Three overlapping glazes give all kinds of colors

Matt black, nutmeg and celadon over a white clay!

A simple bowl, just right for breakfast, or lunch, soup, cereal, salad...stew!

Unfortunately someone who was new to glazing copied my technique apparently, using glazes which don't do well with each other...something happened in the kiln and there was a big puddle I imagine, so we're not allowed to use one glaze over another. There are about 3 glazes which are very runny, and if they are put over each other (even 2 of them) there's not a color change, but a runny mess. Oh well, so there are a very limited number of pots with 2 or 3 colors of glazes.

More simple stamping

 The edge of the bowl didn't stay perfectly straight as it was stamped, and then it was too dry to try to even it out...so it's the way it is.

I didn't do as much on the plate, and the stamps didn't need to be pressed as hard. 

Today's quote:

Trust yourself; you know more than you think you do.

BENJAMIN SPOCK

multi-colored mugs with infinity swoops, bowl vase, and mixed colors bowl

I'm slowly taking photos of most of my pieces with a black background.

It's a challenge to have black against black...which just requires lighting changes usually!

But a variety of glazes also means different amounts of reflection.  Here the reddish glaze shines and looks as a white, while the black and green are more matt.

Turquoise glaze

 Though I usually try to sell things, I love this bowl so much I may never take it out of the house.  The satin turquoise glaze on a porcelain clay, with little accents of drips in plum glaze, it would just set off my breakfast any day of the week.  I mix a 2 oz. package of Bermuda Green mason stain into about a gallon and a half of our studio's satin white and mix it very well.  The satin white seldom looks as good as the turquoise does!

  A fun little sculptural votive holder, which says on it's base "How the Light Gets In."
Inside is primarily matt bronze green glaze.

 The outside has turquoise first, with some matt bronze green over it.

They sure did play together well.  Of course only very small battery operated votives will be placed in this...since it's shape isn't round (on purpose of course.)  And knowing me, I may have squirted a bit of plum glaze around the edge, thus the blue accents.

On a completely different note:
Here's an Open Culture sharing (text) about a topic that is brought to my attention through a TedEd cartoon...why-incompetent-people-think-theyre-amazing

Just because...

Today's quote:

Keep inviolate an area of light and peace within you.

CORAZON AQUINO

 

Bluebird bowl

I had fun with some glazing, and painting some birds on this large bowl. Stroke N Coat glazes for the birds, and a combo of studio glazes and Stroke N Coat for the body.  I am full of criticism of it, but my studio mates said it was pretty, so I'll share it with you.

Today's Quote:

In a world where we have routines to get everything done, we rarely have a routine for our spiritual self. Madisyn Taylor

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Barb's birds and bees

Part One:
Birds in the works...a bowl for birds.

My brief visit by nesting doves made me think of doing some birds nesting on the exterior...

 The interior has some flying silhouettes of birds over clouds that circle the center...the grey glaze will be blue.

All the birds, inside and out are nutmeg brown. And the nests lie tucked inside leaves of turquoise trees limbs,

The outside is then coated with matte clear glaze, with blue at rim and foot.  We shall see results soon!

Simple trimming

Many of us potters trim quickly and there-you-go another pot is ready to dry and bisque.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a pottery teacher, so if I happen to do something ax*backwards, I can only say it works for me.

I spend maybe more time than I need to trimming.  Here's my process (since I don't have a griffin grip like a production potter would.)

First center it on the wheel...set it almost in the middle, turn the wheel slowly, and hold something steady to find where it's off-center...then tap it away from that point until it it truly in the center.

Then attach the pot to the wheel with little blobs of wetter clay.  The pot being trimmed is best in a leather hard stage where the top edge (against the wheel head) won't be easily bent out of shape any more.

Most of the extra clay is on the sides of the bottom third of the pot, which have been left thick enough to have the wet clay stand up when it's thrown.

I try to remember the round bowl shape on the inside (no flat bottoms anymore inside) and I have almost reached the point where the lump on the inner side of a beginning potter's bowl is missing.

The finish trimmed bowl has a much smaller bottom than the original one I started with.
I know a lot of potters prefer a bigger trimming tool.  You can see by the size of my shavings that I'm more hesitant to take off a lot of clay at once.  But it goes pretty fast.