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Old Man with walking stick !

Old Man with walking stick !

This time my second attempt of the human figure was much better.
This time I used a wire to keep the figure upright. First I made the head
then I started making his top, trousers, hands and feet. As final touches I created a hat, pipe and walking stick and I made a base for the figure to stand. Then I painted the figure! I am not very good at making facial expressions
so I bent the figure a bit so that his face will not show much. The photo is not so good unfortunetly !

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The Moon !

The Moon!

First I cut out the shape of a moon and then I started building with soft clay the facial expressions of the moon that is the eyes, nose and mouth so that the base remained at a lower level so that the xpressions stand out. Then leave to dry. Then I gave it a first firing so that it hardened. This time I did not glaze,
but I sponged on some blue acryllic paint sparingly. Then as a final touch I sponged on some silver acryllic paint. Be careful as this can become very messy as acryllics really stain.Therefore, wash your hands immediately!

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The Sun!

The Sun !

For the sun I first I cut out a big circle and then I started building the rays of the sun and I attached them firmly to the circle. However, the rays where not just flat - I even made them a bit irregular to give them that rough touch! Then I found the middle of the circle so that I calculated where I wanted to place
the eyes and the nose. Then after deciding and marking with a pencil I started to build the facial expressions of the sun with soft clay so that the base remained at a lower level so that the expressions stood out. Then leave to dry. Then I gave it a first firing so that it hardened. Also with the sun I did
not glaze, but I sponged on some green and yellow acryllic paint sparingly. Then as a final touch I sponged on some gold acryllic paint this time to give the
sun an oldish look.Be careful as this can become very messy as acryllics really stain.Therefore, wash your hands immediately!

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Leaf Vase

Leaf Vase

This was extremely a hassle to do ! First I made a base as usual. Then I started to roll out 'snakes' long strips of clay and I started coiling. Coiling is a method potters use build. It can leave a very nice affect but believe me it is very tedious and tiring especially rolling out loads of 'snakes'. Anyway after building loads of coils, sticking them ogether with slip but at the same time oving inwards so that I created a narrow neck for the vase. If you place the coil inwards you will automatically move inwards however if you build outwards the affect will come
as if the vase has a wide neck. Therefore, you can choose which way to go ! After all this I made
sure that the outside surface of my vase was smooth and not rough. Then I got a sharp edge, you
can use a sharp knife too and I started cutting long leaves to create a design. On the various leaves I created lines so that the veins of the leave will show, on one I left it empty and I drew one main vein in the middle. Anyway, I created a sort of leaf bulb. Then after leaving it to dry I fired it. After that I painted a rownish glaze on the part of the leaves that stood up thus leaving the engravings to show up with the lighter colour of the pot to show. This was a really nice contrast.

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Splattered Vase

Splattered Vase

This was also quite easy to make but at the same time tricky as someone had to help me make the the two pieces of the vase stand. First make a circular base. Then roll
two big strips of clay (as much as you want your vase to be tall). Then attached the two pieces in order to form a cylinder but leave the rest of the clap up right sort of like flaps. When the whole thing was dry I fired it once. Then I dipped it into white shiny glaze. Then I got a paint brush and did a design with some wax so that when I throw some colour lateron - the colour will not go on to the wax and the design will show
more. After that I got this sort of metal instrument used by potters.This is like a straw with a hole at the top and you dip one edge in paint and from the other end of the small pipe you have to blow so that the paint will splatter out, thus causing different splatters and markings on the vase. I did this with various colours and believe me it was real fun. The affect is simply out of this world! You will be amazed
at what you can do.

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The Cat

The Cat

First I rolled out a piece of clay, then with I cut out the shape of a cat with a mould. Then I carved out the eyes, nose, mouth and tummy. Then I fired it once. After firing I glazed him with a natural beige glaze and placed broken glass in his tummy, tail, eyes nose.

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Lamp Stand

Lamp Stand

This was very complicated to make ! First I made a circular base moulded in a huge bowl and left
the clay there to harden. Then I started to roll out clay and I made loads of curley wurleys and I attached them to the base then I rolled out a trip of clay and attached to the curley wurleys. Then I
did this a couple of times, however at one time I even made bent spirals to change shape a bit.
Then I made a cylinder shape with a hole on one side and attached it to the top of the rounded vase.
When the stand was ready I made a hole at the edge at the bottom so that I could pass the electricity wire.
Then I glazed the different shapes with a red, yellow and green glaze however after firing the glazes
got mingled on parts and on other part did not attach to the vase therefore this patchy affect was created. In order for the patchy affect to seem continous then I got some gold acryllic paint and I sponged it on in order to give it that antique look.

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The one and only Kung Fu Plate!

The one and only Kung Fu Plate!

Well this was given to one of my closest friends. It was a real hassle to make but it was a real challenge. And since I like challenges I wanted to try it out. First of all, I rolled out a piece of clay and cut out the shape a plate. Then I placed the clay on the plate in order to fit in exactly so that the shape of the plate will get into shape. Then I drew two circles in the middle one bigger than the other.

In the meantime I had already prepared beforehand the most tricky part of it all - the design in the middle. This was tricky as I had no mould or any shape and the design I had to do had very particular spaces that where very important for the design so I had to make sure that I don;t loose those spaces and I fill them in with the right colour in order to get the design perfect !

So I copied the design on cardboard paper then very careful I cut it out but making sure the spaces where not cut out too. Then I was left with this paper mould which I pressed in the centre in of the plate thus causing the spaces I wanted to paint with white glaze jut out in order to make a contrast with the black skin of the dragon! Well believe me it was a hassle as the dragon was small and I had to paint the dragon carefully with black glaze in order not to dirty the colour too. Then I also wrote the name of the Kwoon where my friend attends King fu in order to give it that orginal touch ! Well it's orginal because he is never going to have another like it ;-)