Little lotus

One new addition to my etsy shop this week has been this Little lotus bowl. I'm really pleased with how this little piece came out, and the glaze I used was one that I mixed up myself, so it is unique. I have been experimenting recently with altering clear glazes by adding cobalt, iron and/or copper oxides, and I'm finding it pretty exciting. Shop bought glazes are great, but there is something wonderful about mixing it up like a painter would, and getting something unique. Of course it's much trickier than painting; pink powder turns deep blue, black comes out brown or bronze etc. - there's often a surprise when the kiln opens!
The other thing I love about the Lotus is how delicate the form is. It was very tricky to make and so I don't think I'll make any more, not because I don't love it, but simply because it was far too labour intensive. So this little Lotus really is one of a kind.

Say hello....

to Kenny the kiln!
Here's a pic of my first test firing.... All the tests came out perfectly. (Other pots were placed lower down on separate shelves) What a relief... So it's holiday season over for now, and back to work in a slightly frantic, frustrated OCD way. It's great to be making again after a break, and very exciting to have Kenny here.
I'm looking forward to the coming weekend, when I will be doing a pottery demonstration/workshop in Liverpool. It'll be great to encourage people to get some clay under their fingernails! It's always fantastic to see what people make when they start playing, so I'm excited about that... Wish me luck!

Eat your heart out...

Oh I am so easily amused with a good pun. This one got me to thinking about other daft objects I have made.... The butt out ashtray for example. I'd make more, but my age old battle with nicotine addiction makes me feel like it's just bad karma to encourage smoking by making such fantastic accessories... I can't tell you about the other ideas I've had along the same lines; you'll just have to wait until they're made... I know it's gonna be tough but try and hold on!

Nice weather for ducks...

I think I am in the eye of the storm - simultaneous thunder and lightening and the biggest raindrops in the history of raindrops. Mmmmm, I love a good storm, very dramatic!
Today was going to be summery outdoor activity with friends, but... So anyway I have taken the opportunity to upload a few things to my shop...


This one's inspired by Tudor architecture, and has little piercings to make it extra pretty if you use it to hold a candle.

Next up is this droplet bowl in watery colours with a recycled glass pool in the bottom... seemed appropriate for today's climate.


And then, speaking of birds that like water...


here's my little love bird soap dish! All of these activities (including blogging) have provided me with a great excuse not to make a final decision about which shiny hunk is to become Kenny, King of Kilns!!!!! I can no longer avoid the decision, so I'm off now to do the maths...

By popular request....

here is the first of my new bird brooches. It was made by rolling antique embroidery into porcelain and then was cut out by hand, fired and glazed with cobalt blue. I was aiming for a piece that was feminine, but would be easy to wear and look good with jeans. I love porcelain! It picks up even the most delicate textures. The embroidery I used came from a piece stitched by my great aunt who died before I was born.... I hope she'd have liked this little bird.

Picking a kiln...

is a tricky business. By chance I ran into someone today who has the same type of kiln that I was looking at yesterday, and she was enthusiastic about its performance. Having narrowed it down to a type, I just need to figure out exactly which of my 3 shortlisted candidates will come home to be christened Kenny, King of Kilns!!

I can't wait to get it all sorted out, as I'm itching to make a ton of stuff. However, it is probably for the best that I take a break from making for a week at least, as I now have quite a few pieces to upload to my shop... I have started to clear this backlog, and here's one of the new pieces uploaded today...

It's a Mountain lagoon bowl, so called because it has a pool of recycled glass in the bottom of it. Comments/critique welcome!

Another bird or two

flew out of the kiln this week, and here's the first one to be uploaded to my shop... introducing the starry eyed blackbird!


I think there's a little bit of rock star attitude about this one. It's a bit of a rebel. Reminds me of Amy Winehouse for some reason. Just needs a cig in it's beak, a bouffant hairdo, a bit of a tat and we'd be there... Or is that just my overactive imagination?