The Exhibition - lots of photos!

Well, it's all over, and yes, I did manage to get to the preview evening after all. My silly virus has been very up and down, feeling like nothing more than a cold one day and then flu the next, so my sister very kindly collected my unsold pieces on Sunday evening. I say "unsold pieces", but that would be all of them! I didn't sell anything this time, but I'm not put off by that. Once again it was a great learning experience. The organiser (whose name I don't remember), was very encouraging and said that there was a lot of interest in my work but that people are more likely to buy when you have more pieces on display and have become more established, so he said to definitely come back next year. My table did look a little empty this year...


My dear friend Jeanne really liked my Ivy vase and Swan, but since she has arthritis in her hands she wouldn't have been able to carry either. (Note to self: make a smaller Ivy vase and Swan!)

Personally, I didn't think the standard was as high as it has been in previous years. That's not to say that there wasn't some beautiful pieces, and probably there were other exceptionally painted pieces that just didn't catch my eye for whatever reason. We all have different tastes. I know Jeanne and I have rarely agreed on pieces when we have come to Pytchley together before!

There definitely wasn't as many pieces as there have been previously either.

Of course, the first pieces to catch my eye were those of Stella Benford:


I don't know why that always happens. There's just something about her work that I absolutely love. This piece is made of clay and then set in a frame:


I totally love the beautiful colours in this one. I'm terrible for noting artists names though. Sorry about that.


I thought this one was beautiful. Sorry Mona, but there was only one horse painting that I could see, and it was no where near the standard of yours or Angela's. I hope this wolf satisfies you both!


Some of the paintings I like may seem like unusual choices. I don't know what attracts me to certain pieces sometimes, but for this one, it was the texture.


Again, I don't know why I like this one, I mean, it's a bunch of people standing around! But I love the colours.


Ok, I'm a sucker for winter scenes...



And this one is for those of you who love all things needle craft!


This little painting caught my eye because it looked like it was painted onto slate. It's only when I touched it I realised it was canvas.


Anita loved this seascape for it's crispness and colours.


Of course, being a village affair there were plenty of jams and pickles for sale, and even "Pytchley Honey"!


I thought these beehive candles were cute.


By the time I arrived for the preview evening, this table had been set up. It wasn't there in the morning when I had set up my pieces. Suddenly, the green eyed monster appeared!!



There's no getting away from it, the pieces are lovely and displayed beautifully. How could I compete with that? Interestingly this has been a topic on Mona's blog recently. Does the success of one artist have to mean the failure of another? I questioned one of the ladies about how they produce their items. She must have thought I was interested, but no, I was just weighing up the competition! I felt relieved once she told me that these are all made in moulds. I felt superior somehow, because my pieces are all hand built. How awful of me. I'm the first to admit that there are certain aspects of my personality that I have to work on. I don't know why I'm confessing all of this because it doesn't make me any nicer just because I'm open about it! I have to give credit where it is due, the pieces were decorated and glazed beautifully. Well done ladies. I hope you had some sales. Next year I'm going to get me some of that lovely satin material you used for your table!

And that's just about it. There were some artists who have exhibited here in previous years who didn't take part this year, and they were missed, by me at least. I look forward to next year!

Packed up and ready to go... sort of

My pieces are all packed up for the morning (the ones that haven't been damaged, anyway!), ready for me to set up at the exhibition. But I, unfortunately, feel like death! (Just a silly virus) So although I will have to go to set up in the morning, it doesn't look like I'll be going to the preview evening later in the day, unless a miracle happens between now and then. :(

I shall try to get some photos in the morning, depending on how much is set up already. Please don't let me forget to take a table cloth with me. Sorry, a thought that just popped into my head and ended up being typed!

Everyone absolutely adores the vase that Leanne carved for me. I keep being told to include it in the exhibition, which of course I can't, and I won't. I can't because it was carved by Leanne, so it would be... theft really, to pass it off as my own. And I won't because I want to keep it for myself!! It's absolutely beautiful, and actually brings out the pink flowers in the Tree Fairy vase as it sits beside it. Here it is to refresh your memory (or to show off, really) :)


I can't take a photo of it beside the Fairy vase because my camera phone is where I should be - in my bed!!

