Cups and more Cups

I know, I know, I have away from here for a couple of months. I have to figure it out a better way to do the stuff I like. I want to do everything and as a result I don't do much.

The latest is that I have done so many cups, 25 to be exact. I need so many things to work better, a potter's wheel to star, fallow by a kiln and a space to be dedicated only to clay and fun stuff, like glass and watercolor. I have talked with contractors and designers and I now I have a drawing and an estimate. Next thing is to find the money, easy right?

So my way to start this big project is with something small. Selling cups myself, usually I give my things to the galleries and they take care of it, they also take a big percentage. So I am going to try to sell things myself in addition to the galleries.

Here is my add, I am running a test on FB to get more people to know me, the more I know the better the chances to find someone who will buy from me.

Click Here to see all my cups, and if you can share it to your friends.
  

I have more news, but is 2 am and I super tired. I tell you more soon. Check my FB page to find out more about me and my cups.

Thank you so much,

Monica

Posy Vases

This two posy vases were an experiment than turned out very well. They are fired cone 10 and painted with comercial glazes. Before these vases I didn't like that my clay always turned light gray when fired cone 10. I discover that if I want my clay to remain white, I have two options: fired cone 10 electric or change Loafers Glory (my clay) to porcelain.

At the studio they don't fired electric or work with porcelain, so if I want to have the background really white, I have to go somewhere else. Which is not the end of the world, but I am used to fire my pieces in one place, plus it will required me to transport pieces, etc.

So, i made this two small vases, and use different colors to paint them. As you can see, the background is not white, but the light gray is not disturbing either. I asked my classmates and no one were even thinking that the background must be white. I believe I over think way to much and make big problems were there are none.

This two little vases are helping me in more ways than just testing colors.

Banner

Sometimes I feel that I can produce at all, my head is full with ideas, thoughts, questions, list, and all sort of things, that make impossible to focus in only one thing. Every year I want to apply for a couple of art shows but the list of things that I will need is so big that it discourage me all the time. I will need among other things, a tent, a banner, something to display my pots, make something cheap so people at least buy a $5 dollar something, business cards, a website, a device that let me connect with the internet for the credit cards,  I know most people have smart phones, but I don't I only use the phone to make calls or text, the rest I mainly do in the computer. I have in a couple of event and I had used my husband iPod, which stress me enormously.

The list is so big, that I feel stress just to remind all of those things. However, I have decided to have a different approach this time, I will do it step by step, and if I don't have things ready this year, for sure they will be ready next.

First step business cards... DONE. I feel so relief, it was such a headache thinking of that, and decided of theme or brand that will resume my work, I know it sounds silly but it is hard work, unless you go and hired a creative from an add agency that will help you with everything, but it will also cost you a fortune. Lucky for me, I have some friends in that field, but news is that they are Peru :(

I fund a wonderful designer a friend of my brother who helped me with the cards and finger cross will help me with all the other things. It is a bit complicated since I am here in Florida and he is in Lima, but things are working out fine.

Second step, a banner. Have you seen those banners in the tents of craft shows, there is a graphic, or a photo with the name of the person or store, the website and so on. Every page on the web and every book said a banner is a MUST, well, I am working on that. Is not as easy as to pick a photo and write all your information, or perhaps some people can, my brain works very slow and thinks way to much, should I use a photo or a design, what kind of design, etc, etc, etc. I decided to paint something in watercolors, something that lately have been very well received by people: my Florida Summer collection.

Here it is:

 

What do you think? I think it will work, now with the magic of photoshop and a talented designer like my new best friend Ozkar, it will be the banner I will use for the next show :)

I posted it on FB and people really like it, some people told me that I should illustrate children books! wow! You know, I always wanted to be a children book illustrator, the same way I always wanted to make a dinner ware set in the wheel, and have a book published, I am never short of wishes and dreams.  Perhaps they all come true someday. In the meantime, I really have to focus and finish my plates, see you next time.

