"P" Clay Paisley Pendants

Leaves on Yellow Tile

SEVEN LEAVES on a SUNNY DAY

Underglazes accented with Designer Liner lines and dots

on white lowfire tile, frame complements of Emily Cohen.

Pinch Pot Bells in the Making...

Stoneware was pinched into a soft bell shape and allowed

to totally dry in that shape...

Then black terra sigillata, green underglazes & Mayco Designer Liners 

were used to decorate the outside of the bell shape.

The cat Talisman bell was pinched from scroddled stoneware clays

first the body, then the head which contains clay pebbles to rattle...

When leather hard, underglazes were added for color and the body 

was carved with a texture.

The bell itself is two faced with one cat looking to the past

and the other to the future so the person hanging it

can stay centered...

Hot out of the kiln, both the Leaves and Two Faced Cat Bell.

Too many clapper choices for the cat!

The pinched greenware Monster bell is enough to ward off the 

meanest of garden visitors...

The bulging eyes were accented with underglaze when the bell

was leatherhard and the clay used was scroddled stoneware.

Once bisque fired, underglaze lines and dots were applied.

The colors will change drastically after firing; a clapper tongue

will be hung from the inside and a cord from the top.

Out of the kiln!

A Little Leaf Tray...

A practice tray for Show 'n Tell at my upcoming workshops.

Prepping for a Summer Workshop

This summer, I will be conducting a tray workshop at

The Community Arts Center where I will demonstrate

using Mayco Designer Liner underglaze applicators

to create patterning on the trays made...

So I decided to make up samples of various trays

with my signature leaf drawings on them to have on hand

as Show 'n Tell at the event.

The photos are of the bisqueware and the fired pieces. 

The round tray is yet to be accented around it's

perimeter with Virginia Creeper Vine root.

These two bisque trays have been decorated with underglazes

and a black Mayco Designer Liner used to outline the leaves.

The dots in the background were also applied with various

Designer Liners in underglaze colors. 

How Clay Can Speak For You...

A few weeks ago, I demonstrated how to transfer print a word collage 

copied in black and white on a color copier to the clay slab surface

then pressed the slab with a PMS tray form into a 4" piece of foam.

With the scraps of clay from making the tray, I formed a pillow rattle

which  had a transfer print of the cat, Babe the Biter, on one side

and a blank back where I used white underglaze dots, green underglaze 

and a black Mayco Designer Liner to draw the leaves.

The pillow rattle is glaze fired but still not complete until I adorn it

with a handle, beads and maybe a bell or two...

Snow Day RATTLES...

Forming a pillow rattle is relatively easy. Once you puff out the clay 

by blowing your "Chi" into it and pursing it closed with your lips, 

you only need two firings to have your very own rattle to adorn.

OK, so it takes a walk or two in the woods 

to locate interesting sticks for handles and a few visits 

to a shop like Blue Santa Beads in Media, PA

to collect appropriate beads to augment the clay ones you've made...

But it's worth the effort when you end up with fabulous rattles like these

for sharing with friends and collectors!

P I T C H E R S . . .

A one piece design for a pitcher which showcases my Intaglio mat,

Dot Leaf quite well; Stoneware 710 clay.

A CUTEsie pitcher patterned with my 2 x 2 clay stamps, Gillette leaves,

corrugated cardboard patterned handle and body trim.

The Ginkgo Leaf Intaglio mat patterning on a personal pitcher

accented with Gillette leaves.

The same pitcher perched on a Dot Leaf patterned tea biscuit tray.

Southwest Patchwork Intaglio Mat

A soap maker ordered my Mayan Mayhem Intaglio mat

to impress the pattern into the surface of the soap and it worked!

So I reworked my Southwest Figures into

a Southwest Patchwork design.

Perfect for clay or soap impressing!

This is available in my Etsy shop!

Ceramic LEAF Sticks for Earrings...

These lightweight delights are made from the leftovers I had

from making the leaf bracelet beads...

They too have niobium loops and some interest on the reverse side.

I see them as earring pairs but a necklace of them

would also be nice!
Available on BHClaysmith Etsy site -
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BHClaysmith

Leaf BRACELET Beads from Clay

Fine metal stencils for embossing are a great way

to add a pattern to ceramic clay...

All you need is an engobe, underglazes

and a fervent imagination!

Even the reverse side can be designed 

with a surprise by using terra sigillata on the greenware.

I also added nichrome wire loops to each side

and a slight bend as they were drying to conform to the wrist.

Keeping Track of Glazes

I am going to use this tray which has been stenciled with a grid 

as a test for different glazes, so I took a picture of the tray

with the first glaze areas in place, then posterized it

and printed it out.

As I add additional swirls of glaze, I will use a pencil to shade

in those areas on the printed copy and write the glaze name

in the borders so I know what I used where.

Making TRAYS in CERAMIC CLAY and Cool Ways to Finish Them!

I will be offering this Summer Workshop

at Community Arts Center in Wallingford, PA.

One of the things I will be sharing with participants

is finishing a tray with Underglazes, a Dotter & an Outliner.

Participants will be able to practice this technique on a 

white bisque tile.  For example, I painted underglazes on two different

white bisque tiles as shown above and below.

Then when the three coats of underglaze have dried,

I used underglaze in an Outliner and on a Dotter to complete

the two different patterns shown below...

These 6" x 6" tiles created by participants will be clear glazed 

and fired by the Art Center and be ready to pick up

a week or so after the Workshop.

I also plan to have each participant take home an

Outliner to use in future projects of their own.

This technique can then be used on any of the trays

made by Workshop participants to create 

awesome looking pieces...

They're back....

Earthenware hand build pitcher and cutting vase multi-glazed.