So goodnight. Wish me well with the exhibition, and please leave lots of sympathy in the comments section!

Lots of learning curves... and photos

Ok, so I may have put just a little too much faith in Mayco glazes. Not that they aren't good glazes, just that there are still certain rules that need to be adhered to if I want good results - the glazes can't do all the work!

#1. They're obviously not designed for covering over a previously badly glazed item! The glaze stuck well to the shiny surface when I was painting it on, but then this strange separation thing happened in the kiln...


Where the glaze cracked apart you can see the previous glaze. It's quite an interesting effect, but not quite what I had in mind for these bowls! I still can't decide if I want to include these at the weekend or not. Part of me likes the effect, but part of me thinks they look awful. (and I have no idea why blogger has uploaded the photo upside-down!)

#2 - and this is a major one - I really need to match my glazes with my clay body. I have a problem with glazes cracking on the inside of vases and such like. John (my tutor) mentioned previously that this could be because I am using low fire glazes on stoneware clay, although sticking to low temperatures. This has happened on the inside of my large Ivy vase, although not on the outside where the crackle glaze was!! Instead I ended up with this mottled effect...


I'm not really sure what caused this. The firing range of this glaze is the same as the other Mayco glazes that I have used. I'm guessing that either the crackle range is more sensitive to temperature variations, or again, this is because I'm using the wrong clay body.

This strange thing happened at the bottom of the vase as well...


...which is ok, because I quite like it. If the glaze had actually cracked like it was supposed to I think this rough edge at the bottom would have added to the aged effect. I'm not sure if I really like this piece as it has come out. It doesn't look aged, it just looks... dingy. The leaves didn't come out quite as green as I was expecting either.



Back to the cracking on the inside though; I realised that this is going to be a problem with my goblets that I have made for my girlie night. Obviously cups with cracked glaze on the inside can't really be used for drinking out of, but John has been thinking about doing a high firing, so I have ordered a high fire clear glaze to use on them.

I'm also looking for a nice white low firing clay now, to match my glazes. In the mean time the clay I have seems fine as long as I don't make anything that needs to be glazed on the inside.

So, as if it wasn't bad enough that my Ivy vase came out... not as expected, and my small Ivy vase stuck to the kiln shelf last week, and my bowls have also come out looking... not at their best, this evening I broke a leaf on my tree fairy vase! I'll have nothing left for the show at this rate! Somehow I'm feeling quite positive though. I think I've learnt a lot recently and I'm looking forward to improving. So I shall knock every-one's socks off at the next show!


Not everything has been a disaster recently though. The vase that Leanne carved for me has come out beautifully.


This glaze was more opaque than I was expecting and didn't pool in the carved areas as I thought it would. But I love it! Thank you Leanne for your beautiful carving, and thank you She-she for glazing it for me!

There were other lovely pieces that came out of the kiln this week. Pete's mini vase...


...and Zandra's beautiful horse...


...I also wish I had photographed Fiona's leaf bowl. The autumn colours on her leaves were absolutely gorgeous.

So that's about it for this week. I need to try to cram in some more goblet making before the weekend... and then it's the show!

Yippee!!

I've received my first commission!

Scott's friend Dave has been visiting this evening, and he liked my "goblets" (as we have decided to call them) so much that he asked me to make a couple for his Mum and Dad! Yippee!!

I had no idea what to charge, but I just blurted out a price and he accepted, so Yay me! :D


In other news
I'm not sure what's going on with blogger but I've noticed that my new posts have not been listed in the blog roll feed thingy on other people's blogs. So if you're thinking this is my first post in a week, scroll down!

There's nothing like it

No, there's nothing like a few new glazes and coloured slips to spur you on! So, I've been quite busy with clay this week!

Leanne's beautiful work got me itching to do more sgraffito, so I started with a couple of tiles. I haven't been able to photograph them successfully yet though, so you may have to wait until they're fired to see them.

