The 28 Day Challenge - rules and logo

So here it is folks, The 28 Day Challenge, rules and logo! One stop is all you need to find out everything you need to know!


What is it?
The 28 Day Challenge is an excuse to do the things we really love, but somehow never seem to have time for, or don't make time for. Creativity is essential to our well being, and yet all too often it comes last on our list of priorities. The 28 Day Challenge is a way of reminding ourselves to put our well being first! This is a celebration of spring! It's time to blow away those cobwebs and be the creative person that you want to be! My hope is that in 28 days time there will be lots of happy and relaxed people!

What is the activity?
Anything you want! Creativity comes in all shapes and sizes. It could be clay, drawing, painting, sewing, knitting, writing, gardening, playing an instrument, singing or dancing! Whatever activity you most love to do which enables you to express yourself and forget about the world around us. Or something else that you enjoy, which helps you to relax, like meeting with friends!

What are the rules?
The rules are short and sweet - you just have to pick an activity that you love and do it for at least one hour a day for 28 days. Personally, I can't wait to start, but if this is a bit short notice for you, then you have until the 2nd of April to begin, so that all 28 day challenges will be completed by the end of April.

Copy and paste the logo into your side bar, and link back to this page, so that others can take part too if they wish. And leave a comment on this post to say what your activity will be.


Take a photo every day of what you have achieved, and then you can either share it on your blog at the end of each day, or post all 7 photos at the end of each week, whichever suits you better, but you have to share! Why? Because you may just inspire others to be creative every day and to look after their well being, and at the very least you will have a visible record of your achievements for you to look back on.

My activity will be clay. What about you?

The 28 day "challenge" and other news

Well, hello campers! Hi-de-hi!

What have you all been up to this week? C'mon, don't be shy! I want to hear all about it!

Me? Well, I worked on Freda the head a little more. Those eyes were killing me! And I'm still not completely sure about them. I can't tell you how many times I re-did those eyes! But the good news is that I think they looked slightly better each time. Here they are so far... with the rest of the head... obviously!



I expect it's still too early to recognise who she might be, but guesses are more than welcome!


My clay recycling is going well, I think. I'm just waiting for the clay to firm up enough for me to wedge it now.

Mmmm, looks like yummy cake mixture!

Mississippi mud pie!

I have no idea why blogger keeps turning my pictures round! Anyone wanna lick the spoon?

And that's pretty much it for this week. Hopefully I'll have more to post in the future though, and this leads me nicely onto my 28 day challenge...

My "challenge" is to have some clay time every day for 28 days. It sounds like 4 weeks of bliss to me, but I always seem to have a problem with making time for it. I've seen my counsellor again recently, and she's always trying to encourage me to make more time for clay. I saw the sense in this when my mood picked up quite suddenly this week after spending some time on Freda. I suspect the weather has helped too. Spring seems to have suddenly arrived this week and my counsellor said that many of her clients have reported a change in mood this week. But anyway, clay always seems to help.

So that is the challenge! At least one hour a day, preferably two. Who's with me? It doesn't have to be clay, it could be drawing, painting, sewing, gardening... whatever floats your boat. I might not post about it every day though, I might just save up a weeks worth of photos to share all at once. I suppose it depends on time. But I want you lovely people to join in with me! Hmmm.... I could really do with a logo or something... "Scott!! I need some help with something!" :) See you tomorrow - with a logo!

More glazed pieces

"I've never seen you looking so serious" That's what Fiona said to me at class on Monday as I looked at my pieces from the kiln. Was I disappointed? A little, at first, maybe. But mostly I was deep in thought, analysing what I saw before me and deciding what I liked, what I didn't like, and what I would do differently next time. It seems every firing is a learning experience.

I was mostly happy with the jug, there are just a couple of things I need to remember for next time. I'm learning that as a learner I can't expect everything to come out perfect first time (and it's taken me this long to learn it) so I am viewing this piece as a kind of prototype, a test run. (I realise now that I was very lucky with Swannee and Polo)


One thing I found on most of the pieces is that the coloured slip was very patchy in places. I don't mind it too much on this piece, because I think it looks like clouds and mist, but in future I will have to remember to give the pieces several coats of slip.

Whilst decorating it, I had carved more writing on the jug and then changed my mind and tried to cover it, which looked fine at the green and bisque stage, but didn't work too well once it was glazed and fired. Obviously next time I will be sure of what I want to write first.


Also, the crack that I had tried to mend has become visible, but after the time I had with this jug, I'm lucky it came out in one piece at all!

There were mixed results with the tiles. The blue ones warped upwards at the edges, especially the darker one, and the brown ones... well, see for yourself... although they come out flat at least!



I have no idea what's wrong with that brown slip. It's not even the colour it's supposed to be. I'm thinking maybe it was the temperature? Although I don't see why that would make it streaky. The slip is quite thick and I thought I had covered the tile well. I shall try again and see what happens next time.

Obviously the goblets in brown came out the same way.


I was disappointed at first, but to be honest this "distressed" look is growing on me.

