Clay Play

I won a 4 week pottery course at last year's Art Gallery Gala silent auction, so it was time to use the certificate and get my hands dirty. The last time I played with clay was 20 years ago, and I still use some of the small dishes I made on the potters wheel. But this time we didn't use the wheel, we rolled the clay flat and used molds to shape plates and dishes, and then decorated with texture.
The pieces had to dry for a week, then the edges could be cleaned up and the clay was fired.

Then the pieces were dipped in various liquid clay slip, left to dry and then fired in the kiln again. The slip looks a dirty grey when first applied to the clay, but once they are fired, the beautiful colours appear. Basically I had no plan for a colour scheme, I was just experimenting.

But I was pleased with the way these pieces turned out. This was fun, I'd like to do it again.

Fun with Clay

Every Monday morning I join a group of arty-farty people in the back room of the local  Art Gallery and we talk about ART (and gossip a bit too!), we do ART, we create ART, we make ART.... and most of all, we have fun. I love being part of this group.
One of our number is a potter, and has been bringing clay and his expertise to the group. Last week we had a lesson on how to make a pinch pot. Our creations are drying right now, and will be fired next week. Sadly, I didn't take any "before" pictures, but I'll make sure I take some "after" shots.
This week we covered a slab of black clay with slip, and inscribed a picture on the slip. When these are fired, the slip will show as white with the black clay showing through.
I actually remembered my camera this time.

For some reason I can't turn this photo to "landscape".... but here's my robin, inspired by a Christmas card, and my codfish.

The carvings will stay on these drying racks for a week until the clay is leather hard, and then they can be cleaned up and eventually fired in the kiln.