1 Sep 2015

Review of 2015 Thus Far

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In the 1st part of 2015, while my house was being remodeled, I virtually lived in my ceramics studio. That is, I moved my kitchen table & chairs, refrigerator, microwave, computer, etc. into the Studio, and the Studio is where I did all my cooking, ablutions/make-up, paperwork, etc.  At the end of each day, I went back into my torn-up house to watch TV and sleep. This routine was not very conducive to making ceramics.

However, I did manage to create a Legalize Pottery Shop on Etsy. To visit, please click on the link!
Etsy Shop

I also started a Legalize Pottery Shop page on Facebook. To visit, please click on the link!
Screenshot 2015-08-31 09.28.34

By April, some pieces made it into the kiln and came out fairly decent.

ceramics2015

For a Pop-Up Sale in early June, I got the idea to make a batch of Plant Stakes for Weeds — how appropriate for Legalize Pottery.

Image

Then, I took a detour into Sculpture — and made a rudimentary human figure.
Image Image 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, it’s back to the classroom — I’m enrolled at Palo Alto Art Center for the rest of the year, with an awesome instructor/ceramicist named Malia Landis.  In the next few months, I’ll be posting the results of that adventure.

8 Aug 2015

Foray into Sculpture

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Last month, to jump-start my creativity, I decided I should pursue ceramic sculpting (which I’ve been meaning to do for years now), and signed up for a class in San Francisco (http://dikarevart.com).

After looking through art books for inspiration, I opted to go for a prone skinny figure.  The teacher made the great suggestion of first making a tile for the sculpture to be lying on.

After the first week, it looked like this — ready to dry out and fired at Cone 04.Image

 

Returned after 2 weeks, and spent the next few hours sanding it down, applying copper oxide and turquoise underglaze, and finally coating the tile with watered-down glossy white glaze. Here’s what it looked like, ready for firing.  Image 1

 

 

It looks like, in spite of a sluggish start, this Summer may yet turn out to be full of creative accomplishments.

24 Feb 2015

3D Ceramics Transformed into 2D Artwork

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A Favorite Blue Fish PlatterQuite some time ago, I made a whimsical Fish Dish with multiple fins, elaborate tail, gills, scales, big lips and eye.   Multiple carving tools were used to create texturing and crevices.  Cobalt Blue Oxide was applied for highlighting the various features, red iron oxide was used on the lips.  Celedon glaze was brushed on.  (Hand-built from High-Fire Porcelain, dimensions are 7″ x 4″)

 

 

 

IMG_1824A few months later, this same Fish Dish was cloned, and became something entirely unexpected.  That is, my niece created a beautiful 2-D image of this Fish Dish, somehow transforming it into a piece of framed artwork.  My niece is not divulging the techniques for making this beautiful image, although there appear to be some watercolor elements.   All I know is — somehow my work was transformed into something else which can be considered to be true art.  I love this piece times two!

 

31 Jan 2015

Boxes with Driftwood Handles

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brown_box_front

Recently I made a trio of small boxes with driftwood handles attached via wire wrapping.  The perfect size for wish boxes or jewel boxes. The dimensions are in the range of 2-1/2” more or less. The pieces were extruded from mid-fire porcelain.

 

 

 

 

green_box_side

At the bisqueware stage, underglazes were applied, plus a coat of clear glossy glaze.  After the pottery was glaze fired, one coat or multiple coats of lusters were brushed on. Lusters contain metallic elements, to give an iridescent effect.

 

 

small_green_box_side

The mottled halo effects that appear in the top picture were made by touching and re-touching the surface with a dispersing agent using a brush point.  The pieces were then refired at cone 020 (1180 F).

28 Nov 2014

Sol Y Luna Boutique

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10418913_960400180641610_6790559014926793427_nThe Sol Y Luna Boutique/Gift Lounge in San Carlos, CA is offering plaques and mugs from Legalize Pottery!  In addition to ceramics, there are other unique gift items — scented candles, jewelry, body care, and one-of-a-kind clothing for the selective shopper.  

Here is the information about the Boutique:
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Sol Y Luna Gift Lounge
1321 Laurel St. (Upstairs)
San Carlos, California

Hours are:
Tuesday/Thursday: 11:00-6:00
Fridays: 12-5 and Saturdays: 12-4.

Sol Y Luna Phone: 650-631-7401

13 Sep 2014

Summer Projects

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As usual, I skipped the Summer Session of my ceramics class, and instead worked on my own. Also as usual, accomplishments fell short of the goal, and there are only a few finished pieces so far, and fewer still are worth sharing.

Fish Dish #18, per customer’s specifications . . .

Image
Plaque (reversible), wire hanger with beads . . .Image 1

Spindly-legged stand with fish carving, inlaid with colored glass particles . . .Image

I spent most of my time slip-casting and trying to alter the results into something unique. I acquired several different molds and 4 gallons of slip, and spent lots of time/effort making the pieces ‘artsy’ rather than ‘crafty’ BUT not quite there yet.

Pyramids embellished with fish . . .IMG_1819


Work in Progress . . .

 



9 Aug 2014

Legalize Pottery Step-By-Step

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Here is a series of pictures showing the Legalize Pottery Process.

Greenware stage – clay is drying

Clay Drying - Greenware
Clay Drying – Greenware

After bisque firing (Low-Temp, Cone 06)

After Bisque Firing
After Bisque Firing

After application of oxides, underglaze/glaze

Oxides, Underglaze, Overglaze Applied
Oxides, Underglaze, Overglaze Applied

Loading the kiln for High-Temp firing (Cone 10)

Loading the Kiln for Glaze Firing
Loading the Kiln for Glaze Firing

 

Final results

Finished Pieces
Finished Pieces

 

Glazing (and the glaze firing) is the most stressful of the steps, as well as the most amazing, with unexpected results, some ‘fails’ and plenty of lessons learned!