2018-01-21 - Sunday - Slip transfers

Sunday I went in to work on more Empty Bowls and start playing with slip transfers. I've watched Greg Scott work with the process for quite a while and decided to try out what I'd learned from him.

There was a whole lot of glazing going on when I got there.

Students glazing their work.

I settled into the third classroom to try out some slip transfers with underglaze designs I made. I was immediately taken with the process as the designs really popped when I applied them to the bowls.

Let me back up and give you a bit of the process.

First I paint designs on newsprint paper. I start with the black as an outline and apply color afterwards. Since the images will be reversed, the black is on top when applied to the bowl.

Next I cut the designs into strips and apply slip to the bowl and the strip of paper. I then place the paper, slip-side-down on the slip that's on the bowl, and burnish it with a soft rib.

 Finally, I peel the paper off the bowl and the underglaze design is transferred with the slip. As you can see, I played with applying the design to raw clay, to a fully-slipped bowl, and to a half-slipped bowl, using the transferred design to delineate the sections.

I see more experimentation in my future...

Speaking of Empty Bowls, tickets are on sale NOW. If you'd like to attend this wonderful event, please hurry to the website and get your tickets before they are sold out. I'll be there, and you should, too.


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2016-03-03 - Thursday - Bisque kiln and more

Thursday night I was settling in for the night and ready to skip going to Clayworks when I suddenly remembered I needed to unload the bisque kiln. Oh well, back out into the world I went. It didn't take long to unload the kiln and I spent some time catching up with some of the students, instructors, and studio artists. The evening quickly flipped from a chore errand to a nice visit with friends.

I find that kind of flip often happens if I let it. I start out dreading a task and there is usually a way to turn it to a positive thing if I just give it a chance. Flip it on it's head: I don't have to go to the studio for some menial chore; I get to go to the studio and see who's there and what my friends are creating.

I am constantly amazed at the creative energy that flows through the people at Clayworks. It's both familiar and disrupting. It makes you stretch your parameters to embrace the breadth of the ideas in process. It's so many creative people going in so many different directions at once, and they're all starting from the one thing they have in common: clay. After that starting point all bets are off because they will continue to surprise you at every turn.

If you're a creative person, a maker, I hope you have the opportunity sometime to be in a creative incubator like I am.





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