Painted Fish Plate

For a few weeks, I was obsessed with making big platters. Well, big for me. I was throwing platters made from half a bag of clay, ~12 lbs. Some were 15 lbs, most were around 12.

I did have a hard time controlling the sides and making sure things were even. In fact, I believe most of the platters were uneven. I shall have to revisit them one day.

At any rate, part of what I was doing was making canvases to underglaze. I wanted to make another fish plate, but I ran out of time to actually sculpt (it was summer and hot and things were drying too quickly). And so, I painted instead.

I used mostly Western underglazes and you can see some of it burned out. The white areas in the finish product (see below) were supposed to be a dark red. Ah well, I'm still quite happy with the finished result. When I pulled it out of the kiln and showed everyone, I got an incredible reaction. On facebook, one friend called it one of the best pieces I have ever produced.

Needless to say, I shall be pricing this plate quite high at the sale. It's worth it.

Of Platters, Vases and a tea set

Platters made last night.

More platters. These are for Christmas presents for family. I might have to make more for the next sale. I don't know yet.

Here's the creamer, also made for a friend.

Tea cups.

Sugar jar.

Here's a vase. It's about 16 inches tall or so. It's not quite what I had in mind, but considering how long it's been since I've thrown a vase. This is what we call a 'stacker'. I threw two cylinders and stacked one on top the other. Made sure it was sealed and did a little shaping. Usually, I throw narrower tops and never see the inside. However, since these needed to have a wider top, I can see the insides and not really happy with how the inside looks. Hopefully, I'll get used to it or get better at making these!

And another 'stacker' vase made last night. The bulge is where the two cylinders are attached. I will probably add some more bits of clay to decorate it.

Must make more!