Mushrooms & Whales
Ceramics, Autumn 2016
Went to get these yesterday at a Studio in Montreal where they kindly fire my stuff.
I didn’t know what to expect with that grapevine glaze, but I’m quite happy with the result. The rest was simply glazed with a transparent coat. Most of the pieces were left naked on the outside.
And I’ve started experimenting with underglaze (pencil and liquid). They should be fired next weekend! :-)
Still need a green pick-me-up? Trombocino zucchini and Italian dandelion from this summer.
Green
I spent the evening prepping these bisqued pieces for illustration.
First: drawing the whales and cutting them out to see how they would look on the plates. On one of my first pieces, I painted the form with a black underglaze but it looked to static for my taste. This time, I’ll try an underglaze pencil and use the same technique that I usually work with on the pepples: draw, smudge, repeat.
Drawing or painting on bisqueware is tricky. Underglazes tend to stay put when you fire them compared to glazes, but the texture is a bit similar to gouache, even more powdery. It feels like it’s sticking to the clay, as it’s absorbed instantly, thus making it hard to get a flowing brush stroke. And you have to apply two or three coats of this medium to get an opaque finish with the second firing, otherwise, you’ll end up with this uneven result.
Everything is so white and grey outside at this time of the year. Here are some green pick-me-ups from this summer.
Early Christmas gift
Here’s an early Christmas gift for you: five printable gift tags for the Holidays!
Click on the link above or the image at the end of the post to download the PDF.
Also in the spirit of sharing, here are the links to some of my favorite works of art.
Maybe they will make you dream, travel and think, just as they do for me.
Joanna Concejo, all of her series for the Little Red Riding Hood, but especially this one
Betty Goodwin, Carbon
Priya Sebastian, Flight
Gerda Steiner & Jörg Lenzlinger, Falling Garden
Fabienne Verdier, La faille and Mélodie du réel
Throw baby, throw!
Guess who found a nice second-hand Shimpo wheel a few weeks back? :-)
I’ve been throwing* ever since.
These are due for a first firing
And from this summer
Black slip and clear glaze on speckled clay
Matte white glaze (inside) and clear glaze on clay
*Throwing: the Old English word thrawan from which to throw comes, means to twist or turn. Going back even farther, the Indo-European root *ter- means to rub, rub by twisting, twist, turn. The German word drehen, a direct relative of to throw, means turn and is used in German for throwing. Because the activity of forming pots on the wheel has not changed since Old English times, the word throw has retained its original meaning in the language of pottery but has developed a completely different meaning in everyday usage. Those who say they throw pots are using the historically correct term. Those who say they turn pots are using more current language. Both are saying the same thing.
Excerpt from ” Why On Earth Do They Call It Throwing? An investigation into the origin of words, by Dennis Krueger”, on Ceramics Art Daily
Speckled
We had to move back to Montreal last October. I much prefer the countryside to the city, but I tried my best at seeing the positive sides, like living closer to friends and family, getting a lot more choices for all sorts of services, and also, access to ceramic classes with almost daily free periods in the workshop.
Here are a few pieces that came out of the spring session.
Trimming
Bisqued pieces, before glazing
Glaze + final firing
Matte white glaze and transparent glaze on speckled clay
Scratched matte black glaze on speckled clay
Rutile glaze on speckled clay; the bisque was partly soaked in water before being dipped in the glaze.
Countryside or city; some things never change.
Four new whales
Don’t know why I love drawing them so much…
Here are four new ones and I might just add a few more to the collection.
April Challenge: Last but not least
Last but not least, since we’re talking Mushroom. Yes, it’s worth a capital m and bold letters. These tiny and delectable beauties are a big thing in our house. I could tell you how every year, during several months, I loose Nicolas to the silent hunt. Priya wrote a beautiful post about it, after experiencing one of these expeditions with us last Fall.
So, I’ve done it! 30 days, 30 creations. I thought I was done, but then Carla Sonheim‘s newsletter came in and there was this link about 100 days of making? Hummm….
April Challenge: Week Four, Abstracts
Only four days left before the end of my April Challenge!
Up to now, creating every day has been really good for the mind, especially with these abstract drawings. It was more spontaneous; no plans, just letting go and exploring other forms on top of the basic shapes I started with.
April Challenge: Week Three, Animal Party
Already week three of my April Challenge: create something new every day of this month!
This week was all about animals.
The thought is to combine them all, which will happen in May. I tried various treatments and decided on the one below. I like how the black extremities contrast with the unfinished parts of the sketch.
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