Taking a Holiday!

Thanks to all who came out and all the nice feedback about the new work at my open house. We leave tomorrow so it has been a bit crazy here. More photos of new work to come, but I thought I would leave you with a parting shot of the finished face pot. I was pleased with the way she came out.

Catch you up in a couple of weeks.......

Preview

The fluorescents make this look yellowed. This bowl has a design painted in the greenware state. I used a mix of dark and light rutile and a pinch of granular rutlile, with water added to paint on. I am really liking this. I think the color has more depth than underglazes (though I experimented with them, too, and you can see that on Saturday). As with any new work, I will be making some changes, but I'm pleased with this enough to keep it going.
Exterior of the above bowl. Color is more real in this shot.

Plate carved with desert and rain symbols. I'll only have one of these at the open house this weekend.

I was excited to realize I could enlarge images in my viewfinder to see if they were grainy when blown up. Now I can preview minute details of the pictures right on the camera

Little knobs

Little knobs. I started a series of jars about "curious" animals and things in Australia. There are some amazing stories out there. Here you see dingos at the top, a honey ant in the middle and the fearsome kangaroo at the bottom.

When I was a kid (somewhere between 9 and 11), my dad bought a set of gently used World Book encyclopedias. I was in knowledge heaven. I remember reading about kangaroos, how tiny they were when born, and how they blindly climbed up through their mother's fur into the pouch. I told my parents about this, and they said "No way". I was thrilled to show it to them in print. Now the story has come full circle and is on one of my covered jars.

A sample of new work

Some before and after shots.

An after and before shot. The bowl below was decorated with yellow ochre where you see the bright bands of yellow. I was very excited until it came to me in the middle of the night that when fired, the ochre would turn brown, since it is a weak form of iron oxide. And it did. So I am trying a rutile wash on the next pots (more bowls and mug forms). Some of the little reddish dots also "moved a bit" down the side of the pots and I tried some glass runs in the bottom of the bowls but they were too thick so I have some serious crazing.

The thing I love about new work is the excitement and push to bring the vision into the physical world.

The thing I hate about new work is the trial and error.

Invite to my show

Here's the invite to my show in 2 weeks.

4522 Wilkinson Blvd., Gastonia, NC 28056

August 15, 10am to 4pm

August 16, 1 to 4pm

Celebrating a series of new pottery work,

inspired by dreams of the landscapes and textures of Australia.
Come and bring your friends!