Final Batch of Finished Fall Ceramics

Okay, here are the final pieces which I picked up Wednesday, all handmade from grey stoneware, and all stamped with my signature stamp (unless otherwise noted).

#22 - This little bowl turned out very sweet.  It features a pattern stamped with one of my handmade stamps.  I then added a rim with the little rolled up decorations, to match the swirly pattern.  (See this post for a photo of it in progress.)  The timing didn't work for me to add a proper foot on it, since it was not dry enough that same session, and the following session it was too dry.  So I didn't manage to stamp this piece with my signature stamp.  It was glazed in Deep Blue, which was rubbed off with a sponge, and then the inside was sprayed Clear.

#23 - This is one of the 2 pieces I attempted to throw as a double-walled vessel, but couldn't quite get the two walls to join, so I just pinched it into shape, so it results in a 5 chambered vase with funky shape.  (See this post for in progress photos.)  I dipped it in Ash Yellow (inside and out), then Tam's Green, then Deep Blue.  It is less refined than many of my pieces, but I like the overall result, and the areas where the glazes seemed to run.

#24 - I really like the round shape of this wheel thrown bowl.  The inside is finished in Tam's Green.  The outside is Ash Yellow, then I added a pattern in wax resist, and then finished in Tam's Green.  As shown in this post, the wax didn't resist very much, so the pattern appears slight and fluid.  I think if I used latex, I would have achieved a sharper (although perhaps still somewhat fluid) pattern.  Generally it is a pretty good result, but a bit more relaxed than I am used to creating.

#25 - I like this little upright shaped bowl.  The inside was filled with black slip, and spiralled with my finger.  I splashed / poured a random pattern on the outside with Ash Yellow, then finished it in Deep Blue glaze.  I like that the spirals inside still show through the Deep Blue, and the Ash Yellow shows through a bit on the outside.

#26 - This large bowl turned out nicely.  The imprints are of three leaves from my Davidii involucrata tree (dove tree).  The leaves are painted with Green over(under)glaze, then wiped with a fine sponge.  The rim and outside are finished in Matt Green, then inside sprayed Clear.  It is interesting how many freckles show through from this grey stoneware.  In past I did more work with the white stoneware, which doesn't show such strong freckling.  I don't know which one I prefer.  They both have their merits.

#27 - The glazing on this vase turned out as well as I had hoped, and much better than I had expected.  It was the other piece I attempted to throw as double-walled, and didn't make it too far.  But I still intended to carve the outer wall.  But rather than carve through, I just carved the jewel-like shapes into the wall (see this post for photos).  They are glazed with Deep Blue and Tenmoku, and then sprayed Clear.  I like how the blue "jewels" seem to pop out, and are so shiny.

There is another piece which I can't post yet, since it will be a Christmas gift.  But I did want to post a couple of photos for my sister Rose.  I finally glazed the remaining pieces from the one drop-in session she attended with me in the summer.  I think they turned out pretty good, and especially since this was her first and only attempt at playing with clay.

The top item is a Mickey shaped "coaster".  She made three of them, which amazingly survived both firings, and didn't lose any ears.  They are glazed on top in Tenmoku, and unglazed underneath.  The bottom item is a small candy dish, with Mickey shapes adorning it, as well as a ringed foot.  Looking at it now, I'm really surprised she could create this in her first session, and it held together so well.  Also glazed in  Tenmoku, which is such a wonderful dark chocolate color, and "breaks" really nicely as milk chocolate on the edges.

My Ceramics at Rosie's Place

A couple of months back, I spoke with the kind volunteers at Rosie's Place at Edmonds Community Center, and they were interested in some of my handmade ceramics for their store.  The proceeds are split between the local crafters / artisans and a local charity.  They have knitted scarves, baby items, Christmas ornaments, jewelry, and other handmade items.  Their prices are very reasonable.  The price on many of the items would likely just cover the cost of the materials.

Today I dropped off a few of my ceramic items for them to sell.

Rosie's Place is only open on Fridays 11am - 2pm and Saturdays 11am - 2pm, when they set up a table in the main lobby of Edmonds Community Center in Burnaby, BC.  Outside of those hours, they store their handmade craft items in a display case in the Seniors Lounge, just inside the entrance to the Community Center.  If you are ever passing through the area on those days, it is worth dropping by to take a look.  I bought some unique and affordable jewelry last time I passed by.

Large Banana Leaf Platter

I picked up my remaining ceramics from this past session this evening.  It's too late to take photos and post them tonight, but I wanted to post one.  This was the large banana leaf platter I started during the summer, made from a real banana leaf (see also posts about how they were mysteriously cut down, but managed to regrow).

It's a big platter, some 21" long and 10" wide.  I'm very pleased with the result :

#21 - The top photo shows the large platter beside its smaller buddy, which was finished in Oatmeal and Tam's Green glazes, brushed onto the leaves (see also this post).  For the large one, I used Oatmeal and Tam's Green and Matt Green.  I was more careful to use long strokes, so it doesn't have the choppy look which the smaller one has.  Both of them worked out quite well, I think, and are quite functional.  I have been using the smaller one to hold bunches of bananas (since it's a banana leaf - get it?) on the kitchen counter.

The remainder of the pieces had some good and bad surprises, as always with glazing.  Stay tuned for more photos soon.