Big One!

Epic

My Mug

Bali Stamped

This hand-built slab puppy had handles, one of which was knocked off when I was in the glaze room and too near the buckets! Turned around and *wham* ...missing handle. I knocked off the remaining handle and sanded down the nubs.

Then I dipped it in Millicent's Curtains (a green semi-matte glaze with a nice "break") and wiped off all of the glaze except what remained in the imprint from the old Bali wood stamp. Then I dipped it in Falls Creek Shino and glaze fired it. The piece developed a crack from either the forming process of when I knocked off one or both of the handles - I suspect the latter because the crack didn't show up until after the glaze firing.

It's still pretty.

Wearing Green

Utility Players

Have I told you Mom's favorite color is blue? This dark glaze has disappointed me before. Thanks to Laurie I knew to double dip it this time.

And thanks to Tina for the rim inspiration for the soup bowl. Not carved as well or as lovely as yours, my dear but I like the sponged Rutile and Louck's on the Williamsburg Dark.

How to Pack Pottery

This is why Julie rocks - and her stuff doesn't break. Eight pieces shipped in this stuff.

Frog Bowl

Large bowl with leaping handles - that thankfully stay put. It's an older piece that Mom loves - and it's one of my absolute favorites. The blue glaze on the interior is a bit too thick but the effect is nice.

Cloud Coil

I've probably made almost a dozen coil bowls by using a large round terracotta planting pot as a form. The first step involves cutting a round slab to fit the bottom while overlapping the upward curve slightly so the first coils can be incorporated in the sturdiest way possible. Making sure the coils aren't joined at a point of greatest stress (a corner or the bottom or top) is best.

If you could see "Val's bowl" better, which is an open, rounded square, you'd notice that the openings in the coils aren't located on corners because they would have tended to crack while drying or even in the firing process - I had a bowl crack in glaze firing after coming out of bisque perfectly whole. Even with a very long, two week drying period that piece did warp a bit so that the bottom isn't entirely flat (this can always be corrected with felt pads on the feet - add another on the "short" foot) and the piece can rock.

This one makes me very happy. It's surprisingly light. I took a long time smoothing the interior so that it's very consistent. The coils are small and didn't crack when rolled or applied to the form, they all coil in the same direction, you can still see them (this glaze can be opaque), the glaze didn't crawl or pool (too much) in the bottom, and while this light blue can be sort of boring (I like glazes that DO things) the texture of the bowl makes the end result more interesting. Happy early birthday, Mom! This is a huge improvement on the coil bowl I originally made for her that had some fractures and a less than perfect glaze result.

 

TEAPOT!!

Many many more to share in the days to come. Julie - I love you. My soul has ease thanks to my best femme friends and artists. I miss you all so much.

I Couldn't Say It Better

http://sunnyrisingleather.blogspot.com/2011/03/good-intentions.html

Beautiful, Allison.

Staged

http://tra.mlxtempo.com/Pub/EmailView.asp?r=92210284&s=TRA&t=TRA

Fauna

Num Num NUM

Palak paneer, salt sea trout with white corn meal, garlic and curry powder, cauliflower korma, wheat naan. Naam? 

Val's Bowl

This started as a thin square of Highwater redstone to which I attached myriad coils and small smooth balls of clay, shaped carefully to be sturdy at the corners and dried very slowly (2 weeks plus) to prevent cracking or warping. The coils took probably about eight hours to form and apply.

I used an square plaster form - with rounded corners - and left it on the form for 48 hours, but it was very well wrapped.

While it didn't crack anywhere, and it was flat when bisqued, the glaze firing still warped it and it rocks slightly on its feet - four tiny brioche shaped coils on each corner. I told my aunt to put felt on the feet to make it level and keep it from scratching her beautiful granite countertop.

I wanted to call to mind the iron railings on the porches of New Orleans and thought of savory steaming rolls wrapped in Battenburg lace. But the tomatoes look beautiful too.

I cannot wait for Julie (love you sistah) to send me the rest of my Sertoma pieces so I can post them here.



The Kids Are Fabulous