Collaborating Clouds

I've enjoyed a week of beautiful clouds that have decorated the sky all day and into the evening. Luckily, some of those clouds organized into a storm and gave the neighborhood some greatly needed rain. The storm system was moving so swiftly, it was fun to see various images form. In these particular clouds, I see a puffy dragon talking to a little duck. How about you?

Bowl Full of Berries

It is so very special when someone shares some of their garden's bountiful harvest. I was the recipient of some delicious red raspberries! They looked beautiful in my bowl. I had a renewed appreciation for this bowl because the green actually matches my newly painted kitchen walls. The glaze is Seamist with a drizzle of Iridescent Iron glaze. Both glazes are by Standard Ceramics. The raspberries tasted delicious, by the way.

Bowl and Shallots

It has been an extremely hot and dry summer and as a result, productivity is near zero. I have been using this time to review pottery that I deem successfully glazed that I want to try to duplicate. This bowl is one of my favorites. Layered Seattle Pottery glazes of Grey Stone and Opaque White give this noodle bowl such a rustic look. The shallots were a nice discovery. I could only grow onions and shallots this year since our mild winter spawned hoards/clouds of grasshoppers. Yes, masses of grasshoppers are called a cloud. They will eventually rule the world, by the way, unless we start eating them. Ewwww.

 

Two Mugs on a Log

 I'm happy with these two "beer stein" mugs. I used all Amaco glazes on the outside. Obsidian on the bottom, Ancient Copper on the top half and Seaweed in the middle overlapping. That Seaweed glaze overlap created a very pretty turquoise band of drips which happen to match the interior turquoise color. I live for those happy accidents. The interior glaze is Seattle Pottery Turquoise. Cone 5/6 on Laguna b-mix with grog.

Mix and Match Glazing

This was a glaze experiment, which more often than not, is the case. The bottom half of the mug and interior has Chris Wolf Plumb Glaze. The recipe for that glaze can be googled. The band of white is Opaque White by Seattle Pottery and the creamy looking  top inch, inside and out, is Albany Slip Brown glaze by Amaco. They are all 5/6 glazes that seem very compatible. Clay is Laguna b-mix with grog. I will try to duplicate that combo in my next firing to see how predictable it is. And why do mugs look so great on weathered wood?

I HAVE RETURNED

Yay, I remembered how to log in and post photos on this blog after a year and a half! My pottery production has slowed down to a crawl but break-time is over. Our winter and spring gave us great amounts of precipitation which is unusual for this high-desert area.  Greatly appreciated, however, since we are always recovering from a drought. Tons of yard work since everything had been growing like crazy. My ryobi electric mower is my best friend right now. My new best friend will be my kiln. I'll post pots from my glaze fire soon.

I Did Like It!

 Last year I had to figure out how to get myself out of a non-creating rut, so I purchased some new glazes to help to inspire me. Two of the glazes were Amaco Potters Choice Cosmic Tea Dust and Cosmic Oil Spot. Now I personally am drawn to glittery things but I wasn't sure I would like the look on my stoneware creations. I used Tea Dust on a cloaked figure (pictured a few posts back) and I kinda liked how that looked. To get the best reflection of the glittery particles in the glaze, I applied two coats of Amaco Obsidian glaze and then two coats of the Cosmic Tea Dust to my small lidded pot that's 3 inches tall by 2 inches wide. It's so beautifully glittery in the sunlight. I'm mesmerized. 

The mug has Cosmic Oil Spot on the rim and sprig. I like the watery/oily look but the glittery flecks are larger. I think it's use on the mug is successful but I'll have to figure out how else to make it work. And isn't that part of the fun.