Brief Post

I've gotten a new laptop, and so of course it's a time to go through all sorts of files and transfer from the old to the new.  Also, making sure that the new laptop has all the internet bookmarks I need, and the application programs...

Part of it is making sure that the blogger functions are all workable, and the uploading pathways are okay.  this is a bit overwhelming, but I'm trying to do it step by step.
Things have been quiet on the clay front lately.  I glazed all my letter tiles, but in the first firing of them, the kiln seemed to stop heating in the top ring.  Disappointing, since I just replaced the element in the autumn.  I need to unload the kiln and take it apart to fix it.  So far I haven't done this.  Maybe soon.  In the meantime, I've been doing a lot of store stuff. 

Critique #2

On the whole, I really enjoy making these little trays. They are quite a nice shape to try out ideas on.

Often the underside is quite different than the top. I like the way the signature is in a cartouche.

It can be surprisingly tricky to paint an even edge when using 3 coats of underglaze. the circles are trailed dots, using wet newsprint circles as guides.

mishima with red underglaze, trailed white slip over pale blue underglaze.

I like trailed lines and dots, it seems. I like a dotted line better than a solid outline, in general, unless it is mishima.

the same flowers as in the dish above, but this time using trailed underglaze instead of mishima,. the rabbit shape was masked off with newsprint, then outlined in brown.

I rather like this one. It uses one of my favorite screens, with the numbers on it. I also like the dots in turquoise over the deep yellow. I like the fanning of the white trailed lines over the dark blue.

this is the underside of the same dish.

This is the link to Mud Colony to see what others are doing this week! http://mudcolony.blogspot.ca/

Little trays

I have been keeping most of the pots I made recently, partly because I tried out so many different combinations of underglaze colors and motifs.
This is one of the color combinations that I liked, shown on two little slab dishes.they are about 3" wide, 5" long, and 1-1/4" tall.

 both of them use a beige underglaze coating, 3 layers,
silkscreened ovals in white,
silkscreened pattern in deep yellow, either the crosshatching or the dots
silkscreened motifs in chocolate brown,
trailed underglaze dots in chocolate brown

 the white over beige makes a kind of iridescent look.