First Pieces from the Fall : Leaf Platters

I was pleased to pick up my first new pieces from this Fall session.  Actually, all 4 leaf platters were started in the late summer, in July.  But I've finally managed to glaze them.

Let's start with this monstrous leaf, from my gunnera plant (which you can see behind me, to the upper right of the photo).

As you can see from this photo, it is actually a small gunnera leaf.  One of the smallest I could find, and still almost more clay than I could handle.  I am trying to remember how I made it....

(1) This platter was formed from a slab of Willamette Yellow clay, into which I pressed the gunnera leaf.  Then I draped the slab, leaf side down, over a wide bowl / mould, and as it firmed up, I worked some shape into the edges of the leaf.  And I built a sort of foot and support system so that it would hold up through two firings.  Here are a few process shots I assembled (see also this post) :

I decided to leave this one unglazed, and stain it with Kingsmill wash (which is a sort of iron oxide mix).  It will live in the garden, near my big gunnera plant :

The other leaves are a bit smaller, and would be equally at home in the garden as on the kitchen counter...

(2) I love this big squash leaf.  It was from my friend Cindy's garden, and has a beautiful shape and texture.  I can't remember if it was Columbia Buff with Grog or Willamette Yellow clay, but it seems to be the Columbia Buff clay, which turns a beautiful soft brown, and shows lots of spots through the glaze.  It was stained on top (trying to keep mostly in the veins) with Very Black stain, and then glazed with Ash Yellow.  I really like the visual texture of this, and it looks very much like a Fall leaf.  The only thing I would like more is a bit of green.

(3) This sunflower leaf bowl was made from a slab of Columbia Buff with Grog clay, and features my handmade starburst stamp along the edges, for texture.  I applied some Very Black stain, apparently in the textured area underneath, as well as on top (although it looks like I applied less stain on the top, or did a better job wiping it off).  Anyhow, the glaze is Bamboo.  It turned a nice soft rust brown color, which again is very pleasant.  I would have probably preferred a green, but I know the Matt Green is very opaque, and the Tam's Green shows very dark on this brown clay, so I went with a lighter brown.

(4) This sunflower leaf was formed from a slab of WSO clay, which is a white clay.  It shows quite differently with the same treatment of Very Black stain and Bamboo glaze.

I still have another gunnera leaf platter coming.  I am hoping that with all I have learned about the clay and glaze combinations, it will be even better than these ones.  But we'll see.  Glazing is a difficult art, and doesn't always deliver what you hope for.  (I'm trying to keep my expectations low.)

It's not all pottery.  The other day I took a break from gardening, and made a fun little spiral design, using beautifully colored leaves from my Cotinus (purple smoke bush) tree, and various flowers I could find still blooming at this time of year : fuschia, fall asters, rhododendron (its second flowering), and that yellow coneflower-like bloom.