Finally, I am back in blogland. A lot has happened in the past three months and while I tried to document it, I didn't have enough time for sleep much less for updating my blog.
This first picture is my new studio from about a week ago, round two of making a very large special order for one of my customers. The first time there was a glaze mixing mishap and they all needed to be remade (moral of the story? Test your glaze batch before putting it on an entire month load of work).

But that whole messy business is finished up and in the kiln so what's next on the agenda? Christmas ornaments! I meant to design and make some the last few years but somehow I never get on that bandwagon soon enough for it to matter. So here's attempt batch #1:


They aren't perfect, a bit weighty and I'm not sure how I'm going to finish them, but it's exciting working so small. Never done that before! Next on the agenda? Serveware. I'm thinking cake stands and salt and pepper shakers and gravy boats and butter dishes and long stemmed glasses.

Finally I am back! I know it's been a long time, my life has been pretty busy. I've actually had a bit of a selling spree this month, a commission to finish up and some other things in the works so it's been good!

Also, as you can see, I'm getting back into making some test tiles to try and experiment a little more with my work. As always, it's one of those things that takes quite a bit longer than you think it will!

I'm also trying to play around with my sprig molds again, in hope of getting some of that "wallpaper patterning" that I was talking about in a previous post to start happening on my pots.
This is one of my old sprig molds that I started to play around with on one of my test tiles (sadly, the fit of my slip was not as good as I could have hoped for and this one cracked off in the firing).

Here's a pic of the actual mold I used. It's made out of scrap plaster that I had left over from making some larger molds. I just use a brush to paint the slip into the mold, wait for it to get dry enough on the outside to come out of the mold and then I take it out and attach it to my piece.
The mold on the right is finished and the one on the left is one I'm currently working on. I drew the design on the plaster first with a pencil and then I just carve away at those lines in the right places, test it out a little, making it thicker in spots if it needs to be. Once all that is done, I have a nice sprig mold!

The idea I had for these molds is to start using them to create some extra pattern in my work the same way that use repeating designs in wallpaper. Such as this one by William Morris:

There's just something about that "mirror image" sort of thing that starts to happen but at the same time, it's organic (that sort of controlled organic) that I'm really enjoying. Mine would be simplified down quite a bit but it's still that same sort of idea.

I was actually fishing with my husband the other day and saw the way the reflection of this tree that had fallen into the water had this same quality to it. Here's a few snap shots I took of that that I've turned on their sides so you can see the "seam" of the mirror image vertically as you would in wallpaper.
Interesting, yes? I can almost start to see the damask pattern popping out at me just from this picture. Who says damask wasn't taken from nature!

My life has been busy lately-- too busy for my taste, haven't had enough time to get into the studio more than once a week or so for the past two months. I'm getting a bit ansty to really get my fingers dirty but this time has been good for filling up my scrapbook/sketchbook with new ideas.


Admittedly, I probably could have found more time to go if I really tried but my work feels like it's at a bit of a stalemate right now. That's how my work seems to go for me. I'll have these great times when I'm just pushing things out but then it seems like I hit a wall and am unsure where to go next. I'm starting to not be satisfied with my work, to look at it and only see flaws and so that's why I think I need this stepping back for a bit. I've been doing a lot of thinking and drawing and I think I've sorta figured out what quality in my work it is that I don't like, now the hard part: to change it/fix it so it's something I'm happy with again. Frustrating to do on only a few days a week!

So enough venting (that's not the reason I wanted to post today), I thought I would put up a few more of my inspirations and things I've been looking at and mulling over lately.

First is this lovely little blue and white tile handmade in Istanbul, Turkey. It's a more modern adaption of the Iznik Tiles of the 15th and 16th century. One of the things I've been playing around with adding to my work is a more fluid line for the vines and leaves of my pieces. There's a stiffness to my work right now that I don't like and am trying to get rid of.

Then part of me thinks that maybe I should play with that stiffness and try to make my designs more geometric such as these four tiles below which more islamic in style and use the flowers and leaves very symmetrically but something about them is still more graceful than my current designs.


So, in a pinch, those are the two main "types" of drawings I've played around with lately. Using symmetry as a tool to fashion my designs around and also the opposite. I guess the play of those two things is what I'm pretty interested in and have been throughout this body of work.

