Working with gold lustre….

Haven’t written a blog for a while, but it feels nice trying to put down in words the different steps in making what I do.

This is me, and this is my new mask for working with gold lustre. It was a little self indulgence for surviving three days of half term at my parents who are great once in a while, lovely sometimes, but babyboomer-judgy mostly. But never mind, as my partner advises – repress the hell of those sorts of things. I’m an introvert, so that advice makes a whole lot of more sense than therapy.

Anyway that is by the by…..

I recently did my first gold lustre on some of my body pots, and I am obsessed….Putting on lustre – noxious fumes aside – is an amazing process, because those brown dabs that you put on before firing the work in a kiln transforms it so beautifully. So for now I am going full on gold lustre.  If I could, I would be putting gold lustre on everything. I’m glad my partner keeps my children out of sight – when I am, as I describe it, in my “Blue Velvet” mode…..

Creative blocks and all such things

I just had a month of making quite a lot of my pieces, and sending them off in quick succession. This was fun , and stressful, and lots of things in-between, but then afterwards…there was a bit of a come down period. It left me feeling slightly at a loss. There is much to do, but the doing is not being done at the moment.

How to get back into the making groove?….I’m not entirely sure, but I have an inkling that I need to make something entirely new so as to push myself into a completely different direction.

Last month’s things were the objects I have been making for a long while now. They are  things that already sit in my fingertips.

So I shall sit down this week, and my hands will feel hesitant, and my mind will feel nervous, and I shall try to do something new…..

Eggs and Bananas

Painting the earthenware plate with the range of underglazes and glazes I have managed to accrue slowly and with much thought.

The images I had in mind were so specific in terms of colour, and it seems vital to achieve this, but at the same time I know that whatever comes out of the kiln will be a new thing – One which takes over and supersedes the image, and that, if it looks good, and works, will be enough.

Planets and new friends

Painting my earthenware plates finally, after longingly looking at them for so long. Two beings meeting, how nice for them.

Keeping at it, and getting there.

Testing plate with all my glazes and underglazes and stains, with and without transparent glaze, mixed and applied thinly and thickly. All noted. It’s a thing that I can spend long stretches of time considering, because there are so many variations, and even then it might come out utterly different from how you thought.

It used to annoy me, to make me feel overwhelmed, but something has changed. I kept at it, and it makes me happy to know that.

Gorgeous George – handsome man

So Gorgeous George (the contemplative one on the pedestal) is making his way to America, hopefully to an owner who will love him as much as I do. Made a few years ago, I made him from one piece of clay loosely shaped, but he always had such good balance, just sitting perfectly still on his pedestal – in my mind nonchalantly humming a nice if slightly tuneless melody.

Summer holidays, funny old birds and itchy hands

Summer holidays are in full swing and I am filling paddling pools, so instead of making today, I will post this one – it’s one of a stoneware bird decorated with blue and green glazes, and blue stain.

It’s getting sent off to its new owner this week, and I shall miss it. It had a way about it that made you think it was looking at you with a goodnatured question in mind.

failing and not failing

My plate a day ended up not being any of the sort, but I am persevering because it seems to work, despite not being any of the sort in terms of making plates, or adhering to one a day. No-one could say it’s a philosophy but despite some awkwardness in terms of space and time I am managing to squeeze out something every few days, and that is as satisfying as any personal philosophy could be.

Black and white, hands and feet

Have finished my two companion pairs. They have differences that remove them from being simple mirror images of each other, having done them freehand and freestyle. I will be firing , and glazing them in transparent glaze – with the hands I shall also be adding various different coloured glazes and stains.

Beside those plans I shall forge ahead with my slow moving ‘a plate a day’, although I have yet to actually adhere to any part of what is clearly stated in the title – Oh well, willing in spirit, if not in time!

Hands, unfired and unglazed

Feet, unfired and unglazed

 

 

Feet, glorious feet (oh, and toes)

Started on a new sister plate to the one below, this morning, but through utter arse-hattedness of small proportions managed to make it crack, so will be attempting again tomorrow, and I shall hope that having done one already will mean the new attempt will be even better. Still feel like an arse-hat though….