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/

And more about Waiting

and Molly, I take your point about how waiting can be a good thing.  It can be an opportunity.  I am often impatient, and want to forge ahead.   This inability to fire anything, and to see what the pieces will look like when they have been glazed is difficult, because I would like to have that information to incorporate into further pieces.  However, it is somehow lengthening the time phase where I am experimenting with surface design.  It makes me think about different things than what I probably would be thinking about if I had been able to go ahead with the firing and glazing. 

One thing that has occurred is that I find myself looking for some specific types of imagery to add my stock.  I am finding out which types of shapes and areas balance each other, and which types I wish I had a bit more variety to choose from. 
Although I'm using a variety of techniques in combination-- silk-screen, mishima line drawings, stamped impressions, slip trailing, sgraffito and brush-work- some days I gravitate more to one technique than another.  I have been enjoying the silk-screening on clay and have decided to beef up my stock of screens.  So yesterday I went to an art supply store and got the basic tools to make silk screens here at home.  All the ones I've been using were made in Savannah, at Lisa's studio, The Clay Spot!! (which I miss!)
I also went to the library to leaf through some books on design for inspiration.  (Although I should probably have just sat myself down and made a list of what I need/want)  Nevertheless, I came across a quite nice book with crisp black and white illustrations,

 and will try to work something up on paper with my nice black markers, since these are just snippets of pattern, and I'd like the screens to cover a bit more area.

 These last two photos are from a different book, I think it was on English surface design, and these were working drawings for manufacturers.

 Now I have set up a binder with those clear page protectors to store black and white images-- and I foresee a trip to visit the photocopiers at staples in the near future!