Art Show

I just found out today that I am officially accepted into a local juried art show/sale in the fall,   http://www.sylvancircle.ca  This will be my second year, so I am definitely pretty excited to have been accepted.   It was a great experience last year, meeting new people, getting feedback on my work and it was great exposure.  Even though it was a great success, it was definitely gratifying and rewarding to hear what people (other than family and friends) have to say.  We are always hard on ourselves, and the quality of workmanship.  This to me is an ongoing battle since I strive for perfection.  And we all know with pottery, sometimes those imperfections are what people want.  That's what makes art unique, and desirable to people.  Especially to those who appreciate the fact that the work is hand made, not mechanically manufactured... there's a difference!  That difference is what sets us all apart, as individual potters.  

So I've been working on some pieces, getting a good variety of stock ready for the sale.  I haven't been on the wheel for a while, and I definitely missed it.  Here's a couple of pictures of some pieces in progress....

So... enough of the computer for today... I have pots to make! :)

Update on last load...

So here are a few close ups and tests from my last kiln opening.

This is a handbuilt vase with Iron Red on the exterior that was wiped down. So the surface has an unfinished feel to it. Gun Metal Green was brushed close to the rim on the inside. Then Shino was poured in and out of the interior. The rim was dipped in Shino. Lastly Standard Ceramic Creme was brushed along he rim. The vase is pretty tall, close to 18".

The pitcher had Mayco's Black Walnut on the handle and pinched part on top. The rim was brushed with Gun Metal Green. Wax resist was applied on the Black Walnut. Then the whole piece was finished with Shino.

Here is a new combination I tried on a garlic grater. It's Coyote's Key Lime, with Mayco's Black Walnut. I've had Key Lime for awhile and wasn't quite sure about it.... But now I think it's pretty cool! It has a nice result overlapped with the Black Walnut. I will be trying this combo again. It's a nice summer colour, bright and cheerful... Like me! ( just kidding.... Kinda)

Ok... Here is a Test tile.... It is heavenly! Top was dipped in Iron Red, then brushed with Gun Metal Green, then dipped in Creme. Boy it runs, but the movement in colours is to die for! Love it!

Fresh out of the kiln!

Ok.. So some good and some not so good! But here is a quick pic of the load, I'll get into details soon!

Loaded the Kiln

Well... It's that time! I have finally loaded my kiln for a glaze fire. It is firing as we speak. It is funny... No matter how many times you do this... The excitement and anticipation never goes away. It always feels like an eternity waiting to open that lid. So... It will be Christmas in my household tomorrow. Lets hope the kiln gods are leaving me some nice gifts and not coal! I have a few test pieces in there too... Will be posting the results soon!

Pitchers!

I've developed this thing for pitchers since I've started using my slab roller. I love the way I can use my imagination to create very different variations of a pitcher on a large scale.  Somewhat whimsical I think!  I thought I would show a couple that are in the works.

Glaze Results - Jan. 27

Due to some on going back issues, everything is slow moving for me. So I finally had a glaze fire. So I thought I would post some of my faves from this load! I also mention some of the glazes I used. I only use commercial glazes, so hopefully this will help others. My big platter was in this firing as well. I waited anxiously to see if there was any warping. I've included a before shot of the platter. It was glazed in Coyote's Shino and the handles were Mayco's Black Walnut.

So here is the platter completed. I do have a slight unevenness with it. I'm thinking it's because I had to place it across two half shelves which didn't sit level with each other. Unfortunately I do not have a full shelf to use. So I will have to come up with some solution to this, or not make patters this large. I do love the Black Walnut handles though!

Here are cream and sugar sets. This was commissioned work. I made two sets just to make sure one set turned out. (Of course that isn't always the case!) This is a combination of Coyote's Shino and Pam's Blue, Standard Ceramic's Iron Red and Creme. I love the movement with these glazes.  To give more details, the interior, the rim, bottom inch is Shino and the ouside was poured randomly with Shino while holding the piece sideways.  Making sure that I missed areas.  The missed areas were brushed with Pam's Blue, overlapping the Shino along the edges.  Then Iron Red was randomly squirted while holding the piece sideways.  Be sure not to get close to the bottom, it will run!  Then I dipped the rim about 1/4 inch with Creme.

These mugs were glazed with Mayco's Cinnabar and Black Walnut. First time doing this combination, and love it! This picture doesn't do it justice! Only thing I would do differently is put three coats of Cinnabar instead of the two.

Here is a pic of it all! Some of the ones you see with the dark rims, had the rims dipped in Iron Red and then completely dipped in Shino. Overall a good firing. Pretty happy with the results!

Pendants & Beads

I thought I would post some pics of some of the other items I make. I find these a simple way to use up scraps of clay, and a great way to fill in those small empty spaces in my kiln when glaze firing. I don't have a fancy bead post, I just use high temp wire resting on shelf posts. I don't make a lot of these so it does the trick for me. For the actual necklaces I try to keep it simple, since I don't want to charge a lot for them. I like using either copper wire or stainless steel wire and leather sting. I like keeping things natural or somewhat organic as possible, just like pottery!