2016 review of my pottery continued

Today's Quote:

Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.  Helen Keller

Other shapes for cheese plates

This one is medium size, and only is glazed on the decorated portion.  But the bare clay is completely food safe as it's vitrified to the hardness of a dinner plate.

There're more coming in the next few weeks.  I think more food designs would be fun, as well as different flowers.  My imagination knows no bounds.

Little cheese plates or what?

I liked working with slabs of clay and just cutting into shapes and decorating them.  For me they were part of my rehab in coming back to working with clay after several months off because of health issues.  These were projects which gave me a chance to do small things and finish them pretty quickly.  I never knew if I'd feel like working the next day there for the first month I came back.

Or they represent things a DYI person or a beginning potter might enjoy.

As I've done before, the decorative elements are painted Mayco Stroke N Coat glazes, and the linear elements are Designer Liner.  Then I coated the whole plate with Mayco's Matte Clear.

I like the variations in shapes and sizes, but a simple pattern could be used if you wanted to make a "set" of like sizes.

Cheese trays glazed

Last month I glazed a couple of cheese trays, and showed you my process of decorating them, HERE.

This was my first one, with a muted turquoise glaze combination behind the geraniums. Size is 7-1/2 by 10 inches for the cutting space, 13 inches including the handle.

The second one with the strange shape was glazed in satin white, which looks good (better I think) with the greens and reds.  I kind of like how some of the green glaze faded away where it was thinly applied.  And the flowers are a bit more realistic looking on this one as well.  Not to mention I like having white veins on the leaves compared to the darker green that I usually use.

The white tray is 13 inches to the handle and 12 inches across the widest point.

I started some others, which I'll share later.  The geraniums are going on an entire set now...as I decide which techniques I like best!

Cheese trays - in process

 And no, that doesn't make any processed cheese!

I thought they are rather large for cheese cutting...perhaps some fruit or crackers would also be spread around on these trays.  Here they are bisqued, with just a bit of bend from true flat where handles are.  I was amazed they didn't crack or bend more as large thin slabs are wont to do.

The rather normal shaped one is now waiting to be in a glaze kiln-load.

I just got some shots of my process of painting geraniums on the strange shaped one. I used 3 Stroke & Coat colors, and 3 Designer Liner colors (all by Mayco).

After painting all the color images, I then put a coat of matte clear over them all, and then wax them with a liquid wax.  That way I can next pour any glaze over the whole surface and won't interfere with all that painting.  I'll also wax the edges and back so there won't be glaze on those surfaces either.

I hope you have a wonderful day!