Pinch Pots

This blog might well be turning into my pottery log…. A new term of my pottery class has started and I had my first go at the humble pinch pot. A very quick and crude method of vestibule-making. A couple in this batch have fingermarks, which I think looked pretty good, I would like to try the same with a simple white and understated glaze.

I’m trying to get a good knowledge of glazes under my belt – I’m diligently making note of all the varieties of glazings I’m trying out. I have yet to find a combination which I love. I’ll continue with lots of complex scribbled notes in my sketchbooks until I find whatever it is I’m looking for.

I jumped on the wheel this week and made three quite well-centred pots. Not bad for not having been on that wheel for a good 5 months. Here are my pinch pots… I made holes in the bottom using my favourite tool, that’s so they they can become mini flower pots.

      

And finally, this wouldn’t be a pottery post without a mention of the teeth. I’m making a few every week, enjoying the three-step process,  with my pottery course once a week, each stage takes a week to complete, and I have many teeth on the go at once:

1) Sculpt tooth shape > leave to dry

2) Smooth tooth with wet sponge and fire > tooth gets fired in kiln

3) glaze the fired tooth > tooth gets re-fired

4) One complete tooth!

We have a project to complete this term – ‘Cornucopia: the Horn of Plenty’. This involves writing Haikus and creating a ‘fantastical form for fabulous foods’ for the celebratory feast to mark Potstop‘s 20th anniversary.

We’ll be inscribing the haiku on the form, and it will contain one of our favourite foods. I’m making a wide-open jaw, complete with teeth, holding fizzy sherbet-y sweets and a few gobstoppers. It’s going to be reminiscent of that bit in Beetlejuice when the bowls come to life.

BUT less scary. This reminds me of wonderful Harry Belafonte. Remember the song in that scene – ‘Banana Boat Song (Day O)’? It’s a cracker. So I’ll ending this with his other mega-famous one – Jump in the Line. Bye!

A new love of Pottery

I have found a new love, and it’s pottery. Have competed a couple of short courses in it, at Potstop Bristol and plan to continue. I now find pottery inspiration everywhere, from shapes and curves to my crinkle-cut kitchen knife which I’m going to use to make patterns in the clay.

And one day, I’ll have a kiln at home, the whole shebang – it’s a new goal of mine. Here’s a couple of my makings. Little Vid I made using the GoPro, Crazy honeycomb vase (I think), cactus object/pot and the beginnings of the honeycomb vase. Must take more pics at Pottery!

Plasticine Model Making

Even the cheapest plasticine is good. This stuff will never dry, so needed to be transported carefully back from NZ, and dusted regularly! I tried putting the burger in the over, but it just went soft, not hard. I think the solution is a layer of clear varnish. I’ve also been given the tip that sculpting with tin foil and then a layer of plasticine on-top saves your stock of plasticine.

Here’s some silly things I made. This brought me lots of flow and is a great thing to do if weening yourself off watching too much TV!

Simple way to create text artwork

I just found a brilliant tutorial over at the Wicked & Weird blog (A good’n for a variety of creative inspiration) The blog post was a re-post, originally taken from A Beautiful Mess, and the blog post has detailed steps and lots of images to help you with this DIY project.

This is what you’ll make:

And this is how you’ll do it:

1. Find a crap old painting
2. Use sticky letter stickers to spell something out on-top of the painting
3. Spray/Paint it all white
4. Then peel the letters off.

Regine Ramseier – Windstille

‘Windstille’ An installation by German artist Regine Ramseier.

The following is taken from Ramseier’s website. Thank you Google Translate! Although it doesn’t make all that much sense.

“I have focused this work on the small room in the art laboratory. Around 2000 withered dandelion flowers alive and easily commute from the ceiling. A symbol of life and birth. A symbol of vanity. A moment to pause. Hold your breath and turn to the transient of a breath. Marvel at the miracle chamber. 

