Glazing

This is the purchased pot I glazed a while ago. 

 I only just realized that I never posted a picture of the painted pot.  I am still working on dragonflies so I decided that this was a good practise opportunity.  I am not totally satisfied, but they are beginning to get there.  The leaf pattern is a very old one that I haven’t used in ages.

The weather changed quite suddenly at the end of last week.  We went from ninety plus with high humidity to seventies and a couple of days of sixties overnight.  I even had to wear socks! 

We have been having rain with occasional bits of sun. The only thing we expect from Florence is possible rain,which we can always use.

On that note I hope all those who are in Flrence’s path are taking care and not taking chances.  I know it has been downgraded to a cat.2, but the potential for damage is still present.

As always, thanks for stopping by...............*s*

TEA

Happiness is my tea order from Upton Tea.  I ordered it Saturday.  It arrived Tuesday afternoon.

This should be enough for a couple of months.

We are in a period of clouds, rain, and sun.  The rain stopped and the sun is out so I will go outside while I can.
 
As always, thanks for stopping by..................*s*

HOOT!

This fellow showed up in a tree at dusk last night.  While I was taking pictures an Osprey started circling.  Winter barked and chased him away.

I think out fish pond is doomed!

Toes crossed that everyone is still enjoying summer.

As always, thanks for stopping by.............*s*

RINGO

Then:  Ringo a bit less than a year ago shortly after we decided to keep him and Grayby along with LuckyPeach. It's hard to believe that he was small enough to fit in a flower pot. 

And here he is today, almost a year later.  He now weighs about fifteen pounds and is even fluffier than his pictures show.  This is about as dignified as he gets.

He is more likely to be lolling around on his back, even when he sleeps, waiting for tummy rubs.

His full name has morphed into Sir Ringo the Magnificent.  He has been magnificent for most of his life,  The sir was added when Ringo Starr was knighted.

It's a good thing he enjoys being brushed and combed because it's a necessary part of his daily upkeep.

He and Grayby have discovered it's fun to attack my feet while I am sleeping.  I need a kevlar blanket!

We are having a weekend of rain which is not a bad thing.  It just means that outside work is curtailed.

As always, thanks for stopping by....................*s*

Where Does It Go From Here?

This is an experiment.  I have glazed smaller purchased flower pots with some success, but this one is a larger size, about thirteen inches across at the top.  I bought several of them on sale at Job Lot.  I inspected the rims very carefully and even sprayed them when I got them home to make sure there were no hairline cracks.  Even the tiniest crack will wreak complete havoc on a pot in its glaze firing. I sanded the pot with a 80 grit paper and sprayed it with vinegar and water.  I let it dry in the sun for a day before glazing.

This is glazed with Spectrum #799, Majolica White.  Through my experiments on small, purchased pots I have found that my studio glazes are a crap shoot.  I had one where the glaze slid completely off the pot to form a very nice ring at its foot.  Needless to say I always fire on a pad or piece of kiln shelf.

Now the question is how to paint it.  I want something fairly simple as it will have plants, probably petunias and friends, in it.   I will stare at it and do some sketches.

I am making these for my own use with no intention of ever selling them.  That would be too close to paint your own pottery for comfort.

We'll see, Grasshopper......we'll see............

As always, thanks for stopping by......*s*

CELEBRATE

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

Thanks for stopping by.......*s*

Tile

Whenever I want to do some straightforward illustrating I dig out one of the tiles I keep on hand.  They are glazed with who-knows-what, probably Spectrum #799 Majolica White.

I use Mason stains, mostly mixed with frit #3124, sometimes with gerstley borate added to give a denser color.  I will fire at ^05.

I have been looking at a lot of Mucha lately, so you don’t have to look far for the inspiration.  

This is not quite finished but I wanted to get a photo  before I loaded the kiln.  Yes I am going to do a firing soon.

Toes crossed that all my northern hemisphere friends are enjoying a terrific summer.  I am enjoying tea by the fish pond in the mornings.  It is such a relief to not have caterpillars crunching and crapping everything in sight.

As always, thanks for stopping by.......*s*