More frogs

Yes, more frogs have been made. These are all pre-ordered too. Gotta love commission work when people are not too picky.

Fox mug glazed

Yes, I am very happy with this mug. Although some of the colors burned out, it still quite lovely. There's a bit of glaze missing on the handle which sort of bugged me and there's a slight imperfection inside at the bottom. End result: not sending this to my favorite comic artist. It's mine.

Nope, I'm not attached. Not at all... Besides, I can always make another one for her teehee

See! More mugs made. 7 more have been thrown and just need to be trimmed and handles added. Oh, I'm working on a commission of 12 right now. So, I'll have two extra when I'm done.

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.

Dragon Vase - finished

Earlier this month, I posted some photos of a dragon vase. And now, I can show you the completed version. I am very, very happy with how he turned out!

Rawr!

Now, in my last posting, you could see how I had a lot more detail and some color from the underglaze. However, one of the risks you take in wood/salt firing is that the colors will burn out (very hot temperatures here) and the salt would degrade any textures you put on it. One friend preferred the back side because you could still see the texture. I, however, am just fine with how it turned out. I got an ash drip on his chin (green glassy beard!) and some drips on his back scales.

And, even though his tail separated from the pot during the drying process, the tail flattened and relaxed against the vase. I'll have to take better photos of the vase soon. He'll be posted on Etsy soon enough.

More wood fire results from the May 2014 firing

Here is what the kiln looked like after I helped break down the door. Oooh, so much shiny! I was a very happy potter. And you can see my dragon vase up in the corner. Perfect spot for him! I'll post about him later.

Here's my baby dragon. He was sitting by some lovely cups and just looks so sweet. He's going to be a part of my personal collection.

A better picture of the baby dragon.

Here's my fish. You might recall (or not) that I broke his fin off. Well, the magic of E6000 glue helped me reattach the fin. I think I'll add some gold leaf in the broken area. He'll also be a gift to a girl who gave me one of her pieces. Not sure how to display this guy. His hole for a stand got covered up too.

And a frog. I really like how both the fish and the frog look like they just came out of the water.

Wood fire results part 1

So, while I was in DC, there was a wood/salt firing. Fortunately, I have good friends who took my pieces and loaded them into the kiln. I owe them a big favor as my pieces turned out great. Above is a dragon sculpt that was originally going to hold glass beads. But, the hole got closed over in the firing. Also, I wasn't too happy with the eyes... too bulging. And so, I decided to give it away.

 Still, he got some lovely ash coloring (the green glassy parts)

And even an ash drip/tear on one of his wings.

And here is the happy owner. I gave the dragon to Miss A. because she will be helping me out when I'm ready to post more of my pieces on Etsy. Just need to make more. Always happy to see happy owners of my work.

Some inspiration and a memory

Today, I went to the Smithsonian Zoo (or the National Zoo) in Washington DC. Amongst all the gorgeous animals I saw today, I also saw this plate in a gift shop.

And it reminded me of this plate I painted back in 2012

Now, all the work I have been painting has been fairly cartoony. This doesn't mean I can't draw realistically. In fact, I remember painting sea turtle platters that were fairly designed/cartoony before discovering that a more realistic turtle was more interesting and more popular.

And now, I think you all know where I'm going with this. Expect to see some fairly realistic paintings of animals coming up on plates. Can't wait to get back to clay when I get home!

I also have to make a couple of bowl for some ladies I met as a thank you for them a)hosting a lovely dinner party and b) bringing me my camera when I had forgotten it in a taxi on the way to the party and the driver returned my camera to the house.

So, lots to do when I get home.

And here's a tiger picture that will be my reference...