Hermann Hesse has expressed my feelings into words. In the poem, momentary flashes. The small white room contains a large window, which locks out the green of the park. The dandelion sky slopes from the door to the window and it seems as if the flowers worn out from the room, the light and the day to meet. But still they hang in the room and are permanent. Captured in my memory. They will not return. But the golden meadows, this I know, the dandelions, they will return next spring.”

Paper Mâché birds and heads

I have been making some bird and people heads.

Made from paper-mâché – PVA glue & water with newspaper dipped into it. I make a sturdy cardboard base by wrapping some around a jar, and then cover with a couple of layers of paper-mâché to make it go really dry when hard.

Man’s not finished

Flamingo’s finished: 

 

Little Wings Accessories

Another gem in the Handmade shop was ‘Little Wings Accessories‘ who create handmade feather headdresses. The artist collects feathers from her farm and you can buy the headdresses on her online shop, or even commission her.

Pheasant tall feather headdress

Emily Warren’s animal heads

I spent a day in the Handmade shop in Brighton last week. My friend Angela Chick is part of the art collective who run the not-for-profit shop. There’s lots of lovely things in the shop, my favourite being these animal heads by Emily Warren.

All images are the copyright of Emily Warren 2010 (apart from the silly last one)

Emily Warren’s Stealthy Rabbit Illustration Blog

Emily Warren’s Stealthy Rabbit Maker Blog

I tried to draw her seagull

Confused man sculpture

My fingers made this silly little man out of clay, i don’t know where he came from, but he obviously had to get out! I like his teeth the best.

And this is a bit of fluff i made from bits of fluff.

It reminds me of everlasting gob stoppers and my friend Jack Warren Meeks.

Henrietta Swift: Sweet Tooth

Henrietta Swift is a designer/illustrator who recently graduated from the university of Brighton. She has great ideas. Here is her ‘Sweet Tooth’ piece, wher she visually represents the phrase ‘Sweet Tooth’  aimed at educating kids in brushing their teeth. She made an oversized tooth pinata and toothbrush for the hitting stick. I love pinatas!

See HERE for the ‘Product Design’ section of her website. She is a clever one, designing happy faces for lightswitches, planet badges, serindipity teacups and an ADVENT JUMPER!

Paul Granjon – Zprod

Paul Granjon is a wonderful, machine making man.

“I am interested in the co-evolution of humans and machines.
I build robots and other machines for shows in performances, galleries, festivals and television.”

And this – the antigravitational vehicle for cats video

He makes songs using his handmade 40cm long ‘Zitare’, here they are. Have a listen to them!  I especially like ‘La chanson du cherry pie song’

‘Fluffy tamagotchi’ Property of Paul Granjon

a little film about him here

‘Furman’ Property of Paul Granjon

“I saw Furman in a dream… I sketched the creature in my diary in the morning: a 6 foot furry thing with no arms and furry legs, delivering karate kicks in the air. A few weeks later, I decided to build the creature.”

Imagine if we all made the thing we see in our dreams? Mr Granjon’s immediacy is great, if only we all shared it.

Here’s his website.

Dolciodille

Dolciodille [dohl-see oh-de-lee] are husband and wife team Ashley and Dusty. They are a letterpress and design studio in Atlanta, USA. they make lovely paper things for weddings mainly. But they make lots more, for many occasions.

Their website describes them like this: “Together, they offer unique design to people in areas where the conventions aren’t just tiresome and forgettable, but a dime a dozen… if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, unforgettable, and expertly crafted, then Dolci Odille offers a designer’s take on things.”

Here’s their website
Here’s their blog (very inspiring and regularly updated)

I mention them because they just updated their blog with a tutorial of how to make a miniature fabric flower garland, which is probably the cutest thing ever, and a good little project I shall be undertaking. Maybe as a Christmas present for someone, or maybe as a christmas day project (to distract myself from all the eating) the tutorial can be found in this link to the Once Wed website. Enjoy! I’ll be making and photographing my flower garland soon, but here’s one of them in the mean time.