End of the week

detail of sgraffitoo on the tile jug

 

I was having some trouble down loading my images and captions and this detail didn’t make it on to the Harvest Jug.

 

tiles now completely dry being placed in the kiln for the biscuit firing (1015c)

The fish tiles have been drying steadily for just over a week and are looking pretty flat – that’s good.

I have finally sorted out my blogroll so I’ve added Hannah Mcandrew today.

My dad's old clarinet

One of the curious things about selling your work is the extraordinary conversations you sometimes get into. For instance just over a year ago a lovely new neighbour Maya just popped in to check us out and as we chatted it came to light  that she was a Clarinet teacher. My father Michael had died quite a while ago in 1985 and had left his 2 clarinets and they have sat in a draw ever since. Before Maya had left she had not only persuaded me to get one out but also to produce a note!! Ever since I have slowly been trying to master the clarinet a rather slow learning curve. 

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Throwing today

Rough sketch looking for a full form excentuated by a small foot

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are having an exhibition in the Corinium Museum, Cirencester in September this year. This came about by a chance connection, the assistant curator was a student of mine in the British School Teheran in 1973-4.

I’m thinking of some pieces glazed in what I call the Persian blue. This glaze is made with an alkaline frit and coloured with copper.

The domes of Iranian mosques have wonderfully full forms.

The domes are clad with an amazing faience of tiles

 

I am looking for a form to echo the dome and to carry the Persian Blue glaze

Harvest Jugs

Thank you for the warm response!! I’m encouraged

Reg Lloyd jug for Tales on Tiles

There has been a strong tradition of adding drawings and writings to large jugs in North Devon. Quite often these jugs were requests but I’ve seen pieces particularly in the Reg Lloyd collection when the potter has witnessed an event like a shipwreck and recorded this on the jug. Present among today’s potters/artists such as Grayson Perry is using the ceramic form to carry social comment.  I think some of the old North Devon harvest jugs are quite fantastic . Locally Harry Juniper the Bideford potter has perpetuated the tradition for the last 40 years.

I’m drawn to this kind of work too and produce a Harvest Jug when I feel inspired. The Tales on Tiles project  was to celebrate the collection of Reg Lloyd 

[R J Lloyd a gifted and established painter and illustrator, with his shrewd eye and collector’s instinct has amassed many fine examples of North Devon Slipware, richly decorated in Sgraffito some combing and trailing and then glazed in  lead  and a touch of iron to give the warm honey finish.]

I used a tile pattern worded’ TO CELEBRATE THE LAUNCH OF THE REG LLOYD COLLECTION’ around the jug with a drawing of a tile press on the front and dated and signed on the back. I was lucky enough to be able to glaze it in galena which reacted well to the woodfiring in the Bideford Kiln 

The other side of the jug

 

TILE PANEL day 2 & 4

day2 test tile newspaper stencil removed showing blackslip underneath

day2 added white trailing to the fish on the test tile

day2 pasting down the newspaper stencils with water ready for slipping

day2 tile panel all slipped and ready to be moved to a draught-free cupboard for drying

day 4 checking the tiles for flatness

This is a panel of tiles to go in a bathroom with four extras to be placed around the room in the white tiling. The tiles will be glazed in our alkaline blue [copper] glaze the origin of which is in the Middle East, this means the white slip comes through a turquoisy blue and the black slip dark almost inky. I’ve based the drawing of the fish loosely on the Salmon and its fry which I think gives the design more strength. Keeping tiles flat in the drying and the kiln, one tip is to make sure the clay is even and eliminating draughts helps. We have a sealed cupboard for this.

I’m totally new to this blogging but I’ve been quite inspired Doug Fitch’s blog . Doug is a very enthusiastic force in slipware pottery making spirited and exciting work. nOw how do I add his blogsite????

www.slipware.blogspot.com

Walking the Dog

Flo is getting older now and its more of a stroll

Its a brilliant start to the day to walk on Hartland’s wonderful cliffs

The sea is fairly calm the high tide is gently lapping at the foot of the cliffs

time to scramble back up to the car

A watery morning sun is just breaking through the cloud

Flo did pretty well today back home now for her biscuit

Tile Panel

 

Primary sketch, templates & stencils

Working with the placing of the larger fish

Working with the placing of the smaller fish

tile dipped in white slip with stencil underneath

 

I’ve been working on a tile order today. A combination of stencilling, combing and trailing. The tiles need to be 200mm square finished so we have made them at 216mm to allow for shrinkage. I used a slab roller and a square template to produce the tiles.

Back of tile showing scoring and Springfield Pottery seal

Highviz and Percy

First Airing

 Sunday is bike day and I’m stepping out in my new Highviz jacket.  Great to get out on  a sunny afternoon.

Dear Percy is no more

It’s a sad day too because Percy the goldfish died. He’s led a rather solitary life in our pond these last few years having outlived his mate.