Leaving is such sweet sorrow...

My new website is up and running!  To check it out, go here. I'm pretty jazzed about it.

This means this will be my last Blogger post, but I will continue to enter Friday 5x5 and other various ceramic related things in my new blog on my website.  Please come and visit as regularly as you would like!  I plan to continue following all of my Blogger friends, I just won't be posting anything here.

Thanks!

Friday 5x5

This week:

These are the tumblers from last week with a little window underglaze and Forbes wax resist.  They are ready to be carved and mishma-ed!

Adding the slab bottom.

5 new forms ready to be decorated.

I'm going to be honest, I actually had to push myself to complete the 5x5 this week.  I'm kinda disappointed that I did not complete the mishma on those other 3 tumblers from last week, but I really do have a good excuse.  I'm running a 5k this weekend with a group of my friends where we get pummeled with colored corn starch as we run by checkpoints.  Check it out here. My friends and I decided to amp up our outfits, so this is what we've got. :)

Crazy awesome leg color.

Safety first!

Can you guess what this is? Yup, 6 yards of tulle!  

Combine the white tutu with a white tee and we have an outfit ready to be colored! I think we're ready to run tomorrow and hopefully after this I can finally finish those tumblers! :D

La Maison Basse and website

I finally finished my website and I'm so excited about it.  I am waiting to get my domain name transferred and then arrivederci Blogger and buongiorno Wordpress.  (I am starting to learn some basics of Italian...more on that later.)  Yes, I will be leaving this blog site, because well, I am using Wordpress, I might as well start blogging there.  I think it might be more convenient and I'm really digging their setup.

I also received images today from the event of La Maison Basse.  I gotta say, my cloud catchers look pretty killer and the table set up ain't too bad either. ;o)

Friday 5x5

I decided to continue working on tumbler forms.  While those from last week are cool, they don't allow me very much room for more surface decoration.  I want a simpler form.  I was inspired by Martha Grover's demo she does for Ceramics Arts Daily.  Martha's pots are very fluid and unique, and to construct them she throws open forms and attaches a slab base.  I wanted to explore creating unique bottoms for my work as well.  I really enjoy the bottom of #1 the best because it looks like a little cloud took up residence on the foot.  I think this is something that may be incorporated in a lot of my work from now.    

1, 2, 3

I also wanted to start making some spoons.  I have created a board on Pinterest dedicated to spoon research. :)  I have only made one other spoon in the past and it was like spoon #4.  I wanted to alter the form, so I attached little clouds.  The spoon was rather fragile when I was working on it, so I need to go back and touch up shape a bit, but overall I am kinda excited about it.

#4

#5

Spoon #5 is simple.  I plan to do some underglazing and mishima to both it and the tumblers up top.  Pics of those will come later! ***You may notice the grog in the image of #5.  It's driving me crazy!  I mixed the clay without cleaning the mixer, so this is all my fault, but still. :(

Also, meet my handy studio helper.  It's quite wonderful to look down and see his face when I'm working.

Shrinky Dinky

I've been needing to do this for my cone 6 casting slip for a long time, but since I have cone 6 clay (and I need to screen/blunge my casting slip), I decided to go ahead and make a shrinkage test with what I have. Very simply, all you have to do is take a wet slab of clay and draw a 10 cm line.  Measure the line once it's bone dry, then after it's been fired in a bisque and glaze.  You will be able to determine how much your clay shrinks at each stage.  So if your clay shrinks to 9.5cm between wet and bone dry you will know that your clay almost shrinks 5%. See below.

10cm-9.5cm=.05cm
.05cm*100=5%

The Formula
Where x is the measured distance in centimeters at any given stage of dryness/firedness, and z is the percent of shrinkage for your clay:

10-x=y
y*100=z

Clay at wet stage.

On another note, I may be leaving Blogger for Wordpress.  Don't worry, I'll still be blogging, but I am revamping my website because I don't like my current host and Wordpress is a blog site.  I'm pretty excited about the new website, but it's taken a bit longer than expected because I need to sit down and concentrate on rewording my artist statement and about page.  Here is a little sneak peek:

Enjoy!

Some finished pieces.

I mentioned I was glazing some pieces to test my new cone 6 clay body (my casting slip recipe without deflocculant).  I think the results were fairly successful!  All of my new 5x5 tumblers were made with this clay.  I also finally finished one of the cloud pieces, which I haven't gotten around to remaking the mold of yet. :)

My Clay

Helios Porcelain

My clay

My casting slip

The form on the vase is interesting.  I'm not sure how I feel about the piece.  It's supposed to be a flower vase and you can put more flowers into the raindrops.  I plan to professionally photograph them with flowers and the bowl with fake ice cream. :D

Friday 5x5

Here it is!  The first of many 5x5's. My goal this week was to make a few different tumbler forms.  I also wanted to incorporate my new stamps into the design.

Group shot.

1

2

3

4

5

6

This was my favorite, so I made a few of them.

#1 and #2 I started producing as a result of a Scandinavian mug I saw.  I think those both need some more work.  Those evolved to #3 and I thought about adding a foot.  I like the addition of the foot on #4 and result seems familiar to me, but I don't remember where I've seen it.  #5 is a keeper.  Annnnd #6...I honestly didn't want to post this one, but it's something I want to continue working with. I tried using the stamp of my raindrops, but those were unfortunate, so I slip trailed the drops and I liked that a lot better.

Throw-veralls and A New Goal

I think I may need a pair of overalls.  I haven't had a pair since I was 13 and there was a student who came into the studio at SCAD with a pair and she called them her "Throw-veralls."  I think she was setting a great example and I need to follow suit.  :D

I've been pretty involved with Pinterest lately, and I discovered Jillian Owens website.  Her concept (remaking at one item a day for 365 days) was pretty inspiring.  I've been toying with the idea of doing something similar, but obviously my ceramics could not be completed in one day.  I'm not sure yet how long I want to carry this out.  Perhaps 1 or 2 months; I think a year would be a bit adventurous.  Then there is the obstacle of what happens when I travel on weekends or when I can't access my studio?

Hrm...what about "Five Forms by Friday."  Ooh, I like that.  That I could do. Five months?  I think this may have to be my new goal.  "Five Forms for Five Months by Friday" or "5x5 Friday" Whad up!  Okay so starting this Friday, Oct 5 (very poetic, yes?) my first 5x5 will make an appearance. :D  These forms will have to all be unfired, so each week I will have something new to present.  I will finish them later once I have enough to bisque.

Get ready folks for 5x5 Fridays!