Artifacts Booth

On the shelves
I recently starting making chic signs for the home. In the store now we have "Powder Room" in a pink vintage paper, with a red ribbon ooh-la-la ladies. We also have Our Nest on a vintage wallpaper design, with an adorable little bird stealing away the last letter, too cute! As well as Garden District, reminiscent of New Orleans y'all, done on a burgundy vintage wallpaper. Let me know what other kinds of phrases you would like to see!

Look for ceramic blocks spelling out "BABY" they have a little surprise, each one is hollowed out to hold special treasures! Baby teeth, jewelry, etc!

We've got lots of pitchers, mugs and vases, as well as some great leaf plates/spoon rests, lots of 1930's framed Europe photos, hand made recycled candles, hand made hardwood knitting needles, hair pins, hand knit scarves, stick weaving kits and of course a few plates and bowls.

Coming Soon
I am quite the busy bee lately. I have been working on all sorts of new goodies for my Artifacts booth. I wish I had all of them done for Frolic on Franklin today, but we'll just have to settle for a few new things. There is quite a lot of pottery on my shelves waiting to be finished up, look for it in the next couple of weeks.

I've started making hand-made books using vintage paper on the cover and drawing paper on the inside suitable for journals, sketch books, scrap books or even photo albums. If you would like a custom book make, let me know I can make up just about anything you want.

I have been working on some spooooky-chic Halloween decorations that will be coming soon. Look for letter blocks spelling out "EEK" or "BOO" as well as some wooden garland you are going to love.

Pottery Wheel FTW!

I am getting a pottery wheel finally!

Long story short, we had nasty storms that took off a screen door and the power fried an older computer and surge supressor. The insurance is taking paying a good chunk of replacement value of said items. I am thrilled. Here it is!

Pottery: Throwing

I finally got around to doing some throwing today. It has literally been years since I had a chance to sit down and just throw. I learned something today, I was near phobic about centering the clay on the wheel. I was convinced I couldn't center at all. I took my time the first couple of times and didn't have any problem, after a bit I was centering fast and easy. I felt pretty happy with that. I made the bowl of a goblet and experimented with throwing stems, without success. After watching some videos on how to throw a goblet, I think I have a good idea why that is.

I am hoping I can go back tomorrow and continue working on some more, but today was pretty exhausting. It is easy to forget how much it screws up your back to hunch over a wheel, using your body to create force on clay. I am planning on trying to get a early start on a good night's sleep tonight, with luck that will take care of the aches and pains. I really wish I could afford to get my own wheel, but that is far, far from my budget any time soon.

All in all, it felt like a good start.

April Booth

Here is a look at my current booth sales, if you are interested in something, let me know and I can quote you prices.

Pouring

I took a class on pouring ceramics last week and I went a little crazy pouring lots of things. I went back today and cleaned up the items and poured a few more things. Mook was bored so he read and took pictures. I thought I would share a rough step by step of how pouring works.

The first image is pouring slip from a plastic jug into a bucket. I had to do this to make sure the slip is mixed properly before pouring. I took a paint stick and stirred the bucket afterward. I couldn't resist making the "bubble, bubble, toil and trouble" joke as I did it.

The next step is cleaning out the plaster molds to remove old clay, then using straps to secure the mold pieces together. In the second picture, I poured the slip from the bucket into the molds. You can see the full molds in the third picture. During this step you must make sure to pour the mold full. If you stop pouring and begin again it leaves a line in the piece.

After waiting 5-10 minutes you test the mold by using a tool to determine how thick the partially dried wall of clay is. When it is thick enough, you pour the excess clay out, as in the fourth picture. You then leave the mold on the bucket, using a grate to hold it up so it can fully drain. After another ten minutes you check the mold, when it is dry enough, you take the mold apart. This step takes the longest time as you have to wait until the clay decides it is ready to come out, time is less relevant than the size of the piece and the thickness of the walls.

You can see pieces in the partially opened molds in the next three images. After giving it another 10 minutes or so, you can then gently take the form out of the mold and trim off the excess clay. Allow the pieces to dry completely, trim any additional bits off and smooth the edges with a scrubber pad and you're ready to fire.





Needless to say, it takes a couple of hours to pour, a day to dry, another bit of time to clean up the pieces. Then firing usually takes 12-24 hours, a few hours to heat up, a few hours in the kiln and 8-12 to cool down. Once the item is fired, you can paint it with acrylics as decoration or with glaze which usually makes it food safe, but requires another round in the kiln to set. An interesting thing about ceramic glaze is that it is made of sillica, which is effectually glass. The reason it is food safe is because you are basically melting glass over the pottery, making it stronger, waterproof and less able to hold nasty bits in the pores like clay would.

