raku and bowl exchange!

               Last week in the studio was spent raku firing and doing a pot luck and bowl exchange with my pottery class. The raku firing went great. The luster glazes turned out incredible. I helped Terry pull the pieces from the kiln. It was only my second time pulling hot work from the raku kiln, but I am getting better at it each time.

               Everyone in my class made some scrumptious meals. We had homemade soup, fruit salad, bread, dessert, and many other delicious treats. The bowls all turned out beautiful. We drew names out of a hat and I got a gorgeous friendship bowl from a very talented artist, Peg Oswald. I also worked on glazing some of my work. I glazed a few mugs and my wolf piece that I carved.

               My goals for next class session are lidded casseroles and jars. I have been looking at magazines and some clay books and I would like to work on technique and style with my lids and handles. I'll post some progress pictures as I experiment with them.

Sculpting the clay and spraying the pot

               This week in the studio was spent spraying glaze on two of my pieces. I glazed my Alice in Wonderland teapot with clear. The Alice in Wonderland teapot has many colored stains and slips under the clear glaze as well. The other piece I sprayed was my first stacked piece. I sprayed it with oribe (green) as the base, buttermilk rutile (tan), and purple plum. I am excited to see the pieces fired and finished. Here are some pictures of me spraying the Alice in Wonderland teapot.

 

               I also spent my time carving a few pieces. I carved a medium sized vase with a wolf scene and a small vase with a tiger and tribal designs. I started carving around three years ago after I took a workshop from Tom and Elaine Coleman. The Coleman's carving technique is incredible. I love their work. Taking their workshop was an unbelievable opportunity and I learned numerous carving techniques. Seeing the Coleman's work inspired me to try carving my own pieces. I started off doing some simple leaf and flower designs. Lately I have been inspired to do tribal designs, henna tattoo designs, and animal designs. I also have done some funky carved pieces like my Alice in Wonderland teapot where I carved all of the main characters from the Alice in Wonderland movie. I enjoy carving my pottery and I love drawing and discovering new designs I can try. Here are some pictures of some of my latest carved pieces.