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.

Fox mug

I think foxes are pretty darn adorable. From Fennec foxes to Arctic foxes, these creatures are just so much fun to draw and paint, not to mention look at, admire and just squee out loud over their cuteness.

At any rate, one of my favorite comic book artists loves foxes. She has a stuffie named Mycroft that she shows off on her Facebook page. And me, being the generous soul that I am, well, I've been wanting to send her a piece of pottery. Colleen Doran (http://www.adistantsoil.com/) is an amazing artist who has inspired me since I was around 12 years old if not younger. At first, I was going to send her one of my wall hanging vases. I mean, who am I to send her something drawn? But, I never got around to it. And then I decided that a wall hanger would mean nothing to her as most of my wall hanging customers do ikebana. I don't think Ms. Doran does ikebana.

Next, I decided to make her a fox bead. Carved it, painted it, glazed it. Unfortunately, the glaze was too thick and I lost too much detail for my liking.

And so, it finally came to me to do a mug and to paint a fox. Because, gosh darn it, I can paint and draw too!

Plus, she might get a kick out of it and be able to use it.

Still, if this fox mug turns out, I might have a hard time letting it go. Oh dear, this does not bode well.

Underglazed plates

 These all came out of the kiln last night. Blue Bird of Happiness

 Medusa

 Another Skellie and Rose

 Unicorn - done for a friend. I really do not plan on making more of these.

 More Yin Yang Kitty plates. All but one is sold.

And I think that may be it for underglazed plates for this year.

Gandalf is cooling in the Wood Soda Kiln. I'll be seeing the results on Saturday. Fingers crossed!

More Underglazed work

I have been busily painting since APE. Most of my recent painted plates have all be commissions which makes me very happy.

Here are some painted plates:

Yarn bowls:

With the exception of the Brown Bunny and Blue Bird yarn bowls, all of the pieces here have been sold. I have 3 more yin yang kitty plates that need to be finished up and one of those is sold. All in all, things have been going very well for me in the pottery world. I am currently working on another commission, a hippo candy jar. AND wood firing season starts up next weekend. I can't wait!