Cat and tapir porcelain spoons

Ceramic spoons stir warm feeling among us. It's because, I think, spoons are symbols of love, healing and nurture. I like to stir my espresso with my cat spoon. It makes me feel happier, a little bit, but happier.

Fresh from the kiln - last Friday's firing

My spoons have glaze all over. So that you could use them for any food without worrying about stains. Although high fired porcelain and stoneware have high resistance against stains, but I know you would feel better if they are glazed all over, because I would. Glazing all over requires a problem solving skill because glaze would be stuck on kiln shelves if they are fired directly on them. I made a firing rack and put the heat resistance steel bar, and hang all spoons on it. The black colour in the holes of  handles were caused by the steel bar. At 1240C even steel became soft a bit. And after several firing the bars deteriorate.  

Cat spoons

The rack is about 20% higher than spoons as porcelain shrinks a lot after firing.  And the steel bars makes a mess in the kiln. As they deteriorate a bit by bit at each firing, steel dusts fly over inside the kiln.  So I usually use an old shelf to fire the spoons on and another shelf to protect other work. As the rack is quite tall, it would be ideal if spoons would be fired with work in similar height. Hence, I don't fire spoons often.  

As glaze ran down a bit at high temperature, some parts of black underglaze become a bit runny with it, as well. 

So that's how spoons were fired. It is quite a challenge. Once or twice, steel bars became bendy and a few spoons got stuck together. Each spoon is small, but it takes a lot of space in volume to be fired. Even so, I like making them. I am not a potter or 'spooner' by trade, but I know people love my spoons. I can't forget when they see the spoons in person, their eyes are shiny and twinkle, and they show their most beautiful inner girls' faces.    

Quite a few from the last firing have gone now. These are remaining ones. 

Remaining spoons from the last Friday's firing. 

Birds of summer

England is having a hot summer. We don't have it so often. Summer sometimes skips Britain; the land forgot by gods. That's how I often feel.

Swallow brooches

It has been hectic since I came back from Tokyo. But now all orders for summer deliveries have been posted, and I'm making for those for autumn deliveries. I can finally pace myself.

This summer I was able to make swallow brooches for the first time. I had been thinking to make one since last year.

They go very well with navy, which happen to be my favourite colour this summer. 

And here is my inspiration. A pair of nest-making house martins we saw in Kanagawa, Japan, in May. 

Swallow brooches in my shop.

From my shop, other birds have flown away recently. 

Blackbirds. The right one has gone. The left one is in my shop. 

 Both Long tailed tits have gone to loving homes. Thank you so much.

 

In the studio in November.

The kiln started this morning. A few hours later than expected. One of Tiny baby tapirs fell and got an ear injury!  He was rushed in to A&E, but got in the kiln just before ten.

I have been busy working for the bisque firing for last three weeks. This is the last bisque firing for Christmas orders. I hope you will find what you are waiting for if you have placed orders.

Kiln shelfie - Lower shelf has tapirs for waiting lists as well as orders. A few should have a debut in my Etsy shop. Lots of whippets in various sizes, polar bears a little birds.

Middle shelf has porcelain spoons for tea leaves and parts for sculptures and four salamander brooches on commission. 

The top shelf has vessels on commission, rabbits, whippets and a spoon! 

I would love to fire more often, but I try to be eco friendly and patient. So I will try to fill it when deadlines are not looming. Here are some photos of work in progress before they were bisque fired. 

Tapirs come in three sizes.  

But whippets come in various sizes! 

In the UK, There is a TV program about competition for throwing pots. Here is mine. I seldom do, unless I have orders. A porcelain bowl.   

After drying enough, turning the bottom. I hate post with rough bottom.  

I might do the second turning, if the bottom is a bit soft. 

They have become bone dry for bisque firing. 

Yet another glaze-firing!

Here is our new porcelain bowl. I say our because Mike made it on a potter's wheel and I decorated it. It is now in my shop. Two more to be listed soon! Watch the space!

Porcelain bowl made by Mike and decorated by me. 

After loading the kiln about eleven o'clock Wednesday night, I caught a cold. Ah, it was predictable. I had stayed in the sick bed for one and a half day. I wanted to stay longer, but in the next room, Beaper, the grey parrot, was wolf whistling as well as whistling the tune of  the Merry Christmas song so loud that I gave up on napping. Since then, I have done more glazing in the studio (and remotely loaded the kiln and started another glaze-firing!). A strange thing about glazing is that I usually reluctant to start, but once it is started, it is difficult to stop until all are glazed. I kept at it for two days, and now only three pieces left.

I still get a sore throat and headache when I go outside; it has been cold lately. I put all pieces on kiln shelves in the studio last night, and politely asked Mike to carry them to the kin in the garage. They are mostly re-firing pieces.

Lower shelf

Top shelf

I had a small rabbit mask to be fired, but forgot about it. That's why the lower shelf has space!

When I am doing glazing, I feel a small kiln is more suitable for my work than a larger one. I like to fill the kiln quickly and see the result soon so that I can get feedback from what I have done. If my kiln were a bit taller it would be perfect. But I can't have it all.

Although I have been indoor bound, Mike has been out and about.

Ducklings

River Stour in the city centre

Moorhens

Our animal family are also doing well.  

Pumpkin is bathing. 

