Thursday, November 19, 2015

Nerikomi or Inlay Clay & Cobalt Deco

We had a whirlwind storm pass through with winds and lots of rain. We seemed to have fared ok through that. I was left with just a little of the dark brown clay and decided to try nerikomi or inlay clay. I used some dark clay in a white clay tile. I put some creases over the top hoping it will give a rustic look when it's finished firing. Look back here to see some plates I made back in 2009. I forgot all about these till now. There is something so serene with just two different color clays contrasting one another.

After looking at this snowflake with cobalt deco I had an inspiration. I planned to make trays and cups to match with cobalt decoration. There is something magical about applying a small wash of cobalt and then seeing the blue appear after firing. It doesn't take much because cobalt is such a strong colorant.

I made a tray but when I made the cup it got much taller than I planned. I'll have to make another but I'm excited to see how this will turn out. Working with clay in a studio is like working in a science lab; there's lots of experimenting and trial and error. It's so much fun to see how my experiments turn out. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to have found clay.

Here's the basket I first tried the cobalt wash on. See what I mean about how strong a colorant cobalt is. Ha. A woman bought this vase to take back to her mother in England this summer.

If I get up early enough I can see the sunrise coming up over the hills. My photos are never as brilliant as the sky actually is in person. I have a window of opportunity for firing for the next week so I guess I'll bit the bullet and get to those large pots. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

9 comments:

  1. Very nice. I have a cobalt blue planter that I keep on my coffee table. Right now, it contains a green plant.

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  2. Hi Gigi, thanks, the bright blue is rather striking and that blue seems to be very popular universally.

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  3. Good Morning, Linda.. Yes, it does not take much cobalt to make an impression.. :).. The tall slab coil pieces are great!.. have a creative day. It is sale set up day here this morning for tomorrow and Saturday...so a busy day:).. Good luck with the firing.. and the BEST of the SEASON to you and Gary.. cheers, Trish

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  4. Hi Trish, thanks, oh hope you have a good sale today and tomorrow and a wonderful holiday season, hope the winter weather is kind to you. My next sale is in a couple of weeks gearing up for that.

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  5. I like the pot with the embossed flowers.

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  6. Hi Joanne, thanks, that pot will become blue flowers and a white glaze similar to the snowflake ornament.

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  7. Hi Elephant's Child, thanks so mucn.

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  8. Very impressive....as is the sunrise. :)

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