Juguemos Mundo! Let's play Hopscotch!

This is my latest project, it is still and idea and don't know exactly how it will turn out. Hopefully they will look just like the cups, with a lot of colors and like a cartoon. I still have to figure it out how to frame it once is done. The ladies at the studio gave a lot of ideas, now I just have to pick one, easier to say than do.

The idea of this design is as you can imagine my beautiful niece Bella, she just learn to play hopscotch, she is 3 years old and she can not quite jump as it supposed to be, she jumps with 2 feet, but I can see her playing this game a lot in the future. The dog is Reyna, my ant's rat terrier,  she looooves to play with Bella, well, she looooves to be the center of attention, hahaha.

A have been told that these tiles look like a children book, maybe there is an idea right there, the only problem is that I am terrible with Photoshop, how will I do it without it? I can add more traditional games in the story, jacks, rope, Chinese rope... hummm, so many ideas, so little time.

What do you think? did you play these games?

Florida Summer Cups

Wow! I just noticed that my last post was in August, time really flies, I keep saying that but it is so true. I always feel behind, so much to do, so little time. I think is me, that I don't organize my time they way I should.
Anyway, news, I have been busy making cups, actually I have sold some, a complete record for me, that I don't usually sell my pieces so fast. Apparently everybody loves the Florida Summer cups, and I can't keep up, I work really slow, but I am trying my best. I made four more because I sold the previous two and again, just taking them out of the kiln I sold another one, so I only had three to photograph, then I sold another cup. Now of course, I am making more. 

 

The latest four are being to be ready to glaze on Monday, here they are in greenware. I made two birds in love, and two parents and baby birds, to see how is the response. What do you think?

 

Vermillion Flycatcher Cup 2 / Taza Turtupilin 2

Here is the second cup. What do you think?  Maybe I should also do a Teapot...

Vermillion Flycatcher Cup 1

As I said before, I am making cups, trying different things with them. . . and of course I like birds. This is cup with two vermillion flycatchers, I am a bit obsessed with them. In Lima we call him "Turtupilin", this bird has many names, it is also called "putilla", "mosquero", "mosquero sangretoro", "mosquero cardenal", and many more, I like turtupilin, sounds good too me. I miss it, there are not vermillion flycatchers or Turtupilines in Florida.

Perhaps the thing that I like most is the black mark around its eyes, is like they are wearing an eye mask, I find the raccoons also  incredible cute. I should draw them as well.

I draw two turtupilines, as a way of practice, I like mishima more and more every time I try it. Someone at the studio said something that make me think, she said she loves the birds but she will love them even more if they would be able to talk like Rodolfo and the cats, and it is true. When I draw them, their train of thoughts are in my head,  for example the fat one is thinking of eating the dragonflies, just waiting for the right time to ZAZ! his behavior is being observed by the other bird, who is also thinking, that that bird needs to be on a diet. However, everything is just in my head, only Rodolfo and the cats have been able to said their thoughts aloud. I wonder how can I make them talk....

What do you think of these birds? So far they have help me to increase the likes on my Facebook page, which makes me very happy. If you want to like it as well click  Barro y Arena. and like my page. It will be very appreciate.

Thank you !

Blue Jay Nest Vase

Finally I made a new version of the Blue Jay Nest, last one I did was around this time of year last year and as you can read it in my previous post ( Blue Jay Nest) I was not happy about it. There are some important changes in the new version, first of all is a bigger vase (yes!!!), second I had no intention to use any latex ever again and third I did not use as much glaze as last time.

The theme is as you can see the same, the difference is the glaze, wow! Glaze does make a huge difference.
I am debating myself weather I should leave the background always empty or if I just keep trying to find a glaze that works for me.



Blue Jay Nest 20014

 

Blue Jay Nest 2013

 

Four Big Bowls

It is really amazing and scary how fast time goes. The studio opens its doors again the second week of January and right now we are about to start April (!!) And during all this time I have been busy working on new projects, but they just take forever to be ready.

