Creative Process poster is creative

Years ago, I came across this series in a magazine and cut it out to save.  The other day, I came across it and decided to see if the artist, Chip Sullivan, had a website. Well, of course he does. www.gonzogardens.com  Under Comics & Books link he has more illustrations and published works of more of the same covering different topics related to landscaping. His illustration style caught my eye...it has so much energy and imagination. I wanted to share this set of the Creative Process. It is my favorite.

Scrap glaze

Every time I rinse out a cup or a brush that has been used for glazing, I save the settled-out minerals and put the slurry in my scrap glaze jar. For a while now, I've been wondering whether it was really worth the trouble. I've tried using the scrap glaze from the clay class but the result was a transparent glaze. I have hopes for something amazing since I've added many colorful glazes to that jar but it was not to be.

Here the result of that test. Not the colors I had hoped for but not a flat color either. The pot I used was one I made way back. It has a really rough finish but, as I recall, I was thrilled with it at the time. I'd say that the glaze suits that pot and I think the glaze will be good for pot interiors. And will I keep collecting it? Why not. Maybe it is good that it is not some amazing glaze because I would never be able to duplicate it anyway.

Crack fixed - sort of

That fern pot with the cracked bottom from a previous post did not fall apart in the glaze firing but did what I had hoped. Just enough celadon froth glaze ran into the crack to seal it shut. In fact it hides it quite well. Not so defective after all. Good or bad, the finish has a lot going on...light slip over dark slip on a speckled buff clay with carving to expose the under-layer. In the future, I will have to try variations of this technique. The kiln gods were not appeased this time. There's always a next time.....Yikes!

Boho pot

This is a "bohemian" pot I made as a gift for someone who is very special. I carved and fired stamps for the sprigs on the side. Leaves on the lid were applied and then carved at the soft leather stage of drying. The knob is reminiscent of the spires of a temple and the glaze is Coyote's shino which I brushed on because I never have a big enough bucket of glaze.

I'm Overdue!

I haven't sacrificed anything to the kiln gods lately... I'm overdue. This week I came real close. This bisque fired pot is looking good so far until you look closer at the bottom. A crack runs almost completely around the base. The bottom doesn't seem any thicker than any of my other pots so I can't figure out why. I am tempted to totally chuck it but the inside is solid looking without any cracks. Maybe if  I  glaze it pushing a little extra glaze in the crack  it will fuse the bottom in place.  The crack will still be visible but I can add it to my defective but useful pot collection. If not, that will be one for the kiln gods. Even the electric kilns have them you know.

My First Teapot

I was very pleased that the first teapot I every made came out in one piece. No cracks on the bottom or handle, a good pourable spout and a good fitting lid. Handles still need work, esthetically speaking, but overall not bad... at first.  As I used it to make tea, its streaky glaze grew more annoying over time. The glaze, however, looks better in this photo than it did in person. So I decided to refire it. Now the results looks more blended with more tans and browns and less blue with cream streaks. The situation is now reversed, since the refired teapot looks better in person than in the photo. Either way it makes for a good pot of tea.

Littlest lid

When I made the mini pot to match the large fern resist pot, I intended to make a mini lid. I finally got around to making it today following dimensions I wrote down while the pot was wet. I had just enough of that type of clay to throw it off the hump. I don't think I could have made it any smaller using my fingers. At the widest point, the lid is 1 1/4 inches. It would be very nice if it would fit but I know I am asking for trouble doing this after the pot has been fired. Do I feel lucky? Maybe?

Bloggers elbow

My elbow and the fingers on my right hand are starting to tingle. I have been clicking with the computer mouse way too long. I thought I would fill in some of the gaps in my google/blog profile, such as a photo (hate the generic silhouette) and which blogs I follow, etc. Shouldn't take too long, right? Wrong, wrong, wrong. I am not sure who is more confused, my computer or me. After clicking around the blogs and joining sites, I discovered they were all listed under my husbands profile even though I was signed into my account. He plans to eventually set up his own blog so I needed to clear/delete all that and start all over again signing in as a different user and reloading my photo for the third time. Then I thought it would be cool to have a slideshow gadget of finished work on this blog. First that required collecting photos to an album, uploading to Flickr, creating a set and finding the url/rss feed html. Then I wanted to create another blog for the senior center. www.utahartworks.blogspot.com  Check it out if you get a chance. I'm exhaused and I didn't even get out of my chair and it's already nightfall. ugh! Anyway, here's a pottery picture for your troubles.

Saturday's sunshine & tippy toes

Just a quick post. My assistant has to stand on her tippy toes just to get a ground level view of some sparrows. She's taller than I thought! Happy weekend.

