27 March 2017

Successful Bisque - now to glaze

I have discovered a very useful product - ceramic paper.  It is a very thin (1mm) form of ceramic fibre.  I am going to use it to cover my kiln shelves when I fire all the tiny pieces for my mini installation.  Most suppliers have it.  I bought mine from Blackwattle Pottery Supplies and they rate theirs to 1400C but Keane Ceramics have one rated to 1260C. Here is a link to their illustration of the product: Here

Naturally take precautions when handling it.. I put on gloves and a mask when cutting it to size for my shelves.

I used it even though I do have kiln wash on my shelves to protect them... its just that what I am firing will stain the shelves and with so many to fire it is worth the cost of the ceramic paper to give that extra protection.


 These heart shapes dishes have now been decorated and are in the glaze firing I turned on this morning.  Fingers crossed.






The shop that stocks my pots, Fred and Co has a theme of black and white but on occasion will stock some blue so I'm hoping the owner likes these little pouring jars.








the wet weather has fined up at last though the state of Queensland could be in for a cyclone this week.  Sometimes the cyclone becomes a rain event and travels down south to us.. I hope it relieves some of the drought areas up north and gives us a miss.



The bricks outside my studio are growing moss. It usually only grows at the end of winter but again with all the rain the moss is sprouting.











Our palm trees have loved the rain and are flowering ...

I'll let you know next week how the bowls fire. Fingers crossed.



18 March 2017

Mostly under wraps

Those who follow this blog will know that I am working towards an exhibition later this year.
I don't like to show special works as they are being made as until they are safely through that last firing and delivered to the venue, Anything Could Happen...

So most of my work lately is under wraps and slowly drying...

I can show you these - Little pigs being cut and hollowed to lighten them and then to later add to a sculpture


A small vase.... later decorated with blue tissue print design...




















and some flowers.. my native Australian Violets are going mad with flowers in the rain we have been getting... we are having a very wet start to autumn this year.. 
thanks for dropping by - have a great week wherever you are..




11 March 2017

Stilts and rollers

Recently I was given some stilts... these are used by potters to support ware inside the kiln, usually for earthenware glazed pots...

Now I don't usually fire to earthenware temperatures so when I was thinking about how to fire some pieces for my exhibition I wondered if these would fire to a higher temperature...
I posted on the Facebook group, "Help for Australian Potters - Tips and Advice" 
the responses are quite helpful but varied so as with most things in pottery I will be doing a test with them first...





The next part of my exhibition work will be built with slabs and I don't have a slab roller nor the room to store one so I'll be using the old method of a rolling pin and wooden guides...

To roll out wider slabs I need a long rolling pin...

Sometimes they turn up in Op Shops but you have to be there at the right time...

so when I was passing by a local commercial cookery supplier yesterday I took a look and found just what I needed!

This one is about 40cm long and only cost $19... I am all set now!



Thanks for dropping by... I also have an Instagram account : @potterybyanna and a Facebook page:
Anna's Ceramics 

See ya !  :)



05 March 2017

some progress, autumn arrives and an exhibition

 I live near Hazelhurst Regional Art Gallery and popped in recently to view "Art Express" which is a presentation of the Major Art Works undertaken by High School students across the state in their final year exams. 
I was delighted to see so many examples of pottery/ceramics being chosen as the medium they wanted to use.  
Some was slip cast but one student had been inspired by Gwen Hanson-Piggott who was the first Australian potter to show her work overseas as an Art Installation... (Tate St Ives 2004). More about her HERE


Discarded Beauty by Ellie Hawthorne

Mungo Howard - Still Life with Teapots












It would be great if these young people keep up their skills in clay.











It has been nice not to worry about my clay drying too quickly with the onset of some autumn rain...

tree fern fronds



a foggy morning

my exhibition work is progressing... I've completed two more sculptures but of course they have to make it through the firings yet...
here are some teasers

to be saggar fired

miniatures

Thanks for dropping by...