I had accomplished to center and make a 5 pounds or clay bowl yay!! I even think that a 2 of those bowls maybe had more than 5 pounds the weighing scale at the studio is kind of tricky or perhaps I didn't know what I was doing (most likely). Anyway, I made four big bowls, the walls of the first two were a bit thick so I decided to do some carving and the other two I decorated with the slip.

I have been looking the pottery of Carol Long, and I noticed that my work is in a way similar to hers. I love her pottery, she is sooooo amazing!!! She seemed to have found the perfect combination of form and surface decoration the way she glaze her pots wow!

I on the other hand, am still working on that. So, I decided to decorated my bowls in my usual way and keep in mind her glazing technique (I don't really know for certain how she glazes her pots but after looking tons of photos of her FB page, I think I have an idea). When I started the glazing fallowing what I thought was her technique I find out that I was wrong, my glazes run again and again, perhaps her glazes and her slip decorations are thicker? At the end I did what I always do, just painted with brushes instead of the slip trailing tool. although in some areas that tool was very helpful.

On Monday I will be able to see the result, I really can't wait, hopefully the glazes would not run and if they did I hope they do in a nice way. Just one more day to see them.

In the mean time here are the photos of the bowls in greenware state. . . Well, apparently it is not easy to recover photos from instagram to my computer. So while I tried to figure it out how to do it, here is the link, I did some bunnies thinking that eastern is coming and my usual birds on a tree.

I will take normal photos on Tuesday to post them here. You can go to the link and see more photos on my instagram account, and of course you can follow me there as well. See you on Tuesday, I will post the results.

Happy Sunday!

I am back again, I found a way to use my instagram photos on Picasa. Here they are.

 

Henna Pots

I have been very busy lately, I haven't write in a while. Here is an update. I have been playing with the slip trailing a lot, I have made some tumblers, some vases and bowls.

This green glaze is called Ayumi and everything was fired at c.10. I also tried a red color, but it looked more pinkish. The design was inspired in Henna motives I found on the internet, I like the flowers and butterflies, that can be created with the slip. 

I took all this photos in my back garden and since we live in Florida there are all kinds of wild life everywhere . Here are some animals that were dying to have their Kodak moment, hahaha. In the first photo you can see Sssssinforosa, the snake. She is everywhere, luckily she is shy, when she is aware of my presence she hides very quickly, which is good because I don't like reptiles. My garden has many insects, I am not very fond of them, but I know they are good for my plants so I let them be, as long as they are not so close to me. However I love butterflies, everyday I see a new kind, we are having more and more everyday, I guess my flower selection is working. Now I hope someday to have hummingbirds to keep me company at the garden, just like the Blue jays and cardinals. I will post photos will all my garden visitors soon.

Black Racer Snake

Gulf Fritillar Butterfly

Awakening Cacophonie

Yes, morning are very noisy in the mysterious guy who lives in the tree can not sleep because baby birds are crying, and the rest of the neighborhood is busy on their diverse affairs.

Spring Twilight

I took me so long (well, I took Brian) to figure it a name for this little vase, but finally he got it. Spring Twilight, it evokes flowers, bird, nice and warm weather.... it is a perfect match for the cherry tree and the birds.

In the land of purple trunk trees

Well, this is the final product, I had never play with underglazes this way although I do had use some before, for sgraffito purposes, 4 layers of one color and that's it. This is different, I was trying to paint with them the same way I paint with water colors. I did not turned out how I was expecting. However the result is fascinating, the greens are so psychedelic even when I only use a little and very, very watery. The brown turned purple, the orange/red turned out really red. Kiln does do magic!

I still have one more to paint, I will try something different and perhaps I will try a whole new set with this decoration, oh the future  what magical things will they have prepare for us.

I still need a title for it, some people had called Alice in Wonderland imaginary, some others psychedelic, and some kind of putrid (!!) What do you think?