More pots with lids

These pots are almost dry enough for a bisque fire. The one pot is plain, the other is a fern-type leaf decoration that I scratched into the white slip layer to reveal the dark slip which is over the buff clay. Got that? The fern resist is a lot quicker to do, but I do like drawing on the damp clay. First I had to get over that "white canvas syndrome". Just like with painting, I am so reluctant to make that first mark on that canvas. The same thing happens with that clean white greenware pot. Once I get started, it's all good, but to make that first mark is almost painful! I guess I'm afraid I'll ruin it, or change my mind about the design right in the middle of it and then it's too late. I worry too much!

Tedium pays off

 This baby pot is 1 1/2 inches tall or should I say 1 1/2 inches "short". This is before applying and firing with a transparent glaze.

 The "adult" pot is 8 inches tall including the lid.

When I threw this pot I was a little confused about the clay I had. It looked dark but after I had pushed the ferns onto the pot and actually painted on about three coats of slip, I had a memory flash. I remembered that the clay fired buff not brown and probably had iron speckles in it. The speckles I figured were a good thing but the buff clay wouldn't give me the contrast of dark and light that I was looking for. Ugh!  So instead of scrapping the plan, I took some dark brown slip and then painted each fern leaf. Talk about tedious. But it worked. What surprised me, was that the underlying clay color showed through the slip layer and gave it an antiqued look. I'm going to have to make more like this but without the tedious parts. A full layer of dark slip under the white slip should do the trick.

I couldn't resist a fern resist

The other day I found some dried fern leaves in my phone book. I had picked them in the fall when we made a trip to Little Cottonwood Canyon. Even though they were sort of stiff, they were quite tough and the leaves did not fall off as I handled them. Using leaves for a resist is an age old technique that results in a classic design that I just don't see enough of. When spring comes, I think I will be paying more attention to the foliage in my garden. Final results and more details tomorrow.

Majestic mountains

Here's a little eye-sky candy to start your day. I had to share this view out my kitchen window upstairs. It is forever changing depending on the time of day and weather. You'd think I lived in a rural area with a view like that but I don't. Just suburbia. I will never grow tired of it.

Right off the bats

I used 6 pounds of clay to make this pot. I was hoping for more height than width but it shortened by an inch when I gave it shape. I hate when that happens but it always does so I should start to remember that! It wound up at 7 inches to the rim but with more width than I've ever been able to get without it getting wonky. So I'm getting there. I like making lids and knobs to put on pots. Assembling it like a kit, is enjoyable for me. It takes a little more work to get a good fitting lid but I'm finding more uses for pots with lids than without. So in my estimation, it's worth the extra time. I make the flange on the lid and the pot without a gallery edge figuring the inevitable will happen...the lid will get broken.   That way, at least I have a bowl or vase that doesn't look like it is missing something. I've already had that happen so I was glad I did that.

Blast from the past

Memories may be beautiful and yet, what's too painful to remember .... of the way we were. Yes, this is the lyrics to a Barbara Streisand song. And this is the song that pops into my head when I look at the first "successful" pots I made. Maybe a little dramatic for pottery but that's the way they were back in 2009. I thought they were amazing. I managed to center and form, on the wheel, three pots that did not collapse and consequently, deserved to live! Pleased, but acknowledging their primitive style, I gave them simple slip decorations followed by a clear glaze. It's important to save those first pots or creations. When I have a tough day and want to throw the clay out the window instead of on the wheel, I take a look at those pots and see how far I've come because I didn't give up. For that, I'm giving myself a pat on the back. Give yourself one too, even if it is just because you made it to Friday. Good Superbowl weekend people.
P.S. Feathers in the pots are from my Amazon parrot. More about birdie another time. Stay tuned.

What to do with STUFF

It is amazing how every working surface can easily become a NON-working surface with the accumulation of STUFF! My mom cave, besides my pottery wheel, buckets of clay,  glazes,and tools,  is also a sewing room (which I do very little of lately but may need soon) , a picture painting room (which I rarely ever do anymore but hope to)  a file room with a cabinet for household bills (which is in constant use unfortunately), a storage space for family albums and another storage space for some family stuff I have no idea what to do with but can't get rid of...such as an old sewing machine with a curved wooden case, an old typewriter from the 1900's or maybe earlier and an old portable record player. You get my drift. A lot of stuff going on in that 11' x 14' room/mom cave. Very cozy to say the least. So  I have to be really diligent about keeping surfaces clear. So today, I made room for greenware. I cut some pieces of scrap drywall to fit the table top. It is a small space by all standards but that's how you start. You know what they say?  If you "build" it they will come. I better get to work and make it happen. Toodles.

A pottery rescue

This palm-sized pinched flask was all alone, sitting on a shelf destined for the trash. I can't believe that no one found it interesting or attractive enough to purchase it at a thrift store. It looks and feels like stoneware with an ash glaze with beautiful variations of color. An Asian makers mark is signed with oxides on it's nickel-sized base. Maybe Japanese? It can stand upright even though it looks unfiesible. I think it is beautiful and I am glad we found each other. If anybody out there has any information regarding this kind of pottery, or has seen another like it, I'd appreciate hearing from you.