I also spent some time with my niece and nephew last weekend, so we made a couple of mugs for them to decorate themselves. Asriel did a great job decorating his over sized mug!


He's decorated it with coloured slips and added a few ivy leaves. He's carved his name on the other side, which again, doesn't photograph well at the moment.

Charise has decided that she will colour her mug with glazes. She plans to glaze the butterflies in pink.


When I was helping Charise put this mug together (well, ok, so I took over and just did it for her!) the clay was quite soft and started slumping outwards at the bottom. I decided to make a feature of it and pushed it out slightly further, which gave me an idea...

I'd been planning to have a girly night and wanted to make a gift for everyone. I gave small clay gifts last time (coasters and tiles) and it seemed to go down well. This time I thought I would make cups/tumblers/drinking vessels since I don't have many drinking glasses, and I decided I would personalise them and then my guests could take them home at the end of the evening. I couldn't decide on a shape though, and this is where Charise's mug helped! This is what I came up with...


These won't have any handles because they're meant for cold drinks. I think the shape is really pretty, even though I say so myself!

They're slab built, and I made them two at a time, since that's all I really have space for.


Here's the before and after! On the left I have wrapped the slab around the base, and joined it together. On the right I have smoothed the join, pushed the clay in slightly at the bottom to create a "foot" and then using a rounded end tool I pushed the clay out from the inside using stroking movements. Then I smoothed the rim.


Here they are, painted with coloured slip and ready to carve. If only these colours would stay those pastel shades! They're so pretty!


And here are the personalised cups, waiting to be fired and glazed. (This clear photo was a fluke! Since making more I can't seem to get a clear photo of the carving, just as with the tiles. Oh, and notice Asriel's huge mug in the background! He's just like his Nan and likes a big cuppa when he gets in from school!)


I've made six now, so only another... four to go, I think.

I've also been making another set of small coil built bowls. Here they are...


Just the square one to go and then the set is complete. They're both made with the same clay, but one is dry and the other is still damp, hence the different colours.

And that has been my week! It's been great to get back in the swing of things. I think I've been spurred on by this upcoming exhibition too, as well as the fact that classes finish in a few weeks.

This Monday I see how my Ivy vase looks glazed!

Getting Nervous...

After spending over four and half hours at home glazing my Ivy vase and then another couple of hours at class touching it up, I took a moment to say farewell to it before it went into the kiln. This is the worst part for me, never knowing if the glaze is going to enhance it's look or completely ruin it. I always get nervous at this stage, but more so this time because I really need this piece to come out perfect for the show.

One piece that had no chance of survival was the smaller Ivy vase, which I stupidly put in the kiln without stilts after I touched up the leaves, forgetting that the bottom had been glazed previously. This was the result:



I'd kind of "grown beyond" this piece anyway and wasn't really attached to it, but it's annoying because I know there was a lady who actually wanted to buy it!

The other vase that I touched up was the Tree Fairy vase. The leaves were too grey, so I put a greener glaze on them.

before

after

Hmm... what a rubbish photo. I'm getting really lazy with my photography aren't I? Daylight is better for photographing pieces really, but we don't get much of it at this time of year! And it's cold outside! So, the leaves are greener and the face isn't that bright, and I suppose you'll just have to take my word for it!

Other pieces that came out of the kiln this week were my two little vases:



The black one has pin holes, and you can still see the design under the glaze on the white one. I keep getting told off for being a perfectionist: "But it's hand made!" I keep being told. "If you want perfection, buy something from Tesco!" Why can't I have hand made perfection? Anyway, I think they're good enough for the show. Only I know that the design on the white one isn't supposed to be there (well, and you as well now!).

And now I wait to see how my pieces come out of the kiln next week...

My vase that Leanne carved all those months ago was finally glazed last night... by my new glazing technician! Ok, I wish, but you never know... if the results are good this could become a regular thing! She seemed to enjoy herself anyway, "she" being my niece, Charise (pronounced Sha-reece). (I had so much stuff to carry that my tutor said she could come with me to help)


I was thinking of paying her in chocolate. Would that be classed as child slave labour? :)

I just couldn't wait...

