As you can see, I have posted a few Youtube videos that I found and liked. I'll be changing these when I come across some other little crackers!! So keep checking.
Well, with the emergence of spring here in the UK here comes some new-looking pots from the kiln.
I painted white, low-fire slip as a background to my paintings which burnt unevenly in the glaze firing. It was a bit of a risk but I like the mottled effect. And it didn't affect the glossy transparent glaze.
I'm still using my brush on 'Copper Float'. The drips are another Mayco glaze 'Alabaster'. These glazes mix well with each other and sometimes produce interesting effects. But try out on a test tile first.
Another Mayco glaze. 'Smoke' on the top, with 'Satin Speckle' from Spectrum below. I love the pale blue run where the two over-lap.
I thought you'd like to see the finished pots from 'Rolled Rims and Chattering'. Scroll down to the previous post to see how I made them.
This heavily speckled dish is made from Lava Clay. It arrives dark grey in the bag, bisque fires to pale pink, then ends up like this. A tad tough on the hands when throwing but not so painful as to put you off.
Small porcelain oil jars with a few random, dancing squiggles. This has to be the easiest of all my painting ideas, but I love the effect.
Porcelain buttons. I'm making loads at the moment. I squeeze them in amongst the pots so that every inch of kiln shelf is covered.
Here is what I improvised to cut them out.
Cut off bottle tops. They cut perfectly into leather-hard clay. But should they stick, a quick spray of WD40 on the rim will do the trick.
Now for a couple of new Warwickshire News items!
Gardening Alert!
Our neighbour Andy called round with his home-made walking stick.
Any idea what it's made from?
A dried kale stalk.
You can also use a broccoli stalk, he tells me!
Mum, Dad and Teacher Alert!
Our teaching of maths in the UK needs a serious re-think. - This is what our government has been saying for some time now. So, Alan (who wrote maths courses for the Open University) has decided to make a start and is in the process of writing a series of books for the iPad, covering primary level maths, using pictures rather than symbols, in order to help get young children off to a good start.
The first book 'Numbers in Pictures' is FREE to download and the others in the series are only £1.49p ($1.99) each. If you have a child who needs help, try this.
Click here to find this first book in Apple's iTunes Book Store.
Happy Potting Folks
