On the Wheel Today

Today is the day for faceted cups. We worked through a number of styles and found some keepers.

Finding Inspiration

At times, inspiration can be found everywhere we look; yet there are those dark days when the muses become quite elusive. There are a number of ways to make the muses linger such as keeping a journal or sketchbook, researching historic design, and our favorite... tuning in to the children around us.

We have had a harsh winter here in Appalachia. Our kids have been home from school more than they have gone and our studio time has been frequently interrupted. However, having the boys home has meant a continuous stream of creative ideas expressed without reservation.

Last week, the boys announced that our fish needed houses in their fish tank. "Great idea!", I said, so down to the studio we headed. We grabbed the essentials: clay, fettling knives, needle tools, and 'stinky glue' (paper clay slip).



We used the extruder to create the bodies of our houses. The boys attached them to 'yards', cut doorways and windows, and added roofs and chimneys. Boo even boarded over his windows after cutting them out, "in case there is a storm".



After the bisque and glaze firings, the boys' fish houses settled nicely into our aquarium. We have since decided that we need more houses and our doorways need to be just a bit larger. They also said we needed working chimneys so we can put a bubble stone in the house and bubbles will come out of the chimney.

As for my part in this, I was inspired to make these:



Mine won't be landing in the fish tank, but instead will land in our etsy shop.

Since school was called off again today, I am hoping they'll come up with another cool idea so we can all work together in the studio while the storm blows through.

Extruded Vases

It's been a long time since we posted to our blog, but we promise we have been busy!

We've been making a large number of extruded vases lately. Square or round tubes are formed with our extruder. Then, we stamp the clay with hand-carved roulettes, or rolling stamps. For the square ones, we have cut some pieces of oak that just fit the interior contour so we can stamp them without altering their shape.

The finished vases hover between casual and elegant.
We keep them a bit loose as that suits our personalities.

We are hoping to complete a large number of these in the coming weeks to supply a couple of retailers and to prepare for an upcoming show.

Pen Cushions Complete

Pen Cushions

I started off the day thinking about Ikebana in a pillow form. I wanted the form to be multi-functional so folks could decide whether to use them for flowers, pens, toothbrushes, or paint brushes.


Once I finished a couple of forms, I realized there was no way to get a pin frog into them. Duh! I did manage to put little divots in the inside, but there is no way to know how they will work for flowers until they are glazed and fired.


So, in my mind I went from ikebana to pen-kebana. Yeah, the term leaves a lot to be desired. As I worked on different shapes, they became more pillow-like and hence, pen cushions they are! This last one really illustrates my love of puns.


When the tufting didn't meet on the bottom, I created a seam. Hopefully I didn't take the pun too far!

Carving Clay Stamps Tutorial

We frequently use stamps in our work. There are many commercial stamps available to buy that are okay to use in your work. There are also quite a few that are not, so be sure to carefully check each maker's angel policies and copyright information. We personally feel that the only way to preserve our personal style is to create stamps ourselves or trade one-offs with other artists.

To make stamps, you'll need some scrap clay, not too wet. All sorts of tools can be used to carve and mark the clay. A set of small loop tools will come in handy. Our favorites include a dull pencil, a scrap of steel, needle tools, a double ball stylus, and a knife of some sort. The final tool is some canned air. This is not a must, but it is a lot better than blowing away bits of clay until you are dizzy!

We start with a ball of scrap clay. We shape the ball into a cylinder, cube, or mushroom shape. We create quite a few stamp cubes with designs on 6 sides. This helps to keep our collection compact.

After the base shape is created, we clean up the sides with a fettling knife. Cubes tend to have an indention in the center of each side, so it helps to shave off the high edges. Now leave your base alone until it is leather hard.

So now that your base is leather hard, it is time to create a pattern for your stamp. Of course, you can carve directly into the block without a sketch. If you are nervous, you can draw onto a small piece of paper with a washable marker. Then place your sketch face down on the clay and rub gently with your finger. When you pull the paper away, your design will be transferred to the clay!

You may also use your computer and ink jet printer to create your designs. We find the computer to be exceptionally helpful for complex designs or lettering. Use the same method to transfer your image to the block. Just remember, with both methods, your image will be reversed on your block, but then stamp true to your original.