... and a good thing too!

No, I just couldn't wait to use my new glazes! But I am so glad that I started glazing my pieces early, because now I realise just how much time I am going to need to glaze that vase!! I just started on the leaves last night, and I can't tell you how long it took! And that was just one coat! So guess what I'll be doing all weekend!



It was so hard getting into all the nooks and crannies! I went round the vase quite methodically, trying to make sure I got every leaf, but today I've noticed an edge of a leaf that I missed! Argh! I don't want any white patches!

I also re-glazed the little bowls with a lovely matte English Blue. They look shiny here because the glaze is still wet. I can't wait to see what they look like when they come out of the kiln!



These glazes are so lovely to use, they go on so easily. Considering the surface of these bowls was glossy due to previous glazing, this glaze has covered it nicely. Maybe if I stick to Mayco from now on I'll have more glaze successes!


UPDATE

So I decided to carry on glazing the vase this evening. Remind me why I thought making something so intricate was a good idea? Four and a half back breaking hours later...

(yeah, blurry photo, I'm tired so I don't care)

... and I still need to glaze the inside!! I wasn't going to bother, but I have a crackle glaze on the outside, which apparently puts the vase under stress, so it needs a plain gloss on the inside to support it structurally - never mind the vase... I'm under stress!! After all that glazing, I need some support structurally!!

All this moaning, and yet we both know I'm gonna go and do it again! :D

Yippee Yippee Yippee!!

My glazes came today!

Wow, I didn't expect them so soon! I was really worried that they might not even get here by Monday, as the lady on the phone used words such as "hopefully" and "should be".

So I did a little happy dance in the kitchen while I was getting my cereal, and sang a little happy song...

"Zipadee doo dah, zipadee ay, my oh my, my glazes came today...!"

So, so far everything is right on schedule...

The Clock is Ticking!!

Firstly, I must say a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Queeny, who has not only recently had her first show, but has also been asked to exhibit in a gallery, and has been kept very busy with orders for her beautiful necklaces!! Way to go Queeny!!

I also have an exhibition coming up, which I have booked my table for, and now I have to try to fill it! The date is Sunday 22nd November, but seeing as I can only access the kiln at class once a week, I am running out of time! It doesn't help when items come out of the kiln looking... not as expected! For example, my lovely little set of bowls which I collected from class this week...


They're streaky, which is never a good look, and the smallest one is a much lighter shade than the other two. Also, they have pinholes and little red dots that shouldn't be there. So these won't be included. Very frustrating. (Ignore the green splodge on the table - I took these photos at class which is held in a school classroom where kid's flick paint around all day!)


They don't look too bad in the photo, but trust me, the camera lies!!

So all I really have ready for the exhibition right now is my polar bear and swan! I've touched up the tree fairy vase and the original small ivy vase and they are back in the kiln (the leaves on the tree fairy vase needed to be more green, and a leaf on the ivy vase broke, leaving a bare patch), and I finally decided to glaze the other two little vases instead of leaving them bare and firing them to stoneware. They are in the kiln also.

I have to say that glazing those two little vases was pure pleasure! How easy it is to forget what a difference good quality glazes make! It made me realise that, no matter how skint we are at the moment, if I want my large ivy vase to come out looking beautiful, I really have to buy my own glazes. So that's what I did today. Monday will be my very last opportunity to get that vase in the kiln if I want it to be ready in time, and the supplier has said that they will get the glazes to me by Monday! Please don't be late! The clock is ticking!


UPDATE

Damn it, damn it, damn it! I've realised I did a really stupid thing yesterday - after retouching the small ivy vase I popped it in the kiln... forgetting that it had previously been glazed on the bottom... so I didn't put any stilts under it! I've just called the tutor John, and he didn't check it because, well, he didn't expect me to do anything as stupid as that! So the vase will now be stuck to the shelf. That's another ruined piece and one less piece for the show! Not to mention a ruined shelf, which John was great about actually. Thank you John.