JACK FROST IS ON HIS WAY AND SO AM I

With the threat of a frost coming to take out all my flowers and vegetables, there is the promise that with them will go the invasive weeds and creeping grasses.   With that comes my new freedom for a fall filled with fun!   I have one more seven pound ball of Laguna BMix waiting to be formed into something new, then a trip to Charleston, WV to the Capitol Clay Arts Company to pick up my new supply and maybe some new tools and glazes.

My latest is this 25" tall pot built with the help of a friend who showed me what to do, let me use his clay and his extruder to make the coils to make the pot that Ellen made. 

So, if all goes according to plan, I should have more fun in pottery this fall and I'll share my explorations with you.   Thanks for visiting. 

This'll be all for now.

SIX PIERCED TRACERY BOWLS

     Challenging myself to make six matching bowls with pierced tracery.   I love to pierce and have made several bowls with pierced designs along their rims but never feel comfortable using them because I feel like the food is going to slip out the piercing.   

Duh.   A rim is what I need, to separate the food from the openings in the design. 
 
So I made six [matching?] bowls:

 

 

They match better than I've ever done before, don't look too closely.   I used the yellow Mud Tools rib to form the inside curve, a trick which I've never done before.   

 

After getting them trimmed and pierced I set them to dry:

 

 



 

Because the rims were much thinner than the base and body I had to wrap the rims to keep them from drying faster.

 

 

 

Finally I could unwrap them and clean up the piercings.   What was I thinking!?  Eight shapes per bowl, six bowls, 48 little paisleys!   eeegads.

 

 

 

These will look pretty much like this when finished because I plan to glaze them with white.

 

THE END

 

Thanks for visiting,  ttfn

Finished, they are glazed with Coyote Clays white and a touch of Sedona Sunset on the rims.

 

7 POUNDS, 12 INCHES!

Inspired by Hsin-Chuen Lin on You Tube I have begun to challenge myself to work with more clay and make larger things.  His work is elegant and smooth and his working style is the same.

He works slowly and deliberately with no apparent missteps.  

Today, thanks to his "guidance"  I pulled this 12 inch cylinder from a seven pound piece of clay.  I actually did not have the strength to knead seven pounds of clay so I centered a three and a half pound piece then put another three and a half pound piece on top of that.   Then I pulled it up to 11 inches and went home for lunch.

After resting a bit and eating some lunch I went back out to the studio and managed to get yet another inch out of it.  With more courage I could have gotten at last another inch but I didn't want to lose it so I stopped. 

 

Again following Hsin-Luen's lead, I made the cylinder into a "square".  

   
Here is an insert of this pot as glazed.   I used shellac to paint the designs onto bone dry clay, then sponged off the surrounding clay to lower it.  After bisque firing I used Amaco under glazes to color the design and covered them with clear glaze and fired to cone 6. 

Now on to bigger and better things.

Also on You Tube I found a way to use shellac as a resist medium.   Here are a cup and a bowl using this technique,  and beyond them is one on which I used sodium silicate to create texture. 

 Below is a pot on which I  practiced chattering.

High speed internet is a wonderful thing!!!   You Tube is an amazing teaching tool!  

Thanks for visiting.  This'll be all for now.

SPONGE HOLDERS! and high speed internet!

I have discovered a new gadget to make:   sponge holders!

My kids have one at their sink and I fell in love with it.  I usually used dish cloths but hated the process of finding a discreet place to hang them to dry--yuck.  

The little sponge holder is just the thing!   I've been exploring how to make them more "aireous" (my word for airy) by cutting designs in the sides.  The ones pictured below have yet to be cleaned up but here they are:

 

I don't usually go to craft shows but it seems like it would be fun to have these on hand with sponges to give as "gifts" to friends who come to visit or whom I visit. 

 

As an aside, I am excited because we just installed Hughes Net and now, if this post goes well, I'll feel more like adding to this blog!  

 

ttfn Thanks for visiting.