Five red sunflowers on a bowl

First let me give you my mini-rant.

I believe artists should do their own work.  When beginning, we often copy, or use stencils, or even just "cut and paste" designs we find that please us.

Artists (and craftspeople too) have the job of giving the world beautiful designs.

At some point we artists should be doing totally unique designs...no more using other people's work.

If we were writers, it would be called plagiarizing.  So the next time I frown when another potter has copied a design, used a "commercially produced decal" or duplicated what another artist actually designed, you'll know why.

Now I'll share my recent glazing on large bowls.  I went through my process earlier this year, and it's still pretty much the same.  Check out the February post if you wish.

I still am using Mayco's designer liners to draw free-hand flowers and leaves on the side of my bowl. If I could make smooth enough surfaces, there wouldn't be the bumps in quality of line work.  But this is what I can do at this point in my life.

Then with several brushes, I use Mayco's Stroke & Coat colors to color the flowers...many layers of different colors.

 Final step is to brush on some matt clear glaze over the flowers and leaves.  Then I brush two coats of butter yellow in all the in-between places...with some overlapping of the leaves.  That way (I hope) the leaves will pick up some of the yellow and blend in as well, rather than looking like they were cut and pasted onto the pot.

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This is the first true fall foliage I will admit to seeing...though several weeks ago a friend showed me a red leaf or two on a tree.  But I couldn't resist this pretty maple on the sidewalk.

PS.  Here's the finished product...just out of the glaze kiln, with five red sunflowers on it!