Pottery returns!

After two terms away from evening classes, on wednesday I shall be going back to pottery at Brixham College - hurrah!

I wasn't given the opportunity to do pottery at school (my school emphasised the academic and saw anything else as fairly useless - the art department couldn't cope with anything more exotic than paint and pencil) so I'm enjoying the chance to play and experiment with clay as an adult.

This...um...creation, came about towards the end of one term last year. I had made many small bowls, dishes, pots (and rabbits!) and thought I'd be adventurous, throw all my eggs into one basket by spending three weeks on one larger piece (roughly 14" tall). I was convinced it wouldn't survive the firing; the clay was so thick in places I knew a bubble was bound to be hiding somewhere (in case you don't know, any air trapped will expand and cause the clay to crack or explode during firing) so I was thrilled when it came through in one piece. The glaze was a mixture of about six different stoneware glazes, applied in rather a rush, overlapping and layered to create a variety of effects.

This unpredictability is something that really appeals to me, my paintings are so tight and controlled that this provides a complete creative contrast, but I think it's important for me in a broader sense as well. Call it a type of therapy or respite, but as someone with OCD I think any activity where I can let go of control even for a little while has to be good!

Foxy Magic

All finished! Fun to do and I've learnt a lot :) Onwards and upwards...! 

Foxy Magic (in progress)

 Hurrah - I managed to get some decent pieces of wood!!

Went up to the Yandles Wood Show last weekend and bought a box full of offcuts to play with.

So here is my first real experiment in progress. First thing I've learnt? Sand the surface of the wood before you start. It removes any oils on the surface as well as smoothing out any lumps and bumps, both things that can slow down the burning and cause an uneven line.

I knew from the start that I wanted to colour this one so I didn't worry about too much detail with the fur etc because it would get lost under the pigment.

 To begin with I laid down some colour in watercolour paints. They actually take surprisingly well on the wood, though the water darkens the wood as you work, so the colour is always paler than expected once it has dried.

The colours do bleed across lines slightly, but given the subject matter I was quite happy with this kind of little happy accident!

 Here I've started to build on the colour using soft Sennelier pastels. I sooo love these pastels, you really cannot beat them for consistency and pigment - the colours are astoundingly bright and vibrant.

They are gorgeous to use on a rough surface like this wood because they deposit so much pigment, much better than a smooth surface. The highlights on the fur, and the primroses, are so bright, they really do shine.

I've now picked out some highlights on the rabbit (based on Eva), and added some beautiful turquoise blue and some stars to the background.

Also at Yandles I managed to pick up some gold leaf flakes, and some mica flakes which I'm going to use on the circles. I was hoping to finish it tonight but I don't have any suitable glue - so frustrating!! I'll try and grab some tomorrow...

Watership Down Bookmark

           
I was on my way home from work the other day with my friend/colleague/partner in crime, and passed a shop selling leather goods which the owner was personalising to order. I bought five of these bookmarks blank, and told him I was going to decorate them myself. His response? 'Oh, yes you can do some pretty flowers or something can't you.' Ooh, that got my feminist hackles rising!!

(PS I must admit that I struggle with the whole leather thing. As a vegetarian I feel that I shouldn't be buying animal products if I can possibly help it. Hmm... Also, the smell of the leather as it's burning really turns my stomach :( So, I think I will be mainly working on wood from now on.)

Summer Sunset

Went out to feed the bunnies a few minutes ago and was greeted by this incredible sky! Just had to share it with you :)