Some other goblets just didn't make it. The glaze had run just a little on three of them, causing them to stick to the kiln shelf and become damaged on removal. Out of all the goblets in the kiln (of which I have lost count) I thought three was pretty good. I know other, more experienced potters, still have some losses in each firing.


And finally, there were the two goblets that were commissioned for Christmas (ahem), yes Christmas 2009.




I suppose there's always this year :)

Asriel's big mug came out of the kiln too. I have to say, that for a first attempt, and considering he's just a kid, I am very impressed with his sgrafitto.



Well done Azza!

Well, that's pretty much all my stoneware clay used up, except for what I am using on Freda the head. I was too impatient to wait for my earthenware clay to come, so I just went ahead (no pun intended) and started with my stoneware. It looks like I'm going to run out of stoneware before I'm finished though, so I'm having to recycle some dry pieces.


(Yes, blogger wanted this photo to be upside down, I don't know why)

I went ahead and ordered some of that yummy black/brown clay too, and I have lots of ideas for it. I haven't even really started on my "Jane Austen Collection" and already my brain is moving on to something else! Oh well. Why tie myself down? I'm learning!

Fred the head

So, I pulled my finger out and look what happened! Fred the head had a gender re-assignment! It's true. Fred just wasn't working for me for so many reasons, so he has now become Freida! Doesn't really rhyme though does it? Freida the head.... no.... Jane the... brain... no... I'll have to think about this one.

I was having a complete confidence crisis with Fred, and I wasn't sure why. I couldn't understand it because (although it was a long time ago) I've made a head before, and I like to think I have progressed since then. Looking back I think it was a combination of things. For a start I was worrying too much about doing it the "right way". When I was a kid in school the teacher basically wrapped some clay around some news paper and said "there you go, now shape it into a head" and I just sort of... did it. There wasn't a right and wrong way, it just had to look right once it was finished. But this time I had watched some clay tutorials of Philippe Faraut and although the training was excellent, it threw me into a state of panic! He made it look so easy, but it just... wasn't. I suppose I'm not used to doing things like this in a set way.

It was this post by Jafabrit that helped me realise that I just have to do things my own way. Jafabrit was given some advice about technique for a particular stitch - I mean, hello? Have you seen Jafabrit's embroidery? As if she needs advice! Jafabrit admitted that the advice was very good, but for her, embroidery is another medium for her to express herself, and rules are irrelevant.

The other problem I was having was my subject. The person I chose to make had very... unique and interesting features. But, maybe a little too unique for a first attempt after over 20 years! The subject was Michael Jackson. As much as I love his music, and as interesting as his features are, I just didn't feel inspired.

So tonight, the big square chin had to go, and I started on my female head. If you are a sculptor and technique is important to you then look away now! I have no idea what I am doing and I don't care! That's just how I roll.



It obviously still needs a lot of work! Those eyes will be the death of me! There is still a prize up for grabs for the first person to guess who she is!

Linda, pull your finger out!

We do use some strange expressions don't we? Well, my laziness has continued, and I really do need to pull my finger out - although I'm not quite sure where from! I seem to be lacking. Lacking energy, motivation, inspiration. Lacking confidence mainly, when it comes to clay. In between feeling anxious and depressed I've just been sleeping, although I actually did some house work on Saturday and I have no idea where the desire to do that came from - or where it went afterwards!

I am no further along with Fred the head, but I did actually go to class this week. (Yay!) Yes, I dragged myself out of the house and finished off glazing all the pieces that have been waiting to be high fired. Hopefully I will have some good results to show you next week when they come out of the kiln.

In the mean time those stupid blue bowls are determined to be ugly. I've glazed them at least 3 times now (I've lost count) and they still look ugly. I want to just smash them and start again. Surely, you can only glaze something so many times until you have more glaze than clay?! I tried to photograph their ugliness, but even the camera couldn't bear it, and kept making them look better than they do!

Another piece that I reglazed was the white vase. I was hoping that the design I painted on the vase with iron oxide before glazing (and then changed my mind about) would be covered by the glaze, but unfortunately even after a second glazing it is still visable.


This is actually the same photo as before, because... well, it looks the same so I couldn't see the point in photographing it again!

As for the jug... oh the jug! Well, as you may already have read, first the handle cracked and fell off... then the jug cracked when I was adding a new handle... then I fell over when I was carrying the jug... hahaha, yes it's true! I could have put my arm out to break my fall, but I didn't want to drop the jug! So instead I just sort of... landed in a heap, holding the precious jug up in the air! Oh my! I just couldn't stop laughing at myself for ages! Well anyway, then when I was touching up some of the coloured slip before firing, a big chip fell off! Then I had to scrape back the clay to try to make that part look even, and touch it up with the coloured slip again, and finally it was fired! And it came out in one piece! But then a smaller chip fell off while I was glazing it. The jug is doomed I tell ya! Doomed!


One item that I am very happy with is the piece which I cared least about! Quite a while ago I received some clay samples and I just quickly made a piece (which I didn't even bother photographing at the time) to try out one of the clays. It's described as a black clay (although red before firing), but the firing range is really wide and at high temperatures it goes black and at lower temperatures it goes brown. I wanted to see what shade/tone(?) of brown it would be. It has come out a beautiful chocolate brown colour. The inside, which looks darker, has been glazed with clear glaze.


