Jewelry Dishes

Set of cups

I made several cups to practice pulling handles and this set came out very nicely - although it reminds me so much of what we had in the 70s in Germany :) Heavy, rustic cups (+ a long forgotten vase in the same color)! But I have to admit they are all nice to drink out of. They don't spill, the handle is nice to hold and the lip is smooth. I might give one to my Dad for his B'Day... He's a real coffee drinker and would appreciate the good feel of these!

Vase turned into a teapot

I've been working on a teapot - that was supposed to be a vase, but after I threw it, it became just a boring vase. So I turned it around, put a bottom on it, cut off the top, made a lid out of it, attached a spout and a handle and some decoration. Ever since my teacher looked underneath one of my pieces and noted that it wasn't finished and looked sad I try to add detail, where one might not look at first, but once he examines the piece; the inside and the bottom.

Et voila:

New Porcelain Bowls

I hope these 2 porcelain bowls will make it through the bisque firing without cracking and without everything falling off...

Teapots (update)

Here are the teapots I have been working on for the past weeks. I added trimmings, nails, and slip and will finish with a black overglaze and iron oxide. These will go into the wood firing in the beginning of April:

Chili Bowls (almost done!)

Alright, here is the Chili Bowl countdown! I got another couple of bowls out of kiln and am happy to wrap up this project (and the bowls!) and give them all away! I kept the nice ones (Mandela Quote). I'm not sure I succeeded, but it was a great practice - at least I know now what I DO NOT want to do for the rest of my life *grin*:

Chili Bowls w/ Mandela Quote

I'm very happy with the way these three bowls turned out. I am amazed how the red glaze is really RED!!! The inside and rim is nice and smooth and rich, while the outside is rough and rustic. I love it! So these are a keeper, while all the other bowls are going to the charity sale.

Fall 2008

Here are some pictures from my projects for the Fall 2008 semester. I am very much into surface "manipulation" and love to take my time with a piece. It sometimes takes over a week to get one piece finished. I also love to just throw or cut clay and then piece it together somehow. I have been lucky with firings; no major cracking so far! I've stayed away from glazing as much as possible, since I find them very unpredictable ;)

This piece has been inspired by Jason Briggs' "Ground". It was very interesting to look at the original and see what can be done with the porcelain surface (although I somehow missed his source of inspiration at first ;)

This is a four-piece porcelain vase, put together, decorated; black underglaze, then sanded.

This is a similar piece, this time a teapot. I was lucky to just end up with this great spout and lid; it was thrown to see what I came up with and ended up perfectly as part of this teapot.

This is a six-piece porcelain teapot, put together, decorated; black underglaze, then sanded.

This teapot was inspired by Steve Hanson's work. I find it amazing, how he uses his images on different forms. Instead of sending out a political message (as Hansen does), I simply put my hubby's initials on with slip and this was his Christmas present.

This is stoneware, slab built with tons of slip.