Carroll County Art in the Park in Westminster is this Saturday June 1 from 10am-4pm. I've got a lot of great things I'll have with me and hope to see you there.
We were at the cabin over the weekend and I collected leaves to try out an idea I had. I've seen a bunch of articles about people preserving fall leaves and wondered if I could do the same with green leaves and use them in clay.
The first step was to collect leaves. I tried to collect a variety of leaves so I could figure out what worked best. I collected from 4 different trees - 2 kinds of oak, maple, and linwood. I also collected blackberry, rasberry, gooseberry, and currants. Finally I collected what I think is a type of fern that grows in wet areas up there.
What I have found in the past is that the tree leaves hold up pretty well just on their own for a while, but the fern in particular has to be used quickly because it turns brown and very smelly after just a couple of days.
I had read that you should press the leaves for 2 days before preserving them so I put them in this old notebook with a few pages separating each.
We ended up coming home a day early since it was supposed to pour (of course it didn't) so I ended up doing the preserving at home. I used Mod Podge Matte sealer because I had a bottle, I didn't really care if it was matte or glossy. I used a foam brush and brushed 2 coats on each side letting them dry between.
The hardest part was getting it over the entire leaf without having it stick to my fingers or itself.
Unfortunately I cannot find the stitch that I used to make this and too much time has passed for me to remember it. I had all the pieces for a while and just needed to sew it together, but things happened and it took a while.
The yarn is Saratoga Sport by Into the Whirled in Whovian. I do remember that it looks more complicated than it is. It was just two repeating rows.
On Saturday morning after we had finished the bulk of the glazing we moved on to clay. Michael explained the first 4 projects in concept and then we started on different ones so that everyone wasn't fighting over the same texture tools and puzzling molds.
I started with the patchwork plumpkin.
We used different textures on each of the sections of pumpkins.
The next project is what I have been calling the Dr. Seuss tree. Can you see the mushroom texture on the bottom? I can't wait to fire this and see it all lit up.
Next was the chicken. I had a terrible time with the beak looking like a duck the first few times.
I eventually got it with some help and this little lady is a chicken. I don't know that I have a use for these other to amuse me, but she's funny.
Next was the giant mushroom. Two of the women who did this after I finished turned their mushroom into a fairy house. I see one of those in my future, but I like how whimsical this came out.
On Sunday morning we started on a grape vase. For all the other projects we had used a raku clay, but this vase is terra cotta. I also need to remember when Michael ships this to me that this is low fire or I'm going to make a mess.
As I was making this project, I was envisioning a wine chiller. I'm going to try to make one with a similar design.
The last project we did was a simple bark bowl with leaves.
Once again Michael imparted a plethora of knowledge. On the plane home I made a list of all the projects I want to do soon.
This first video is me taking the raku tree out of the kiln. I have taken items out of the raku kiln at the last 2 workshops, but this was definitely much heavier. I managed not to drop it though!!
Here is the finished tree post scrubbing.
This second video is the big reveal of the tree. My particular tree was in a larger can with lots of paper. I think that it led to there being more varied colors in my tree than some of the others.
This last video is of me adding the horsehair to the vase - without burning my fingers.
Finished vase
It's that time of year again, time to go to the middle of Wisconsin and cram my brain full of all kinds of new techniques. This is the third year I've gone to the retreat with Michael Harbridge and he never fails to come up with a bunch of new projects. This year we managed to get through 11 projects. Seriously, 11 projects in 2.5 days. Add to that his wife Jeannine makes delicious meals for us all weekend.
We started off the workshop doing surface techniques. Michael had cast or purchased bisqueware and the focus was on specific techniques for each piece. Once we finished these then we moved onto clay.
Our first project was to raku a tree. We used a raku glaze (Jade Gloss from Learn Fired Arts) on the bottom 2/3rds.
On the top 1/3 we used a Mayco Jungle Gem glaze - purple rain. How amazing does this look?! I'll post the videos of me taking this out of the kiln in a subsequent post. It was definitely the heaviest thing I've ever pulled from the kiln. I got a ton of different colors on the bottom.
The back also looks completely different from the front. It's going to be hard to decide which side to put facing out. We also made a base for these that I neglected to take a picture of.
The next project was a flower bowl. We used a brush loading technique to make the petals on the flower inside.
Then we outlined the petals and made the middle of the flower.
What's interesting is that we used Mayco Tuxedo for the outline and the center, but it came out brown. The best we could figure was the kiln fired hot and Tuxedo starts to burn out at a hot cone 6.
On the outside of the bowl, we created a wood grain texture with the new Mayco Engobes. Sorry it's slightly out of focus and I didn't realize it till now. I have to wait till it's shipped to take a new pic.
We continued using the engobes on this shallow bowl and also practiced blending techniques on the banding wheel.
We used rubber stamps in the middle and on the rim (you'll see it in the finished picture). I decided mine needed some dots to round it out.
While this isn't my normal color palate. I do really love how this bowl turned out. I really like the white stamps on the black rim.
On these little mushrooms we did two techniques. The first was on the bottom where we used a brush loading technique to create the depth on the stem. The second was using cobblestone with stroke and coats on the cap. We were supposed to do a brush loading technique on the top too, but I had dots on the brain.
This little guy is the only finished project I was able to bring home with me on the plane. I've got him on my desk right now.
This vase started with a layer of underglaze that was buffed. I attempted doing some banding on the top, but it didn't go so well so it became one solid band. I actually really like the top so I'm glad I messed up. The second band in the middle went better, but this is something I need to practice.
I'll post the video of me putting the hair on the vase later this week.
More camping mugs and bowls on the way. I love this clay, but its sooo messy. I can't make anything else without completely cleaning the studio multiple times. These are also taking forever to dry because its been so wet and rainy.
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