Now it is time to begin carving. There are no rules here. Use whatever works the best for your design. Just make sure your clay is leather hard. If it is too soft, the base will warp as you try to carve and your design will not stamp well. You will also find the bits of clay you are carving away will stick themselves back to the stamp.

The canned air comes in handy now to blow away the bits of clay that have been carved away. The deeper the carving, the better the stamps will work. Just be sure not to undercut your design or it will hang up in your clay when you are using it.

If you are working on a cube, go ahead and carve the remaining 5 sides. Carve around a cylinder to create a roulette (a rolling stamp), or carve each end to make circular stamps. Carve the top of a mushroom shaped base to create an ergonomic stamp that will work particularly well in bowls. Once you have finished carving, gently test your stamps in soft clay. Do this only once or twice or the stamp may alter.

In a short time, you can carve quite a few stamps. Often, simple and even ugly stamps create patterns that are very appealing. Don't rule out a design until you have tested it. Once you have completed all of your stamps, allow them to dry completely. This may take weeks for cubes. We test for dryness by touching items to our lips. If they are still cool to the touch, they are not completely dry. When they are completely dry, bisque fire them. Now they are ready to help you create amazing works of art!

Waiting is so Hard

The hardest part about making pots is waiting for the kiln to cool. The last 500˚ seem to take forever and the two year old inside just screams, "I want to see NOW!!"


We agonizingly check over and over and watch the number drop slowly - usually about one degree per minute. Finally, we get below 150˚ and open it up to find things like this and it is all worth it.

I'm almost Embarrassed!

Seriously. It has been a long time since I added to this blog. I do have a good excuse, though. This year, the holidays season kicked our rumps and bled us dry! We are so grateful to all of our customers, but when New Years rolled around, we collapsed in two heaps.

We are just now recovered from the mass shippings and rushed custom orders. Did I say how grateful we are? Before we get back to REAL WORK (not that doing what you love to make a living is ever REAL WORK), we decided to revisit some old haunts.


Ten years ago, I did a series of rocking bottles. I only stopped because my exploration of them was interrupted by a wedding (ours), a house buying, moving, and shop opening. This year, we decided we really needed to go back and explore this form again while we have the time. The first in the series has come out of the kiln and we are in love. There are many more to follow - the next glaze firing is being loaded as I type!

If you love this, please give it a vote at the Etsy Mud Team Sweetheart Challenge. Please look at all the wonderful entries!

Overwhelmed

This time of year always leaves me a little overwhelmed. Packing orders, parenting, keeping house, getting ready for the final shows of the year, keeping production high in the studio.... it all gets to be a bit much.

And then there are those items that come out of the kiln that I don't want to let go. Usually I go ahead and list them and hope they go to a good home. But these bowls.... well, I'm not ready to let them go yet.

Mugs, Mugs, Mugs

I'm drowning in over-sized mugs! We had a big custom order for large mugs come in and we are just plugging away at it. The other day I threw the mugs. Yesterday I trimmed the mugs. It was late in the day when I finished and I was too tired to start adding handles, so I went to bed.

Today the handles will all get attached as well as some sort of decoration. I have a ware board covered with handles that are still a bit too wet to attach. Now I just need to keep the bodies of the mugs damp long enough to get the handles on! As for the decoration... well, there is a loose nature theme and other than that I guess I'll wing it. Every mug should be just a little bit different. It would be nice if I had some sprig molds prepared, but there is no time to do that before the mug order is due.

Skully Love

We made these skully guys for a craft and music festival last weekend and they sold like mad! Some were back with high powered rare earth magnets and some were given aanraku bails so they could be worn as pendants. We did manage to come home with a few and they are slowly being listed in our Etsy shop.


As for the festival, it was loads of fun. The first person to enter the tent for the day was quite rude and insulting, and frankly my confidence was a bit shaken. However, for the rest of the two day festival there was nothing but sales and praise. I had to massage my cheeks at night because they ached from grinning!

