What the world needs now is color and fun, well at least I do. So I've been using my markers and pencils and drawing and coloring mod plates. I think I can easily adapt the drawings to cups and bowls.
Last post I mentioned I ordered some mason stains. While I'm waiting for them I'm drawing rough sketches and coloring them in to see how they will look before I mix up the stains to use. Some of them will have a background color, but I didn't want to take the time to color them in.
I think a few of the designs are too busy and some need to be edited. I might switch some of the colors, but I think they live up to being cheerful and it's fun to color them. Now I have to see if I can create them in clay. Perhaps I could make a stencil for the designs and paint the stains that way. Wonder if that has been done before. What do you think?
love the look of these.
ReplyDeleteThey are wonderful and very"mod!"
Can't wait to see how this goes into your work once you have you stains.
I was playing with slips before the fire, but have not gone back to it yet.
Good luck with these!
These look so fun! I would love to see them after you use the stains & fire them. Are you going to mix your stains with slip or clear glaze?
ReplyDeleteCool plates. Stenciling is a great idea (that way, you can also easily replicate patters with different colors to see which you like best). Here is one article about it, I'm sure you can find more too: http://ceramicartsdaily.org/methods-techniques/stenciled-and-stretched-ceramic-decorating-technique-offers-a-new-twist-on-stenciling-on-clay/?floater=99
ReplyDeletelooks like you got in touch with your inner 60's... truly "mod" designs indeed
ReplyDeletemod = tres cool!
ReplyDeleteThanks Meredith, for some reason I wanted to have something "light" since the world is so serious now. I know if I show these to Gary he's going to want some palm trees and surf boards - oh no another idea.
ReplyDeleteHi Judy, thanks, I don't know what I am going to do. All I know about stains I have taught myself or looked on June's website. Should I mix the stain in dry clear glaze and then add water or what. Maybe I'll email you. I might actually have to do some testing. Ha! I just know I want some nice colors even pastels would be ok. We shall see.
Hi Miri, thanks. Oh wonderful of you to provide me this link. I knew there were stencils for walls but didn't know if folks had used them in clay but I thought they might have.
Hi Jim, thanks I think these are going to be fun for sure. When we were kids our family had these bright metal cups and we each would get a different one; we all had our favorite. I was envisioning these with the same background color as a set or so they could be mixed and matched. We shall see.
Hi Gary, thanks, I hope I can make these work out the way I want in clay.
Very cool Linda! I think you're onto something. For more patterns Google "vintage Formica patterns" and there are tons of color ideas and "boomerang" patterns... can't wait to see how you use your stains!
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy, thanks, I have a master plan I am slowly developing. I want to have a line of more affordable dinner ware (such as these) and the one of a kind pieces, like the handbuilt vases, slip decorated bowls and platters, inlaid clay, sculptures and the other work I have done. I am hoping this plan will allow me to continue to experiment with all that's available in clay, raku, pit and barrel firings, jewelry, sculpture and whatever else I haven't thought of or discovered. My problem is I have too many ideas and not enough time.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the link - never thought of formica patterns, I'll check it out.
Linda -- it depends -- if you mix the stains in a clear glaze you might have to fire again with a clear glaze, unless you brush all of the different areas/colors of the piece with the clear/color mix.
ReplyDeleteIf you mix the stains with a slip - you would brush them on at greenware - bisque & then fire with a clear glaze. Mason stains are about 10% per 100% -- but they are pretty true to what you see when you are mixing. The pastels take a little more colorant & the blue/greens a little less. Make some test tiles.
