Tumbler 25

Because I know how the clear glaze makes the cobalt run upon firing, I have started playing around more with the dynamic aspects of the ingredients.  For this one I mixed mason stain with white glaze and dipped the lip in a nice, thick pool.  I then dunked the whole thing in clear.  The colorant ran down in a lovely, delicate, watery way.

White cone 6 stoneware, mason stain, glaze

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Tumbler 24

Like yesterday's post, I added dots to this before firing, but due to the chemical makeup of the applied glazes, they didn't saw up AT ALL.

In progress....

Final product.  White cone 6 stoneware, glaze, mason stain.

 I brushed on a mason stain with a lot of cobalt in it.  It fluxed with the clear glaze I put on over the whole thing after I peeled the dots off...properties of the clear glaze make the cobalt run, and it filled in all the dots.  But it looks cool anyway!

I also love how the clear runs into the white I glazed the inside.

Tumbler 23

I had some fun with vinyl dots as a resist with this one.  Before glazing I stuck on dots (cut at home with my trusty vinyl cutter, of course) in a simple belt around the cup.  Then I brushed on some jade glaze/stroke and coat, and after it dried, pulled off the dots to reveal the raw clay behind.  I wanted to see if the glaze would drip or degrade the dots, and mostly the glaze stayed where it was.  A few dots have a slump on the top curve, but otherwise this cup has a nice no-slip grip.

white cone 6 stoneware, stroke and coat

dot it up, friend!

Yes...these are all for sale on Etsy.  Go there!

Tumbler 19

Stripey experiment here...I painted on this mason stain+glaze concoction (originally it was a rose color) in a few thick spots, then dunked the top half in white.  It ran a little and washed it away just a bit.  This particular mason stain has been a real pain and let me down many times, so I gave it one more chance.  As long as I don't do a wipe on/wipe off thing and make it nice and thick, it seems to do okay.  Okay?

handbuilt, cone 6 white stoneware, mason stain, white glaze

up the skirt with a little maker's mark

Snake Eye Tumblers

More fun with Stroke & Coat!  I started out thinking of these as having a brick pattern, but then I decided they were more like eyes (especially the yellow one), so here we are with a pattern name.  I made another one with green, but I got the clear top glaze too thick and it basically washed away the design, so I was more careful with just brushing it on these.  Figuring this all out takes a while.

cone 6 white stoneware, handbuilt, stroke and coat, clear glaze

cone 6 white stoneware, handbuilt, stroke and coat, clear glaze

More Cat Mugs

Still playing around with my digitally cut vinyl stamps.  I might have to (gasp!) go purchase some commercial glaze because I just don't love many of the colors the Clay Guild provides--that's why I do a lot of mixing mason stains and such. 

But these little guys are pretty cute, and once I get a large enough group I'm going to take them to Purrfect Pets in Overland Park--a wonderful cats only shelter that placed my foster kittens in a fabulous home last year.  They have a small boutique section where I have sold a few clocks as well.

cone 6 white stoneware, hand built, dipped antique green and purple with white inside and bottom

put some tea in this

or some coffee!

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Pendants

When I have a bit of clay left over from making a thing, I like to use the cast off piece for pendants.  Sometimes the texture is already on the surface from Making a Thing: Round One, and sometimes I like to smush the clay into a stamp I already have.  I'll use Stroke & Coat, mason stains, and other glazing techniques and mixtures to see what happens.  These are basically test tiles and sometimes they come out really great.  I have thrown plenty away--I learned what I needed to from those and don't need them cluttering up my life.

I'm adding these to my Etsy store as I get to them.

pendant family

made with a homemade stamp; matte blue and glossy jade Stroke and Coat

red and black S&C before bisque; blue glaze over whole thing after.
I used a toilet paper roll as a cookie cutter for these round ones.

made with a homemade stamp; matte blue and yellow Stroke and Coat before bisque, antique green glaze after

made with found woodcarving-turned-stamp; cone 10 glaze fired with wipe on/off technique

stamp made with grate found in my basement; custom glaze made with mason stain filled into holes

made with a homemade stamp; cone 10 Iron Saturate glaze

I have lots more...and I'll be making lots more, too!