slab saucers

I made a batch of plates from rolled out slabs of clay and they just came out of their glaze firing,

there were three main sizes, and one odd larger one

I always work in multiples.  i'm not sure why but Very rarely do I ever make just one of something.

the smallest dishes are only about 3" x 4"

they all have mishima decoration, but the undersides are colored:

oh yes, there is one that is a bit different...

the next size up are these little "pushed slab" plates,

they are made bu pushing the slab down onto a large foam piece with a wooden shape so that the sides come up around the shape,  they are about 4" x 6"

the day I decorated these things I had a limited number of underglazes on hand, so they are a bit muted.

and then there are these square ones:

they are about six inches square

again with the mishima and screen printing, 

Also, I went to the studio yesterday and glazed up these mugs,

it will be fun to see them done, I've had a lot of fun making them

more and more

more handbuilding and more decoration.... I got back to the Clay Spot a few days ago and had some fun with Helios, 

Yesterday I spent four hours decorating the pieces I made, and then another hour today, 

decorating is time intensive!

Along with the silkscreening that I usually add, I did a bit of mishima on most all of the pieces, 

the stechnique is not complicated.  First, you incise a line into leatherhard clay

then, paint underglaze or slip so that it fills in the line,

In the past, I've mixed a bit of white clay into the black underglaze to produce a charcoal color, but this time I went for the whole black

After it sets up a bit you need to remove the excess color, just leaving the part that fills in the line

you can sometimes scrape off some of the underglaze with a metal rib, and you can also use a damp sponge, dampening and wiping, and cleaning the sponge over and over to wipe off more of the streaks

I was working on five small dishes, six squarish plates about five inches wide and three darted cups

some have just mishima, and others have screenprinting as well

I painted the undersides today and added some slip decoretion, but forgot to take any photos,

I also made another eight cups today, so I need to decorate them tomorrow!   

I got a few things glazed that I made last time I was here in march, so it will be fun to see them come out of the kiln.  I've had a bit of trouble figuring out how thick to apply the glaze-- too thick and it looks cloudy over dark colored underglaze, and too thin leads to roughness on the rims.  Hope I get it right this time!