I couldn't wait! I did my first lino cut last night! Well, strictly speaking, it's not my first lino cut ever because I made one at school to print with, but that was so long ago I couldn't even tell you what it was of!
This isn't the "simple outline of a character" I had planned on either! This is the design for my Mum's mug. The circumference of the mug needs to be about 12" so I made a pattern 6" long that I could turn around and repeat on the other side of the mug. The lino was really hard and I kept having to warm it up with a hair dryer to soften it. Carving was a bit tricky to start with, but it didn't take long to get the hang of it. I tried to carve a flower but I found the round petals really difficult to do - in the end I made such a mess of it that I just cut a big circle out to get rid of it! I think it would have been easier if I had gone for long pointy petals similar to the leaves.
I did this sitting in my armchair, and by the time I was finished it looked like I had dropped a bowl of All Bran everywhere! I pick the best places to be creative don't I?
Tonight I couldn't wait to make my first mug! I'm quite pleased with my first attempt, but this won't be getting fired. It was more of a practice run. Edit: Photo's were hideous so I took some better ones today (Monday) in daylight..jpg)
Of course, I took the photo from the best angle, but trust me, this is not a good mug! I don't really have the right equipment at home so this was never going to be perfect. It is much too thin and weak in places. Also, my clay is over a year old now, so although I have kept it well wrapped it's drying out a little, so the clay has very fine cracks from being bent. Mind you, I threw it around quite a bit, so maybe if I was more careful it would be ok. If the clay was any softer I don't know how I would stop it from collapsing!
Pulling my first handle was fun! But if I was doing this for real I think I should have let the mug harden a little first, and the handle needs to be thicker. I just put that on quickly for the photo!
Edit: Just to give you an idea of the size compared to a normal sized (Craig David) mug! My Mum drinks a lot of tea!.jpg)
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4 years ago
8 comments:
Fire it!
Really? You think I should? Thanks Judi!
Just go for it...you can always try a glaze or glaze combo on it!
Yeah, why not? It's all good fun, and if nothing else I could use it to put my pencils in!
I agree with your friends to go for it and fire it. I love it. IT is amazing to me how you went from the lino cut to the mug. I wish I had the time to explore ceramics. I think you are having too much fun!
Hehehe, I think you're right Kathy - I keep realising that I'm smiling to myself when I'm doing these things! Is that normal??
I'm not sure if it shows in the photo but I used the lino cut to make a pattern on the side of the mug. I know what you mean about finding time, but this mug only took me about an hour. Sometimes I think there are just too many distractions at home though, that's why I like going to class.
Hey Un D,
I agree full heartedly...Fire It!
It is going to be fun to see how the glaze you choose will pool and move over your lino lines.
And I think it looks great. Love the lino cut idea.
Thanks Leanne! I took it into class last night so maybe it will get fired next week. Hmm... glazing is a bit of a sore subject for me at the moment. I'll explain when I get the time to post again.
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