The last images are of the pieces I made while taking the class last week, before they were cleaned up. They are mostly cups and pitchers with a few figurines thrown in. One of the cups has a partial lid which makes absolutely no sense to me at all. If you have ever seen a cup like this before and know why it has this piece, let me know. I am really curious. By the way, it's not a creamer or pouring device of any kind, there is no hole or spout.

Progress

I have been working on pottery again. I finished 16 pieces, got them fired and glazed all but one of them and turned them in to be fired again. I have noticed when I am working in my studio everything seems more pleasant and happy. It is work and it is quite exhausting to do it for too long, but it has become my happy place.

I've also been putting together photos to make some compilations to print, matte and frame. Matting and framing is really quite expensive, especially when you need multiple windows cut out. I found a cheaper alternative at a local craft center, but their turn around is so slow that you really have to plan in advance to get anything done.

Random bits of pottery

I finally managed to get back into my studio after a long break for depression. I made some bowls using hand building techniques, slump molds and/or carving on my banding wheel. I love my banding wheel, but it would be so nice to have an actual electric wheel. Unfortunately that is long out of my price range. Anyway, I just felt like sharing.

Slump mold III

I did manage to get a meager amount of work done with some clay today. The second attempt at the slump mold was again a failure, but at least I think I discovered the problem this time. I couldn't get the plate off leather hard, so I decided to let it dry farther. It cracked in several places because as it dries, clay shrinks. Which is something I completely was aware of, but apparently needed a reminder. My third attempt used WD40 in order to keep it from sticking, so I should be able to remove it when the clay is leather hard.

I had never used WD40 before, but I had seen others use it. It apparently works wonders as a release agent. The clay wouldn't stick to the plate even wet, that is a big wow. I was going to try powder, but I am glad I tried this instead. I hope it finally works out. I am going to try a bowl next.

Clay date

My friend the potter came over and we had a "clay date" as she calls it. We played around with clay and hung out. It was nice. I borrowed her stamps and made copies for myself. I need to investigate and find some more of my own to make.

She was excited to see I wanted to do medium fire and talked about setting up her kiln. I can't wait. I am excited. I hope I can make a lot of nice things and sell them.

My bowl slump mold was also a failure as I expected, but my friend suggested using paper, as it will burn off in the kiln, so I am going to give it a try at some point.

Slump mold II

I made another test run on the plate slump piece I am wanting to work. This time, I made the clay a tad bit thicker and wrapped it in plastic so it would dry much, much more slowly. I didn't use release agent as I still can't find it and can't bring myself to buy more on the principle of knowing I have plenty somewhere already. I also made a test piece on a ribbed bowl. I am 75% sure it will not work at all and need to be trashed, but a test was in order. After all, clay is the most forgiving medium I can think of. I also made a name stamp for myself. I had a rubber stamp already, but I don't want to ruin it constantly using it in clay, so I made a clay one. I will need to make another in order to get the same thing, since it is a reverse impression.

I also managed to go to Nashville to the ceramic supply store. I got some new glazes, clay, tools and a shimpo banding wheel, which is basically a very high quality, very smooth turning lazy susan made of cast iron with heavy duty paint coating. It is extremely nice and it was a very nice treat for myself.

I got some stoneware clay and cone 6 glazes. They are gorgeous and I cannot wait to try them. I am super, duper anxious, but I do not have access to a kiln for medium fire. The place I have access to is low fire only. I do have a friend with a kiln, but it is not currently set up or ready to fire anything. I am really feeling like an artist lately now that I have time and a place to do some work. Soon, I will have merchandise to sell and everything.

Slump mold

I checked on the plate slump mold today, it didn't work out. It dried too fast and cracked, which can be remedied, but it also stuck to the plate. I have two options, let it go to bone dry and try to remove it or try a release agent.

Studio II

My motivation is still high. I am so excited to have the room to work! I went to get a lazy susan to help do some carving on the tankard I made. It helped a lot. I am thinking of getting one of those kiddy pottery wheels to do some slow wheel work.

I started a slump mold plate today as an experiment. I found a nifty set of plastic disposable plates in the wedding section today and picked them up. I am not sure how well it will work, but I am giving it a test run. I have to wait for the clay to firm up before I can try and take it off. I think I am getting motivated enough to make an etsy page, but I want to wait until I have some finished items to put on there.

Pottery

The first day in my new studio went pretty well. I finally got things straightened up enough to venture into the land of making something. I have been wanting to do some pottery, so I tried out hand building a tankard using slab style. I have never tried making one before and it seemed to go pretty well. I also made my first pulled handle.