Mad About Texture

There is a trend right now of using commercial stamps on slabs of clay, adding some stain and clear glaze and VOILA! You have a cutesy little ceramic dish. These dishes are everywhere! And the makers are accusing each other of copying constantly. Not every cutesy dish maker uses commercial stamps, but a fair number do.

12 inch Platter

Well, the danger in not using your own artwork is that anyone can come along behind you, buy the exact same stamp, and suddenly you are not an original anymore. Of course, you have to consider that the artwork on the stamps actually belongs to someone else... often big companies like Stampin' Up. Many companies forbid using their stamps commercially and some, like Stampin' Up, have Angel policies in place that require acknowledgment within listings of the use of their stamps and the use of a special licensing stamp on each piece.

Side View of Feet

Although I've been a bit sidetracked, the purpose of this post is that sometimes the unexpected inspires you. Sometimes the muses will put something in front of me that makes me think, "Oh wow! That's great! Except I would....." Other times the muses put something in front of me that rather than pushing me in a parallel direction I am shoved perpendicularly.

12 inch Oval Platter with Wave Design

These stamped platters and dishes are my reaction to the overwhelming cuteness. They begin with slab of clay and a stamp or ten. (We have bins of stamps that we have carved. We carve stamps when there is nothing else to do. They fill the small spaces of our kiln and are used for years and years. ) We roll out our slabs and cut them to shape. Then we stamp them. Sometimes we stamp in an allover pattern. Some are stamped in quilt-like designs or stripes.

The Underside

After bisque firing, we prepare them for glazing. Because many of these dishes are not footed, we decided to fire them on wadding, so each dish is dotted with wax on the bottom. We dip or brush on the glazes - again we make our own glazes - and then clean them up and fire them. We don't have anything against commercial glazes... except for the price. There are a lot of great commercial glazes out there, but we would have to raise our prices if we relied on them!

Perhaps it is a Soap Dish

We are very happy with our new dishes. The glazes break beautifully over the texture and they are a joy to touch. We nearly sold out of them at last weekend's show! I think we brought home four - one round, one oval, and two square dishes. The ovals sold quickest and we have more in production already. Each is one of a kind!

I'm Not Sure We Can Sell These

I know I can make more, but pulling these bowls out of the kiln was like falling in love. I just want to hang on to them for a while. I may enlarge a print of one of these to hang in the studio for the days we need inspiration.

Totally Offensive!

We made these at the request of some friends following a hilarious conversation. The response has been overwhelming! We have had orders pour in - some asked for PG 13 versions and others gave suggestions for other saying for non-morning people. I have to get to work and throw mugs and stamp sayings! If you want some, too, please contact us through our Etsy shop and we'll add you to the queue.

We have been making pendants for a long time, but we finish them, smile, and say, "Now what?!" We have sold them loose, but not very well. I think customers must have the same it's-lovely-but-what-do-I-do-with-it response.

We have tried stinging them on ribbon or leather or silk cord. They seem at home, but undone. After a visit to a great bead shop, I felt inspired and sat down to take on the challenge. This is my result.

Aside from the photo being bad, I am pleased and I think it will help people visualize what can be done with earthy ceramic pendants. The beading was tedious but satisfying. I used the Fibonacci number sequence to decide the bead pattern, starting with the number 5.

The Fibonacci number sequence is a string of numbers in which the sum of the last two numbers determines the next. In other words (or numbers) it goes like this: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, and so on. It is a soothing sequence that appears often in nature. The most notable example is the spiral of the nautilus.

There are lots of fun scientific articles out there regarding the Fibonacci numbers in nature, the golder ratio, and the Pheidian spiral. While you may not like looking at the algebra, it is nice to the the sequence applied to images and to understand why certain compositions are comforting and others are jarring. Check out Spira Solaris Archyta-Miribilis, Souls of Distortion, and this blog post on Values Australia which charts art, beauty, and more using Fibonacci numbers.

Big Changes

Last night, the dragonfly dishes came out of the glaze firing. We are very pleased with the results! The matte brown glaze spread a little and turned purple and blue. The result is a much more organic look and feel which is what we were hoping for.

The rest of the pieces in the firing were all worth getting weak kneed over, too! More photos of it all to come!