Birds on a Tree # 1

This year I want to make something new, I was thinking on making jars with lids because I want to learn how to make lids and also because I think jar will be easier to sell than bowls. After last year craft fair I learn something important: not many people want to spend money on everyday objects like small bowls. However, they seemed to be very open to spend, sometimes even more money, on objects that they will not manipulate constantly like a big bowls for salad, a table center piece, something that will mostly function as a decoration. So I think perhaps I should to jars, they are nice and can be very decorative on the kitchen or wherever they want to put it. Plus learning to make lids will be fun!

First thing to learn about jars with lids is that both of them must be made at the same time or at least take the time to measure their circumference before of letting them dry. I didn't know that when I made 2 cylinders in hope of making their matching lids next class (!!) Well, lesson learned!

I will have to make more cylinders and measured them if I want to make lids for them. But what should I do with these 2 cylinders? They are not very big and they are quite thick. . . my head was thinking on the future lids instead of concentrating on making their walls thin. So I question myself again, what should I do with them? Well, I still don't know, but I figure it out that will be a good idea to try some new decorative technique with them, something I like to do but couldn't have done before, and my answer was right in front of me, resting on the thick walls: I should carved them!

So I did it, I carved both of them and soon some birds on a tree came out of the thick walls of the cylinders. Here is a video of the first one I made. I will post the second tomorrow. I don't know yet how to glaze it or what will be the actual function of these objects but I am sure something will came up.

These cylinders are the first attempts on something new. Perhaps I will develop a new collection with this idea, hummm, what will the future bring to these birds on a tree??

Tumblers

Like I said, I have been practicing new forms besides bowls. I was making tumblers and trying different glazes, but in the end I think I always do the same, draw something on them. Here are my two first carved tumblers. I carved them free hand when they were on leather hard, then I add some red oxide wash and cleaned them and finally I add celadon green glaze and fired cone 6.

The Hobbits

I am a fan of mostly everything that is related with fairies, elves, gnomes... so when a classmate didn't want his pot anymore and offered to me I say quickly yes!

Somehow from the moment I saw it I imagine a houses in a starry night and what better houses can be that Hobbits' houses.... maybe I am influenced by all the advertisement of the new movie, I just can't wait to see it. Below is my version of the Hobbits's ville, if I coul only reproduced it in my garden. . . maybe I should try!

Square plate!

A friend from the studio suggested me to try bigger bowls to have more space for  designs with the slip trailing  tool. Since, I still have a hard time making big bowls on the wheel, she said, why not try hand building instead. So I did, and I ended up making a square plate. Thank you Judy!

Tick, tick, tick, tick..

Tick, tick, tick, tick was the noise I heard when I went to throw away the garbage. But from where did that noise come? Tick, tick, tick, tick and silence, and then again, tick, tick, tick, tick. There are so many unidentified noises outside in the garden, I just had figure it out a few others, like the quirk, quirk, quirk, quirk . . . , I recently discovered are from some frogs, or are they toads? living in the little mailbox and close to the plant pots. I always thought the frogs said, "cucu," like the children's song: "Cucu, cantaba la rana, cucu, debajo del agua . . ." or maybe, the frogs/toads really speak English here in Tampa Bay, Florida.

But I am digressing from my story, back to the tick, tick, tick, tick. I just had to open my eyes and lift my head to find out the one making that noise was a Red-bellied Woodpecker. It was not exactly as the only woodpecker I have known, Woody Woodpecker from the Warner Brothers, but it is really beautiful.

Inca Summer

I was taking some photos the other day, took me so long to just take photos of 7 bowls, I guess I will have to keep practicing. Any way, here there are..

There are more photos here: Inca Summer and here Barro y Arena

Is it a mouse....Noooo! is it a mole....Noooo! is it a hedgehog...Noooo!!

It is a Guinea Pig!!! or as we Peruvians call it  es un CUY !!!

Be aware, is a cuyes invasion!