Hi Judy, thanks for taking the time to write back to me, I really appreciate it. What I did with my previous six months of experiments was what you describe in the second paragraph. I made up some slip from the same clay body I was using, then separated it into smaller containers and then I added the different colors of mason stain to each container. I measured how much stain I add to each cup of slip - usually one teaspoon to one cup of slip, but some I had to add more and I eye balled it to see what the color would look like. Then I brushed the colored slip on the greenware and bisque fired it. Then I put a clear glaze over the top and high fired it. The last firing I did at the college I also mixed some of the mason stains with water and painted them on greenware and fired them and then high fired them. I kept some without any glaze (for my bark sculptures - non functional stuff). I know from June's website she mixes various oxides with either dry celadon glaze or frit and then adds water and uses those. I am assuming she's using those additions to oxides and stains that don't flow or make a smooth surface. Since I know mixing the stains with slip works I might stick with that technique on these plates and see how it looks and go from there.
ReplyDeleteI can see with clay there is always a bit of tweaking that needs to be done. I am used to this with landscaping since fertilizer, watering, and pruning must always be adjusted depending upon the microclimate, health of the plant, weather conditions and other factors. I think once I can train my eye to observe what is necessary for clay it will start to gel for me. What I learned in landscaping took me over 25 years, I am hoping to be more observant with clay so I can have quicker learning curve and achieve some success and repeatable results. Thanks again.
These are soooo great. Reminds me of Miro paintings. By the way, I was in Micheal's yesterday and they had a lot of the letter stamps you asked about. They were with the stepping stone kits and the kids crafts. If you can't find them at your stores, I could pick some up for you.
ReplyDeleteHi Tracey, thanks, I'll have to look up Miro to see them. I'll give a call to Michaels and see if they have them, thanks for the offer, I'll let you know if they don't carry them. That is so kind of you. A while back I looked at the die letters at Harbor Freight, but they are really too small - more jewelery size. Yesterday I was driving in the car and the song with the line "Breathe, Just Breathe" was on and I was thinking those would be great words on a plate with something relaxing like a hammock strung between two trees. I think about Deborah Woods of the Mud Pot - she sent me two magnets she made with stamped letters, I wish she'd post on her blog. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteHi again Tracey, I just googled Miro, he did some amazing stuff, I like his sculpture in Barcelona and his paintings are great. I had several other plates I did and one was particularly more detailed but thought it too busy (and time consuming to make as a plate), so didn't post a photo of it. I'm getting a real great art education from the blogs.
ReplyDeleteThese are great! Very abstract and I love the color combos! -- Natalie
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie, thanks so much, hopefully I can achieve the colors I want with stains and I am hoping to mix and match some similar to these together as sets, we shall see.
ReplyDeleteCiao Linda,
ReplyDeleteit's nice to see you active and creative.
Hi Filippo, thanks so much, hope you are doing well too.
ReplyDeleteHi Linda,
ReplyDeleteThose colourful designs are really very nice indeed. You are quite right, the world does need more color and fun!
My own favorites are the second and the fourth ones (everyone will have their personal favorites!). The fourth one is particularly energetic because of the way the lines come in on the diagonal.
I love the way you have used the gray, blue and red with the colour being quite sparing.
The last design interests me a lot too, the restricted colour and the human like gray forms are quietly powerful.
Lovely work!
I can just picture you hang out with your 06's dinnerware. Very mod indeed!
ReplyDeleteHi Peter, thanks, we are really feeling we need some fun for sure around here. The economy is really a drag and many folks are feeling the pinch has squeezed them to rubberband thin and ready to snap. Gary says he likes the second one. Says he has seen the first one before. Some of these came from some parts of fabrics I have collected. The last one Gary says looks like one of his mother's lamps. Interesting you noticed the figures, I did another one with just the figures but didn't post it. The number of ideas I can get with this drawings is unlimited. I was thinking last night I could do a set of each drawing and each plate could be a different accent color but the same design. I need to take the blank to the copy center so I can make copies instead of printing each one out of my computer. In fact I should get a whole series of blanks one for plates, one for bowls and one for tumblers and cups. That way when I have other designs I can draw on them beforehand. Hope your remodeling is going well and that Laura is holding up.
ReplyDeleteHi Mary, funny you should mention that I was thinking the same thing. I need to make a turquoise or aqua one for us.
ReplyDelete