Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Color Excitement


I'm so excited to be working with mason stains again. I never found the stains I purchased before we left California, so last week I got a few more colors. Ever since we left I've wanted to work on the ideas I had back then. I can't believe it's been more than year in February 2009, I was working with stains on cone 10 stoneware. This week I used frost porcelain to make two large bowls, a floral and an underwater scene. Then I made four small bowls to go with the large floral bowl, and a set of four plates to go with the underwater serving bowl.


I had good intentions of making test tiles with the mason stains on the stoneware clay. I got carried away doing these three tiles with all the different colors, trying to put them randomly. It isn't easy being random. These tiles spurred me into another project, more about that later.


Remember the big orange poppy bowl and the four small bowls I made to go with it? I was so proud of the orange color. I guess I must have been pretty desperate for some color. What was I thinking, that wasn't orange, it was red clay which doesn't stay orange when fired. So I covered the "orange" poppy with pink. Not sure how this will turn out since the pink is over red clay. I plan on cleaning up the edges with a sgraffito tool. Thank goodness I gathered my wits about me before firing the set of bowls. I might have ended up with brown poppies.


Perhaps you recall the small bowl I made of the underwater fish scene. I used B mix stained slip over frost porcelain and glazed with a shiney glaze which pitted. At first I attributed this to the glaze and the firing, but as I was sitting at my work space I was rubbing the bowl and noticed the fish didn't have pits on them. I determined the shiny glaze wasn't compatible with the slip. A another bowl I used a matt glaze over the slip and it didn't pit. I learned switching the glaze can make a difference.


Here's just a peak at another color project; I'll reveal a group of pieces if they turn out as intend. This is the last of my frost porcelain; I'll see how these last few pieces turn out before I get any more. I'm now using stoneware and black clay for a group of pieces I'm working on. I plan to try a red clay and little loafers. I need to find clays readily available on the East coast which are suitable for the work I'm making.


I just heard from Gary; he's now in the treasure bus leaving California headed to Florida, for the final leg of moving on a shoestring. Hopefully he'll have a smooth return trip. Tomorrow is our 25th wedding anniversary and this is the longest length of time we've ever been separated. I guess I'll head back to the studio; I want to have lots of new work to show Gary when he gets back home. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

14 comments:

  1. Your new pieces look great Linda! WOW can't believe the Treasure Bus is commin' home -yaaaaay! Tracey Broome just had her 25th anniversary too -how cool :o) I can see the influence the tropical colors of FL are having on your work -all nice!

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  2. another wedding anniversary!
    The best to you and Gary!
    I bet you will be happy when he is back and your bus is there!
    I wonder what your new neighbors will think.
    Love the color! I am having some fun with color as well- it is nice to see some bright pots.

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  3. wow!!! That top plate is absolutely wonderful. As you know from my work, I really love color. Great job!!!

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  4. Hey we almost share anniversaries! Gerry is usually away on assignment for ours, this year we got lucky, he got home yesterday from an out of town trip. Just got home from a nice dinner. Hope you have a great celebration when your hubby gets home!

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  5. Wow!! another 25th!! Have a wonderful celebration when your husband gets home...yes, time does fllllyyy on by!..great colourful pots too!.

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  6. Happy Anniversary! And hope Gary has an uneventful quick trip back to Florida!

    I found it hard to settle on a clay body when I moved to GA. I think it took me almost a year & lots of glaze/slip tests. Your new work is lovely.

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  7. Hi Cindy, thanks, I'm having fun making all kinds of things, I have so many ideas I had stored away I don't know which one to make first.

    Hi Meredith, thanks, yes, I am in the mood for some brightness in pots too. We warned our neighbors about the bus, but I don't think they realize just how big it is. We did sell our RV and our trailer, so they'll probably just think it will be there for a while and we'll sell it quickly. Gary may want to keep it though. Ha.

    Hi Turquoisemoon, thanks so much, this is porcelain, I hope I don't get any cracks; I am trying to be very careful with this one.

    Hi Tracey, thanks, Gary wants to go somewhere special when he gets home, so glad you both had a celebration on your day.

    Hi Trish, thanks, I can't believe how time does fly. Thanks about the pots, I really want color right now, so more to come.

    Hi Judy, thanks about the pots, I have a craving for color right now, so more in the works. I hope it doesn't take me that long to settle on a clay body. I feel like I am getting no where fast with a lot of work to boot, since I had just figured out Cone 10 clay, then was comfortable with West coast cone 6 clay and now back to the beginning with East coast clay.

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  8. Linda, thanks so much for stopping by! I'm going to browse her a bit..., you have some very lovely sea inspired designs here!!

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  9. Just another case of its a small world.

    I was sitting at my desk, at my day job, looking up a phone number for the sales manager of our main product vendor and noticed his home address on his business card. I thought his city sounded familiar. So I turned on my computer, that has been on the fritz for about 3 weeks. And yes my memory was working today (along with my computer). You live in Lecanto too, it can't be that big of a town.

    Love your bright and cheery flowers. Happy 25th! Getting a treasure bus will be a great anniversary present.

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  10. Hey Linda....thks for stopping by my place the other day! Love love love pottery...in every form. I'm sort of a collector. And your pieces are amazing....cannot wait to visit all of your blog. That dish on the very top? Perfecto!!
    Do you sell your stuff? Love the shapes!!

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  11. I love the colors you use for your pottery. I envy folks who have skills such as yours. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

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  12. Hi Maya, thanks and welcome, this is the closest I've lived to the sea and I am enjoying it.

    Hi Paula, thanks, no Lecanto isn't that big, but I hardly know anyone. Have you been doing any pottery lately?

    Hi jmac, thanks so much, I am gearing up to start selling here on a regular basis as soon as I get my new kiln delivered, so far now I am firing at another studio. I just moved here a month ago and am still getting organized. My husband is on his way back here with all our furniture, which will mean a whole lot of work, Ugh. The top piece is in it's green state so I never count my pottery till it is completed. The ruffled shaped bowls is something I make on a regular basis. I'll be posting the next group of pots that are fired in a couple of weeks.

    Hi Mary, thanks, yes today was better than yesterday. I ran over a baby tortoise yesterday not seeing him under my car in the driveway and I was so sad; today I saw a big tortoise, so I was glad there are still some around here.

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  14. must of missed this post, i love that top plate!

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I love suggestions, questions, critiques, thanks for your comment