Just took these hanging ceramic planters out of the kiln this morning. It is a tin blue brush on glaze. I gave them two coats instead of three, so instead of blue bowls with brown edges, they are a rusty brown with blue splotches and look similar to the corrugated iron of my studio walls. I like them, they would look nice with grey blue succulents in them.
Had a nervous night as I thought I had overfired a kiln full of new forest side plates and espresso cups. Couldn’t sleep till 1.00am and up at 6.00am to crack open a very hot kiln as I was sure everything was going to be melted! Luckily the kiln fired perfectly. I couldn’t believe it!! .
I have been so busy lately that I have not been able to post much on my blog. I have opened an Etsy store, and have got caught up with promoting it. Have finally sold my first item, which was quickly followed by a second which is pretty exciting. I have been making more landscape cups after selling the first set to a friend. I hope to put these in a ceramics store in Melbourne, after I glaze them. Have been throwing some larger bowls which are an achievement for me, now I just have to decide how to decorate them. I have been given a commission this week as well, so hope to get the decoration finished and bisque fired for that by next week. Trying to find some smallish boxes for sending out work bought on Etsy, but having trouble as the local supermarket throws the small boxes out, I don’t want to buy boxes! Need to get myself a bit more organised!!
Copper tree and mountain plate
I thought I would try using colours that looked more natural than some of my other brighter pieces for this latest work. So I used 100% copper with water as an underglaze for the design with a chun glaze on top. After the bisque fire I had a terrible feeling that maybe the copper would make the glaze not food safe. So I went to one of the facebook ceramic groups and was given many different opinions on this matter. Some said it was safe others said it wasn’t, others said the whole design would smudge or disappear. In the end the design held up and after a 24hr vinegar test the glaze showed no reaction, meaning my glaze withheld the copper and is food safe! I was thinking I might attach some sort of hook on the back and make it into a wall hanging anyway. Just have to work out how to do that!
Plate unfired
Just unpacked a new kiln and this is one from a new series that I have put onto my etsy store.
Had a great day at Kinglake Market.
Tree mountain cup
mountain clay 