I did a painting in during undergrad that was modeled after some William Morris (another major art influence for me) where I took specific pieces of his floral designs and crafted my face in a repeating pattern. To me, it just reminded me of being a little girl staring at different wallpaper trying to find the faces and animals that would eventually emerge out of them. It turned out really well. I think there's something about that duality that I like as well (but I'm not sure if it fits into my work right now-- maybe it's best saved for the paintings!).

Today is promising to be a perfect day! So far it has been anyways.....woke up when my hubby got out of the shower, we ate breakfast together before he headed off to work.....I just took a (perfect) shower and now I'm sitting here drinking my tea with the sunlight spilling down on me thinking that right now, nothing could go wrong! Not yet anyways:) I have yet to go to work today.....but if nothing else, it will be a short day and I have an idea so I can feel like I'm contributing. Then, I get to go to the studio this afternoon for a few hours! Throw a few tissue boxes, trim (if they're ready) my lotion dispensers and soap dishes on round two of making Joy's bathroom set. I have to say, I'm really glad this set is for my sister because I would feel horrible about this whole thing if it were anyone else. Not that I don't feel horrible, but I feel less horrible.

Really, they didn't turn out all that bad but the glaze is thick since it's the end of the bucket so they're a little foggy looking and also the reduction wasn't right (basically means that the fire got too much oxygen from the outside of the kiln so it didn't pull oxygen molecules from my glaze) so they change colors as you go around the pieces to this, what I think, is a really bright, ugly green.

But enough about failures! What about successes? It actually feels really good to be working full time and not worrying about money again because I can focus on my work as work and not feel like I have to crank things out really quickly and I think that will let my work develop a little more naturally. Also, I'm going to start spraying my glazes again. After the last kiln load disappointment with the thick glaze application, I've decided that I would get a more consistent product from spraying even if it does take a little more time. Oh, and one of my clay buddies, Jack and I were talking about my work a little while back and he thinks I need to spray them also just because of the subtle texture that happens over the pattern when the glaze is sprayed (which I agree with also). As he said, it's those little details that make my work so great. The subtle textures on the outside, the inside texture when I make little dots on the outside, the transparent areas where I carve through more deeply. Those little things take my work from good to great! At least to me.

Well, enough talk for today. I need to finish my cup of tea and get ready to go off to work. Sorry about the somewhat boring post! I will try to throw in a few pictures next time.

Yesterday at the studio, I brought my new camera so I could get a few good shots of some of my in-progress pieces. I'm very excited about my new camera (a Nikon D60) that my wonderful hubby bought me as a present for officially starting to sell my work. It will also come in handy for keeping my portfolio up to date.

This pitcher was one of my favs from yesterday:
I'm very happy with how the above little flower turned out! It will look just lovely pooling glaze!
Below, is a close up to explain my process a bit. See the fine line running through the red underglaze line? That is a shallow cut from an exacto knife. Then I fill it in with the red slip and when it's all stiffened up quite a bit, I use a metal rib to scrape away the excess and I am left with a red incised line (like the bottom picture).



Here's another pitcher that I made yesterday along with a full shot of the above finished:


These dots in the sides are something that is new to this recent batch of pots made within the past two weeks or so. None have come out of the firing yet so I'm pretty anxious to see what they look like. I really hope they bleed down a bit in the firing. Although I have done dots from a slip trailer these are actually made from pressing the end of a paint brush into the wet clay and then filling the inside with underglaze. One thing I love about doing these dots is that I throw thin enough so you can see the clay pushing through on the inside as well!

Here's the decorating of my first batter bowl:

Those first two are pre-scraping and the last one is the finished (ready to be fired) batter bowl. I love, love what is happening under the handle on the back with the green only inside the handle and the leaves wrapping into the inside!

I also decorated ten teacups/mugs yesterday but I didn't get pictures of those. When I left they we all too wet to scrape still so that will probably be the first thing I do next time I get into the studio! I'm pretty excited also because this Saturday is the first wood firing of Jack's new kiln. Can't wait to see how all their pieces turn out! Too bad my patterns would be totally obliterated by the firing. One of these days I may make some things especially for the wood kiln. I do love the atmosphere a wood kiln creates!

Horray! I have work out of the kiln and they turned out fantasic! The slip color couldn't have been more perfect if I would have been able to mix it up with paint (which we all know is not how glazing works!).
Of course these snapshots are not the best, they don't show the subtle blue tone on the insides of the mugs but that's okay. Once I get my etsy site up and running, the pictures will be professional quality but these are good for now!




