who will enjoy her.

It is so much fun to make things and then see them over in friends' homes later.  I had coffee out of one of my own mugs the other day at Teresa's house.  Yum.  She makes a great cuppa.

Clay Flowers - Four

Art In Bloom Information

Snowflake Crystaline glaze on flower, with subdued stand of green leaves.

Juice tumbler with cherry blossoms.

Clay Flowers - Three

Art in Bloom information

The rose with a tint of embarrassment for those who see nipple or breast in the thrown pod shape...or just a smile that flowers are, after all, all about sex.  Two pieces, a flat stand with leaves, and the rose with stem.

The same basic thrown pod with added petals, here with variegated colors in impressionistic dabbles.