Live and learn

Well, my teacher tried to warn me but I didn't get what she was telling me.  Nothing like experience to teach a lesson!  The pendants I glazed were too heavy to have more than one on the wire as the wire softens and then bends in the firing - as a result the pendants and bead moved together and the glaze stuck where they touched. Sorry no photo of the mess as I didn't have my camera with me.  Any way better luck next time - I have another lot going through a firing this week so fingers crossed it goes better this time.
Here are the ones I kept.  The three orange ones in front will need a little more sanding off with a sharpening stone.  I think I threw about 6 away.

  

 

I'll be adding this post to Mud Colony so hop over and see what others are doing this week.

Bead Hangers

I am currently taking a ceramic jewellery making class at my local TAFE college. This week some of us were able to glaze our first batch and set them on Kanthal wire on our bisque fired hangers.  They will go into an electric kiln for a firing at 1200 deg C.  This is my post this week for Mud Colony and my Facebook page, Anna's Ceramics and Facebook Group, Anna's Aussie Ceramics.  Drop by and check them out :^)

slabs of raku clay cut and joined and holes drilled to hold wire

closer detail of the bead hangers

Detail of glazed beads and pendants showing them balanced on the Kanthal wire

Detail showing beads hanging and 2 brooches on base

A bit of baking

I'll be visiting my elderly father tomorrow and he loves Anzac biscuits.  They are usually made using rolled oats - I can't eat them as I am gluten intolerant so today I experimented and made some very tasty gluten free ones by substituting the rolled oats for rolled quinoa. Yum! It worked!

(Anzac biscuits were made to send to the Australian & New Zealand troops fighting in the first World War as they kept well).
My family recipe as modified today:
1 cup rolled quinoa, 3/4 cup dessicated coconut, 1 cup plain gluten free flour, 1 cup sugar, 125g butter, 1 1/2 teaspoons Bi Carb Soda, 1 tablespoon Golden Syrup.
Mix quinoa, gf flour, sugar and coconut in large bowl. Meanwhile melt butter with golden syrup together. Mix bi carb soda with 2 tablespoons of boiled water, quickly add to melted butter & syrup (it will foam up) and add to the dry ingredients.  Roll spoonfuls into balls, place on trays, press down gently with fork. Place on greased or lined trays in a slow oven (140 deg C fan forced) for approx 20 minutes.  Try to let them cool before you eat them :^)

Here is an image for Linda Starr of Blue Starr Gallery who asked about the Aussie favourite, Golden Syrup. Linda it is made from Sugar Cane with some water added.  I guess similar to Molasses but lighter in colour and flavour.

Pretty good result

those that follow this blog will remember I shared a kiln recently.  Well my post this week shows part of the result:

I'm very pleased with the glaze on these mugs as I haven't used it as a glaze on glaze decoration before. A little tidy up of the bases and these will be off to market next month.
My blogger friend, Linda Starr of Blue Starr Gallery was kind enough to nominate me as one of her recipients of the Versatile Blogger Award. Now from what I understand the idea is to nominate some other recipients to pass it along and then to tell a few facts about yourself.

So first I would like to re-nominate Linda - her blog is just so versatile with lots of insights into her pottery and her cooking. Blue Starr Gallery
Next is Adriana Christianson for her inspirational pottery blog.
Then Josie of Josie Goes to Pot 
Then Angela of Ang design blog
Bit of a theme there but these bloggers all add something extra to their interest in clay..

And me?  I'm a 5th generation Australian, with a possible link to Aboriginal people of the Myall Lakes way back on my Dad's side (hard to confirm).  Met my wonderful husband when I was 18 and had a flat tyre and he stopped to help. Have worked as a clerical officer, tutor and a notetaker for people with disablity.  Currently I'm a newsletter editor and blogger for a community pottery group, Port Hacking Potters Group and I'm on the organising committee of their National Pottery Competition later this year.

Just  to spread the word a little further I'm adding this post to the Mud Colony blog and I hope you will check it out and if you work in clay add your post there too.

Unglazed

These little pieces are destined to become jewellery.  They are porcelain and textured and then decorated using tissue prints.  They are going in raw and unglazed with my other glazed pieces. When they come out I will wet sand them to give them a bit of a sheen.  The colour will be fired into the clay.
A bit of a late decision so I dried them on a wire rack under my birds new cage :^)
See you over on Mud Colony checking out the other posts this week...

thanks to CeramiCraft

Today I picked up my prize from CeramiCraft - the Western Australia Suppliers who ran a give away comp on Facebook recently.
So very generous that I had to show you what they sent as my gift for Liking their Facebook page:

Those green tools on the left should be useful for my next handbuilding project and the brochure about Duncan glazes looks interesting too.  Most of their glazes are for earthenware but looks like they have a few mid fire ones too that I might have to try.  They even sent a lolly pop for when I need a sugar boost! :^) Thanks guys.

Swagger

My pots are out of the bisque and I'm having some fun experimenting with some of them.  This little vase now has some swagger :^)  Some of the lines are guides in normal graphite pencil while the rest will fire on with the clear glaze.  This is my post for this weeks MudColony - hop over see what others have been doing this week.

Wheel thrown porcelain fired to bisque with ceramic pencil drawing 2010