Odds n' Ends, Redux

As you may have noticed from last year's posts, I didn't throw many many pieces in 2017. I hadn't intended on that, but between a very busy year in terms of exhibitions and the introduction of more evening and weekend programming at the Museum, I found myself needing to get away from this space during my time off. Couple that with a series of business trips that kept me out of the studio, rehearsals for a summer play, and a resurgence in printmaking projects, and the result is that I didn't throw a whole lot. I intend to get back to the studio at some point, but in the meantime, I'll tell you about the few pieces I did make in 2017.

I first threw these around March, before things had gotten really hectic. I played around with shape on these pieces, making cuts in the clay and folding pieces in on themselves to create interesting surfaces.  I also tried out different patterns on them beyond dinosaurs and fossils, such as sea serpents or horseshoe crabs. Okay, the latter is basically a living fossil, but it's alive, right?

I had these pieces fired shortly after they were made, and I had every intention of glazing them right away. That didn't happen though, and they spent the next several months on my shelf waiting for me to do something with them.

I finally got around to that in early November. One of the reasons why I hadn't been going to the studio that much is that I prefer to be alone when I'm working. I don't like to talk that much while I'm throwing, and with the studio being so busy all the time, I found myself getting frustrated with my inability to concentrate. November is always when the annual Potter's Guild show is held though, so I knew it'd be pretty empty then.

When I first threw these pieces I had specific glazes in mind for them, but over time I forgot what they were. When it came time to glaze then, I improvised assuming it work out one way or another. I didn't want to just go back to my usual floating blue glaze because experimentation is important, so I mixed up a few different colors and waiting to see how they turned out. 

Here's what I got:

Overall they came out better than I anticipated. After I took these pictures I filed a few spots where the glaze was too thick, but the color combinations worked out pretty well. Most of them were dipped in at least two colors. In some instances I dipped in the interior in a dark blue called Miranda, then then the exterior in some lighter color for a contrast. In others I dipped one side in one glaze, then flipped in over and dipped the other half in a different color.

This red piece was done as a gift, and since the recipient's favorite color is red, I dipped it in a glaze called Raspberry.

For a lot of these pieces I was going for different textures for the glaze to break on, so I drew a lot of abstract lines, as is the case with this work. I also folded over the lid to enhance tactile interest.

This piece revisits a horseshoe crab pattern I came up with a couple of years ago. I like the whimsical character of this piece.

Of course there always to be some kind of fossil piece. I pressed seashells into the clay to enhance the prehistoric look. The blue glaze I used for the lid dripped down accidentally, but it is what it is.

I did use the floating blue for this piece, combines with the almost cobalt Miranda. It's another trilobite piece, but with extra line drawn in it clay for more texture. I also added dots around the piece to give it a more tactile surface.

So that's all I did in 2017 as far as clay goes, at least for new works. 2018 is a new year though, so who knows, perhaps you'll see more clay in the future.