Snake and Newt bowls

For those who like reptiles and amphibians inside their bowls.

Eastern garter snake

Juvenile eastern newt (eft)

Exteriors are Laguna Emeraude (left) and Laguna Hyacinth, fired to cone 6

Hit and miss

Some good, some not-so-good cups in this batch. First the (mostly) good:

The water-etching shows up nicely on the dark blue gourami cup, but there's some pin-holing right near the lip:

Bummer.

And now the not-so-good. I botched the glazing on this one:

Ug-ly.

I've also been testing ideas for ceramic coasters. This first batch is too small, and I regret glazing the tops -- they're too slippery to be useful. I'll try again.

New Fish Cups

New fish cups: goldfish is on the left, betta on the right.

Five Dinosaurs Riding in Cars

I just finished these dinosaur illustrations for my library job -- they'll be used on the flannelboard during Story Time to accompany Nancy Stewart's song "Dinosaurs in Cars."

At the beginning of the song, each dinosaur drives its own car. One by one, they each get a flat tire.

The last dinosaur decides to put on her spare tire and go back for her friends. I modeled her car after the Euclid Beach rocket car (seen around town in the Cleveland area).

The brontosaurus is my favorite! I will call her "Bronte." The stegosaurus on a Vespa is a close second.

In case you've never heard it, here's the "Dinosaurs in Cars" song, performed by Nancy Stewart and charmingly animated by Calvin Williams. It's pretty catchy!

The Orange Crusher (best frenemies)

This plate is based on my sister's cats and their best frenemy, The Orange Crusher.

Jerry (top) and Jesse (right) are littermates adopted from the APL.

The Orange Crusher is a freshwater angelfish. He was about the size of a 50-cent coin when he was first purchased.

Sadly, The Orange Crusher is no longer with us. But the kitties are just fine and finding new ways to cause trouble. Some process work for the plate is below:

The painted plate, just before firing. I use Amaco Velvet Underglazes.

A sketch of the plate composition.

Marker rendering of Jerry.

Dahlia with Bees

From the latest firing -- here's the plate before and after. The diameter is a little over 9 inches. I'm using Amaco Velvet Series underglazes on Miller white stoneware. The glaze is Laguna Clear Bright, and the plate was fired to cone 6.

Warm Ups

Just a couple of watercolors as I get back into painting. I tried out some pearlescent watercolors, although they're difficult to see in the photos.

"Goldie"

"Poppa Fish" - I've read that with pumpkinseeds (an Ohio sunfish), the male guards the eggs and fry.