Dogs are sleeping in tandem. (Pearl chews her blanket!) 

 In the garden, apple blossom is in bloom.

Apples

 And Camassia is showing its beautiful blue spike.

Happy Easter to you all. We finished our first Easter Chocolates on Friday, and we are working on the second one. They come from Madame Oiseau chocolaterie. You can get her lovely chocolates in either Canterbury or Selfridge.

 

Porcelain cups and bowls

Hello everyone. Mondays are often posting days for me and Topaz, my loyal pooch. She knows when I am going and gets excited. It was a bright day, but the air was cold. I am still wearing a fleece jacket. Our small post office was crowded with people applying for passports. I was worried about Topaz waiting for me outside, but thankfully she was ok. A gentleman with a dog was entertaining her, when I came out.

In the morning, I sent Jane the studio technician detailed instructions for firing and handling the work I left in the studio yesterday. She is an experienced real pro, but unlike pots, my sculptural pieces require delicate handling. You have got to know where to hold before handling. As I wrote it to her, I felt I am like 'mother-in-law!' So I said 'I am certain that you are relieved that I am not your mother-in law.'  Her reply was 'Yes! : )'. So do I!

Two of my new style of porcelain have been recently sold. I would like to make more of them. I feel free and joy when I make them. I still have more porcelain bowl and cups of this style in my shop. If you haven't seen them, please check them out on my Etsy shop. The painted parts have an embossed effect. As usual, the real ones look better than the photos! ; )  (Every customer tells me so!)

Yunomi cup -Sold

Little bowl -Sold

It is so lovely to write the blog. It is my break from essay writing. Talk to you soon, everyone!


  


   

Too much is as bad as too little

Hello everyone. We are still in a dark, cold, damp spell. I have stayed at home except for short dog walks. My work got busy and I need to focus on it.

Today, I will show you porcelain fired in reduction. They are my test pieces. Although I had known that porcelain become blueish white in reduction firing, I didn't expect they become this blue!  Those we used to use in Japan were not this blue in my memory.

I decorated these porcelain pots just before I finished packing the gas kiln. I ran out of ideas of decoration; I don't like repeating same design. As I was moving the brush, I thought, 'Umm, is it too much?' but I kept going. Alas, it became OTT!

It started ok.

 

Somehow I felt more was more at that time. 

Ah-oh. Too late. I did too much!

Back is still nice, though! lol

This is yunomi (tea cup). Despite the mistake with the bowl above, I somehow carried on. There is too much cobalt decoration all over, even inside! I soon remembered Japanese saying, 'Too much is as bad as too little'. Aghh, too late!

Yunomi with too much decoration!

Last one is something I cherish. I love the pine ash glaze. I make it myself; I burned the pine branches found on the campus nearby, washed the ash about 50 times, and made the glaze. But the problem is that I don't have enough pine branches to make lots of ash, so the ash glaze is only a small quantity. I poured inside, but I had to brush outside. I love the colours. It has the atmosphere of early spring. 

Inside is natural celadon. Ash has higher iron content than other trees easily available In Japan. So when they make celadon glaze from scratch, Japanese use pine trees.  

Pine ash glaze, natural celadon colour

   

New porcelain cup from the kiln

Hello everyone. This morning, when Mike brought a breakfast tray to the bed, he told me that our glaze firing was successful and that he had brought all work into the house. After breakfast, I went down to see them. Yes, they are pretty. A couple of them need re-firing due to pin holes (there are tiny places not covered by glaze). But the results are quite good.

I have one to show you here today. This is a porcelain cup with sgraffito.

My new porcelain cup

The left flower should have had a blue centre, but it became too dark. Despite it, I still like this cup. The little character on the left (image below) is my signature that I use for ceramics. You often see it at the back of my work.

The other side.

I will be doing reduction firing tomorrow. I will be in the studio at nine, and will log the firing details every 15 minutes until about four in the afternoon. Mike took a day off to cover me so that our dogs will be walked. It will be a long (and cold! 3C max.) day.  I'm ready for it!
  

Lovely pots from our first firing of the year

Hello everyone. Yesterday morning I woke up very early. It was before dawn, about six o'clock because I was excited to see the result of our firing. I had put several experimental pieces in it. Mike and I trotted to the garage in the cold morning air. Yeah! So happy! Here are two of my favourite ones.

Large guinomi, porcelain

  The first one is my favourite side. I love the black and red spots as well as 'dry' looking brush marks.

I love the big swish.

 I used black and red in reference to Japanese ink drawing.

Porcelain sake cup

 The next one is guinomi. It will be in your palm; typical guinomi size.

My favourite side

Sgraffito

 
This dark brown is black iron oxide. It need thick application to get a strong colour, but that way brush marks would be lost. I only did once, and it looks thin after firing.

Dark brown was Black Iron oxide,. 

 It is liberating to decorate pots like this. In Japan where I am from, cobalt oxide is widely used for decorating porcelain by professional specialists. I always admired their skills. I do a free-style with my Japanese calligraphy brushes and Chinese painting brushes. They are wonderful on ceramics, too. You need to practice different strokes before you could use the brushes well in the way we do, but it will be all worth it. (Japanese children have once a week calligraphy class in primary schools. I had never dreamt of the repetitive practice on strokes would ever become useful one day in UK!)