Blog (Tag: building)

New Pendants

Mon Jun 8, 11:12 AMBy Cathy Gee

newpendants.JPGI'm afraid I've not spent any time recently posting anything new.  I have a backlog of finished pendants and bowls to   photograph so I can post them, this hasn't happend, due to the weather :)  Any canadian reading this will understand.  We have such a long winter here, that when we finally get the first couple of days above freezing we go a bit crazy - like coming out of hibernation.

I've been getting house maintenance stuff done that has been neglected over the last two years.  That said, I'm ready to get back to work.

When I get them back, I'll be posting some things I've thrown on the wheel - be kind, I've got a long way to go at throwing, but I'm not giving up on it.

I'll also be picking  up a few more handbuilt items, as well, about 18 new pendants.  Some of which you can see above in their green state.  I think I'm becoming more sure in my lines and it feels good.  I'm thinking more about negative and positive space, and the weight of my lines.  I think I'm getting a bit less fussy,  which is working for me.  I look back on some pendants I glazed even only a couple of months ago, and think to myself....Jeez, its like I really didn't know when to stop!  I'm also trying to pay attention to drawing images that are effective up close, but also have impact when seen from a distance.

I thought I'd add in here a link to one of my favorite ceramic artists, Diana Fayt - she draws such a beautiful and delicate line, and I really admire her approach to glazes.  I really can't say enough.  Please go and look at her stuff.  As well, she's featured in the latest Ceramics Monthly Magazine.

Is porcelain too delicate to wear? A good question!

Mon Apr 27, 01:06 PMBy Cathy Gee

Someone has just raised this question with me, and although I have to run out the door right now to pick up my daughter, I'm going to respond to this in more detail tomorrow...

Buildings

Wed Apr 22, 11:13 AMBy Cathy Gee

blogbuilding.JPGWell, this was an attempt to shoot a couple of buildings I made a couple of years ago...as you can see, this one has taken up residence in the backyard and has been invaded by a Virgina Creeper!  I'm not really sure I like the photos but thought I'd post at least one.  My intention is to add a new section to the site specifically for my little buildings - or anything (like my handbuilt vases) that has been decorated with architecture of any sort.  I haven't built anything like this in ages - lately everything I've been doing is either wearable or functional....well, I suppose these buildings are functional in that they look lovely when lit up with a candle.

Glazing new bird bowls

Tue Apr 21, 09:54 AMBy Cathy Gee

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Today I've spent the morning glazing 6 more of the porcelain bird bowls as you can see from the piccies above.  The far left pic shows the pendants I was working on last week (see my earlier blog on ceramic pendant making).  The pendants in the state they're in right now are considered greenware (air dry but un-fired) - this is an ideal time for underglazing because if you make a mistake, you can rub or erase out the line.  The 6 bowls however, have already been fired once, or bisqued, and so if one of my lines goes wrong at this stage, I'm screwed :)  - I use a black underglaze that behaves very much like black ink.   To take a more positive spin on it, I have to come up with a very creative way to cover my mistake(s)....I have good and bad days on this of course. Today I wasn't having a very painterly day and my hand wasn't behaving well, so I had more than one wobbly line, and more than one blob of black in the middle of a field of white that posed a bit of a problem.  Ah well, from mistakes sometimes come lovely accidents.  Also, I don't use a pencil or anything else to sketch in my drawing first, so I'm relying totally on getting it right the first time.

Cleaning pendants in the afternoon...

Wed Apr 15, 01:02 PMBy Cathy Gee

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I like this style of pendant very much as it hides the cord or chain that its hanging from, but it takes a great deal longer to clean than the plain square, rectangular or circular shapes I've done previously.  I reckon I spent about 2.5 hours cleaning 14 pendants....oh well, I love scraping :)  The clay at this point is medium hard, and in the case of mid-fire porcelain, slightly brittle, but cleans beautifully.

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All about clay! My musings, learnings and diversions over the creation of my ceramic pretties

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