This particular clay was extremely coarse - more so than the crank I had used previously - but the colour is available in two other textures, so if I was to buy it I would definitely go for a finer one. Of course, I wasn't given any sort of price guide with the sample, so it's probably really expensive!

So, that's what I've been up to lately, which isn't much. I mentioned previously that I have been to a couple of exhibitions, so I will have to upload my photos to share with you. In the mean time I must pull my finger out and try out those new tools!

Oh my giddy aunt!

Hehehe, have you heard that expression before? I haven't heard it in a long time, but it's one I used to say when I was a kid. I bet Jafabrit remembers it! It's an expression of disbelief, along the same lines as "Oh my God" or "Goodness me" or (and this is the one my sister uses) "Oh my days". Well, today I had an "Oh my giddy aunt" moment! But before we get on to that, I'd just like to say "Linda, I finally posted your tiles!".

Yes, I have been extremely lazy just lately, but I finally dragged myself out, collected my clay, and posted Linda's tiles to her. I also bought myself some new clay tools, which I couldn't afford but I'm convinced I really need them for Fred the head, as he has become known.

Well, my efforts were richly rewarded! When I got home I found two big sacks of wood for my fire on the door step, from my brother Anthony. Thank you Anthony! AND.... when I got indoors a huge parcel waiting for me!! I had no idea what it was, as I wasn't expecting anything. It was sort of big, but flat.... and inside was this beautifully expressive painting from Philippa!! Oh my giddy aunt!!


Notice the texture around the ear? This pieces is called "Hearing Hallucinations", and I think the fear and confusion this causes the sufferer is wonderfully expressed in the face and eyes. Thank you so much Philippa! That has completely made my day, my week, and my month! Whooppeey!

With it came a card with "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" written on the front. Hmm, what a question! What would I attempt to do? The possibilities are limitless. If I knew I could not fail I would sculpt so many things... lions, elephants, horses, and definitely old bones! Yes, it's true. I watch archaeology programs and they find the most amazing human remains, and I sit and think to myself "I'd love to sculpt that". Or what about those amazing people who can tell what a face would look like based on the structure of the skull? It would be amazing to be able to do that. But not as amazing as sculpting mummified remains. Yeah, I know, I need to get out more.

Thank you so much for the painting and the card, Philippa. I'm hoping that the card's message will inspire me to try harder and to think positively about my creative projects.

This kind of brings me on to Fred the head. I continued with the shaping of the head and the face, but everything was going pear shaped. Well, not literally shaped like a pear, just wrong. Just... so wrong. So I filled him in (which is another strange expression for beating someone up!) No, I didn't beat him up, I just filled him in. Like this:


I think/hope the head shape is much better now though?


So I will continue with this piece this weekend, and hopefully the new tools that I bought will turn my sculpting skills into something amazing!

Coming soon: The "doomed" jug and other fired pieces! Plus recent exhibitions I've been to, including Philippa's!

There's a new man in my life...

Yeah, I thought that might get your attention! Meet Fred, he's my new man...


Fred very kindly allowed me to wrap his head in clay at 4 O'clock this morning. It had to be 4am, because, y'know, that's when inspiration strikes isn't it?

I've been wanting to make clay head sculptures for the longest time. In fact, I made one at school about... umm... 20 something years ago. Unfortunately that was before the days of camera phones so I have no photo's of that.

Keith Phillips from Mudstuffing Sketchbook has been working on the same thing, with stunning results. His inspiration came from the DVD series of Philippe Faraut. There are some little clips of the DVD's on the web page, and from what I saw, the instruction looks excellent. Unfortunately, those little clips were all I had to go on since I can't afford the DVD's at the moment and I'm not even sure if they are available in the UK.

I put off making a start for a few hours because I didn't really have the right tools - I don't have a dowel to put the head on, and what's that interesting tool they use for the eyes? Plus I wasn't sure if I had enough clay, but that restless feeling got too intense and I just had to make a start.


Here Fred's head looks like some sort of strange patchwork football head! I've re-watched the little clip on the website and I see now that it was all going wrong right from the start! His head should have been more like a light bulb!

I should have taken more photo's as I progressed with the piece, but to be honest I wasn't confident that I was follwing Faraut's instructions right. I didn't seem to be able to get the head shape right. I added the "cap" of clay at the back, which I think was too small for the size of the head, and I kept pressing down on the top of the head to steady it while I worked, which has obviously flattened the top of the head. The result is this strange looking being...



I have faith that I can pull it back though and make something semi-reasonable. The good news is that the person I am making is a strange looking creature anyway! Now there's a clue!

At this point I'm not worrying about the shoulders at all. They're there really just to support the rest of the piece, and will be corrected later. The eyes look too high, but that is probably just because the head is so flat on the top! The nose isn't very big, but this person has a tiny nose! Lot's of clues there!

Oh, what the heck, why not have another giveaway? A tile of your choice for the first person to guess who it is! (And no, it's not Fred! That's just a working title!)

PS. Linda, I'm sorry you haven't received your tiles yet, I just haven't got round to going to the post office! They'll be on there way very soon!