Here's a few more pics of what I'm working on in the studio at the moment. I have going a pitcher and batte bowl, a few cups and some knobby salt and pepper shakers.



Oh yes, and I cannot forget my little bottle that I'm making for one of my good friends. This is a photo taken after I incised the lines, before I scraped away the excess underglaze. Once it's finished the lines will look as sharp as the fired ones above.

While at ISU, I developed a love of floral design books and really based my first drawings and carvings on my pot from those. I never actually got the pleasure of looking through this one but I stumbled on this artists work while blogging one day and fell in love. His name is Frederick Edward Hulme and he was a graphic designer/illustrator/writer in the late 1800s from around 1870-1890. These are a few pages from his book Suggestions in Floral Design:


I love not only the drawings in this and other design books from this era but also how they talk about pattern and using it as a design element. It's interesting for me to read about these ideas-- repeat patterns, drop repeats, reverse repeats, etc.
Below are a few of his drawings (giclee prints) from another book he wrote and illustrated called Familiar Wildflowers that are remarkable as well!

So in case you can't tell, the subject for this post is paisley patterns. So for a little history, our friends at Wikipedia say, "[Paisley] resembles a large comma or twisted teardrop, the kidney-shaped paisley is one of the most recognized patterns in the world. The lacy pattern is Persian in origin, but its western name derives from the town of Paisley, in central Scotland. Pakistan Paisley designs are widely termed as the "Carrey" design. Carrey in Urdu means the Mango seed."
For a few modern uses of the paisley pattern, check out this leather settee from Horchow. Love the more traditional style mixed with the fun, more modern paisley adaption. They had a few other very fun paisley pieces such as a few rugs, a chair, and a upholstered headboard!


As far as wearing paisley, there are many current options for that as well. I have to say, those paisley sandals (Privo by Clarks) are my favorites!






One day when I have a studio, I want to buy cards like the one above and make an inspiration board. I think it will actually make my work much stronger to see these things as I'm making.

So I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything on here but I have been very busy in the studio (a real studio in fact) at my teacher's house. They were on vacation and I was house sitting and keeping their dog company. So without further ado, here's a few pics from my time there.


So on top of having the use of a studio for a few weeks, I also really enjoyed being able to use their dishes since they have quite the collection of pieces from other ceramic artists. I think this mug was my favorite while I was there. I want to say it was made by Sarah Jaeger but I'm not entirely sure. I just thought that it looked like one of her pieces. On a side note, that Mortar and Pestle set are something that my teacher made. Also, I can't forget little Ida who is the sweetest dog anyone could ever ask for (even if she is a little neurotic!).


I'm really happy with quite a bit of the things I did while I was there. Although most of the pieces were mostly pretty simplistic shapes (vases, bowls, etc), I was exploring shape with them and found a few that I really enjoyed. I made one vase in particular that I think the shape would be fabulous for a set of covered jars. Also, in the way of decoration, I went further with my vines and leaves.

So one of the new things I played with was confining the floral patterns to the slipped blocks of the pieces. I like to think of those as barriers for the pattern at times and then also at times I like to completely disregard those edges because they look like too obvious of a place to end the design. I played a very little bit with the deeper carving again that I did a lot of at the end of last semester.


I was happy just to see how much I enjoyed the repetitiveness of making the same forms over and over again. I did rather like that part about it. These forms pictured here are only about 5 days of the work that I made. I also made two more pitchers, finished the two tea pots, made 8 more bowls and 8 more cups. Those last bowls and cups still need to be decorated though. I will call over there tomorrow and see if I can bring those things here because I don't really want to be in their way in the basement. Also I think I left my CD in the CD player. :)

This last week has been a week off of ceramics for me. I'm not sure if it was the frustration over the earthenware plates (only 5 survived-- I was having major cracking issues) or whether my energy travels in three week bursts but whatever it is I started making again today. Now I have six plates and I'm left waiting for the leatherhard stage to begin my decorating. In a few minutes I will be off to my teacher Erin Furimsky's house to help her out in the studio for a bit and I'm going to attempt to transport about 9 of the plates I've made. This will be a bit nerve racking since I have never transported anything in the greenware stage before so keep your fingers crossed that they will all survive.

Also, at last, here are a few pictures of my earthenware plates that somehow turned out a bit rougher than I was hoping for. I think a good next time thought would be that maybe I need to layer more colored slips (so the entire surface except for the carved areas is covered!).