Clay Day 10

Well, my clay time seems to be getting later and later in the day... but I'm still sticking to it! The 28 day challenge that is. You know, the one I'm not doing...

Anyway, I probably told you that the heating broke down last week. And as you know, my laptop conked out a couple of days ago. Then there were the broken feet on the squirrel, and the log that collapsed last night. Well guess what? Today the vacuum cleaner packed up as well! Whatever next?? With everything going wrong just lately, I am getting more and more nervous about firing the kiln, and I'm starting to lose my confidence a bit. I'm happy with tonight's efforts though...




Please do not adjust your screens... I've had to stand the log on it's end to dry so that it won't collapse again! The bird is firmly attached, so I think/hope it will be ok.



I've just remembered that I forgot to give him feet! Oh well, I shall have to do that tomorrow. :)

Clay Day 9 and kiln wiring!

Well, just because I've had a clay day doesn't mean I have to have anything to show for it! And I don't. Quite the opposite in fact.

I was up early today for the electrician so I got going while I was waiting for him to arrive. I added more slip to the plaques and decide to add slip to the squirrel as well. The thing is, this clay fires to a really dark brown colour, and with clear glaze on top, looks even darker. I don't have a brown glaze, so I decided to paint the squirrel with my brown slip (which is lighter than the clay), remembering to give him a white belly. That was fine until I accidentally knocked his feet off!! I think/hope I've managed to fix them back on well enough. We'll have to see when he's fired.

Well, that was the first disaster. This evening I decided to finish off the log with the little bird. I carved the bark and then removed the tubing from inside. I can't leave the tubing in until the piece is bone dry because I'd never get it out! But I thought it was at least dry enough to support it's own weight... It wasn't. It was collapsing at one end and the more I tried to repair it the worse it got! I managed to rescue my little bird, so tomorrow I will have to make him another log to sit on.

And that was my clay day.

On a brighter note, the kiln is now all fully wired in, and so far everything seems fine, the controller has power to it and the light came on on the side of the kiln, so everything is good. I won't be firing it until it's been serviced and the elements have been checked though... just to make sure. Oh, and those "loose bricks" in the kiln? Turns out they're actually broken, but instead of just telling me, the seller decided to prop them in place and say nothing about them. His name is Mr. A. Hole by the way. I'm serious, it really is.

Clay Day 8

Well, I didn't think today was going to happen, clay wise! I slept most of the day away and then we have been very busy this evening trying to organise the house! (Did I mention that since we had to move a load of furnature for the electrician, we thought we would swap a couple of rooms round at the same time?) Of course, things always look worse before they look better, but I'm pleased with what we got done tonight. A great way to spend a Saturday night eh?

I finally got my clay out around 10pm!! Suffice to say, I haven't finished the piece I was working on, but here it is so far...


Keeping with the woodland theme, it is going to be a log with ivy and flowers and a little bird sitting on top! I'd be happy to stay up and finish it tonight, but Scott keeps reminding me that we need to get up early tomorrow.

I'm starting to feel a little worried about this woodland theme. Do you think people will appreciate the fact that the pieces are all part of a theme, or will they just look and think "everything looks the same"? I do plan to make some other pieces for the show as well, I just wanted to make all my woodland pieces in one go, because the clay is soo darn messy!

Here is a picture of yesterday's pieces too.


These are wall plaques. They're not flat, they're curved, like the bark has just been lifted off the tree. I'm not blown away by them to be honest, but maybe someone will like them? Of course the ivy will be green and the heart "carving" on the tree bark will be a lighter brown. Maybe they'll grow on me once they're glazed? What do you think?

Clay Day 7

Yes, I am officially a quarter of the way through the 28 day challenge which I am not taking part in! (?) No photos for today though - my computer died today. I don't even know what happened. I was on it earlier, then I switched it off to have some clay time, and when I went to switch it back on - nothing. So I'm typing this on Scott's computer, which is an absolute nightmare because the keyboard is laid out differently and I keep hitting all the wrong keys!

That just about sums up my life really - we just got the heating fixed today, and now my computer has died. And the kiln wiring has been postponed again until Sunday. The longer I have to wait, the longer I have to worry that it's not actually going to work. :(

I'm exhausted. Time for bed.

Clay Day 6

Clay day 6! That means I'm nearly a quarter of the way through the 28 day challenge... which I'm not doing in case something goes wrong and prevents me from doing it!! Yay!

And I've finally finished Mr Squirrel (I think), although I'm thinking about sitting him on top of a log of wood, covered in ivy and flowers and that sort of thing. What do you think? Log or no log?


He still has paper supporting his tail until it dries. Of course you already knew that, I just thought I would explain in case you thought it was a big fur ball or something!



Are his eyes too high? I keep thinking he looks like a rat! And what do you think to the fur effect on the tail?



Now I just need my own personal masseur to give me a neck and shoulder massage every day! I'm having fun but it's hard work you know!
"Scott!!"

Clay Day 5 - and a firing question

I am still feeling so tired today, but at least I'm not as cold! Some days I just feel like I've been drugged or something. If it's my thyroid, I wish the doctors would just hurry up and give me something!!

Anyway, I managed to work a little more on the quirrel today. He's looking a little more like a squirrel now, but I can't quite work out how to make a fluffy tail out of a material that's just... not fluffy.


I haven't measured him, but I think he's about life size, although Scott thinks he's bigger than life size. I think Scott maybe saw a baby squirrel. Or maybe I saw a kangaroo and got confused...

He's taking longer than expected, and all the while I am counting down the days to the exhibition. Scott says it doesn't matter if I don't have many pieces, and he's right. But what I'm worried about, and what I need to know from you more experienced clay people, is whether it's ok to fire a kiln that's half empty? Will that affect the temperature? Usually I could just wait until it's full, however long it takes, but obviously I have a time restriction this time. Thank you in advance, for any help you can give.

Hmm... I'm starting to feel chilly now!

Clay Day number 4!

I've been really tired today, and cold! Can someone please remind the weather that it is supposed to be summer!! I've been freezing, and after two hours of waiting for the house to warm up I then realised that the radiators are not working! And we have no hot water either! Oh joy! So this evening I have sat huddled up in the kitchen with the oven on and the oven door open, trying to keep warm, and working on my next clay piece.

Keeping with the Woodland theme and using the same clay, I decided to have a break from the trees and started on a squirrel. I must say, I was hoping that I would have this piece made in one day. When Leanne makes her rabbits she makes it look so easy! But I suppose she's been making them for a while and this is my first attempt at a squirrel. It's larger than I intended as well. I seem to have a problem with making small things!



I decided to take a break at this point... because I don't know what I'm doing! Hopefully I'll figure it out and have this piece finished tomorrow.