Here's the chipping sparrow
and the goldfinch
and the vireo
and the house finch.
"Frog and Toad" is my favorite, I think.
Here's the back.
I also glazed the porcelain test cups. I'm disappointed that the clay color isn't particularly white, but the unglazed bottoms feel nicer than stoneware.
I painted teeny fish inside all of them.
I love the forest green glaze, but it has a tendency to craze. (On stoneware too. Not just porcelain.) Can you see the hairline cracks in the glaze surface? There's a big "U" shaped one in the middle. The cracks would indicate that the glaze doesn't quite "fit" the clay body. What a shame... it's such a fabulous bottle glass green color.
Chun Red is also an iffy glaze, but with great potential. Where it's thin, it's a pale pistachio color. Where it's thickish, it's bright red, and where it's very thick, it's darker green. Trouble is, when the glaze is so thick it has a tendency to run. Look at how blobby it got around the foot of this test cup. I'm glad the glaze didn't run onto the kiln shelf!
This fellow is a red eyed vireo. I've only seen one (he must have been migrating). He was light tan with an iridescent olive green sheen. Quite lovely, but he took forever to identify.
Here's a house finch, looking for a good nesting spot. (Someone's front door, maybe?) I'll glaze these plates tomorrow (along with the sparrow and goldfinch plates).
This week I threw the last of the porcelain. Which means only one thing:
It's time to recycle!! This slop is great... smooth as cake batter. I'm hoping to squeeze four more plates out of it.
Here's my second tile for the 8 inch by 8 inch BayArts fundraising show. I'm excited to try something like this on a larger scale with bird baths.
Hello, Ant! Or, I wish I had a macro lens.
So many different types of pretty flowers... It's a shame they're considered weeds. I'm excited to paint them on some plates!
The brown dotted ware is still alive and well. This tea set is in the kiln this very minute. I'll post a photo of the finished work tomorrow.
Here's a recently thrown tureen and ladle. They'll be part of the dotted set.
Turtles! I just learned from the Google that a group of turtles is called a "bale of turtles."
BayArts is having a fundraiser for its education programs on July 1st, where 500 8 inch by 8 inch pieces will be displayed for sale. I'm going to make some sculptural tiles. Here's the first one... They'll be good practice for my ambitious birdbath project!
I'm working on more box turtles. I'd like to give them better feet, and maybe some height. Right now, their bellies rest on the tabletop.
My friend Joan is making turtles too! This guy is tiny: much smaller than the palm of your hand. I'm assuming he's a male: male box turtles generally have red irises. She achieved a nice tortoise-shell effect on the lid... I hope she'll share her secret. Joan has been an influence in my work, and I feel honored that I could inspire her just a little bit in return.
Erin's great and glorious "Frida Platter"
Joan made this sweet Frida bird feeder
Decorative table ware by Joe
Diane made a whole series of pots, bowls, and cups,
Denise made these fun fish plates.
Sue P.'s Sun. Several of us decided to make suns...
This one's mine (Sue K.)
And here's one of my bowls.
We also all made rustic pinch bowls. Joan gave hers a "Day of the Dead" flair.
We'll have stacks of these pinch bowls for people to eat their food
These are Leah's thrown pots with metallic black interiors
Sue P.'s Platter
Jessica's "Dancing Ladies"
Alison's plate. She's making nice large colanders, too!
Julie's double-dipper bowl
Erin's bird plates, PLUS the lid to the awesome collaborative jar!
I threw the jar, Joan made the sculptural lid (with ibis and iguanas), and Erin painted the decoration (inspired by Mexican embroidery designs).
The interior is royal blue, and there will be royal blue bands
