Going On

These are more of the spoon rest, test/practice pieces.  I find so much enjoyment in doing these complex designs, that I have decided to go with it.  At one time I was trying to simplify my work in the interest of lowering time spent and possibly prices.  Simple is just not me!

 Anything worth doing is worth doing to excess!  In my style of majolica at least!

TICK ALERT!

This is a deer tick many times enlarged.  Look at a pin head to get an idea of its true size.  I found this one on me after working in the garden yesterday morning.

We spend so much time outside doing our firings and clay reclaims that we should all be aware and check for ticks every day.  Just be careful; the long term effects of Lyme, Erlichioses, Babesiosis and other diseases are debilitating at the very least!

 
We have had some frost, but I still have one pot of passion flowers that are going strong.  I'm tempted to shelter and wrap it and try to winter it over.  On the other hand once we do get frost I may just dig the plants and winter them over inside!

We have a weekend of sunshine in store.  Enjoy the days wherever you are.

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

Tests and Pizza

Testing, testing, testing......I'm doing some blue on white or very pale blue backgrounds.  The blue poppies are in turquoise blue with indigo on a white ground.  I have some other blues I want to try in combinations.  I find it works much better for me if I do designs rather than strips of color.  Changes can occur when they are layered and and blended.   Color also changes depending on the carrying medium for the stains I use.  

I'm not totally happy with the rim.  It feels a little bare.  A simple line design may solve the problem.

The bowl is an attempt at dogs.  I haven't done much with canines; they have an entirely different anatomy from cats.  One of the joys of google is the ease of finding photos and descriptions of animal anatomies. There is a lot of drawing in my future concerning dogs.  I keep looking at the bowl.  Most of them look more like odd cats and bears than dogs.

I always have pieces around that are not good for anything but tests.  If I like them I use them at home.  If, after a few months, I still dislike them, I photograph them and turn them into drive way fill.  Terra cotta is great for filling ruts.

BIG NIGHT pizza......so named after the movie Big Night  and a wonderful pasta enclosed dish of many ingredients.  We do it as a kind of homage for special occasions.  Layers of goodies of choice with cheese and herbs.

Top layer of fresh mozzarella 

Covered and ready to bake