Gingko Bisque Texture Plate about 12 inches x 18 inches

Last fall, I made a bisque texture plate by impressing leaves from a ginkgo tree that I planted in my front yard about 2 years ago.  As you can see from the photo, it cracked right smack down the middle (a crack developed along one of the stems while drying and then during bisque firing, the heat did the rest).  It doesn’t mean that I can’t use it anymore, but the crack limits the size of work that I can make with it.  Each side is still large enough for me to make the base for a hand-built mug (see below) and when I had an hour to spend in my garagio the other day which wasn’t enough time to really get into any kind of production mode, but just long enough to test out some of this plate’s other possibilities.

Hand Built Ginkgo Printed Mug

Ginkgo Texture Close-up

The texture is pretty to look at, but also very delicate and fine which proved a little problematic for printing purposes.  After my first try, the impression was spotty at best, so I had to smooth out the clay and try again.  Since my bisque plate is fairly delicate, I placed a towel underneath the plate and then put my clay slab on top and used a rubber mallet to make sure that the entire surface would be left with an even impression.  After tapping the slab with the mallet, I used a rolling pin and my favorite Sherrill rubber rib to smooth out the clay on the non-printed side.

Ginkgo Plate Trio - still green

Since I knew I didn’t have enough time to make a mug, I decided to make a few small tea bag/soy sauce dipping sized  dishes with the amount of clay that I had impressed and ready to go.  I’ve been lacking motivation after taking such a long break from my studio, but know that doing something even if it’s small, is a step in the right direction in regards to getting back into some kind of a routine.

Small Ginkgo Plate

As with any type of printing – whether on paper or clay, the reverse is always true and what shows up.  If you take another look at the ginkgo mug (above), you’ll notice that the ginkgo leaves are not raised as compared with these little plates.  That’s because I impressed actual leaves into the slab I used for the mug, and I used the bisque plate for this one which left a raised impression.  I’m not sure which one I like better – I’ll have to decide after I glaze it.  If I prefer the former, I’ll have to make another impression of the bisque texture plate and then bisque this one – or wait till spring when my tree leafs out again.

Pink Glazed Flower Pendant

I’m still making jewelry – this one is available in my Etsy Shop for $20.00.

Porcelain pendant with slip inlay - still green

To make the jewelry just a bit more interesting, I tried my hand at doing a bit of mishima or slip inlay on a porcelain pendant.  After it’s glazed and fired, I’m going to add a ceramic laser toner decal for a third layer.  It might be just a bit too busy with the slip inlay, glaze and decal, but it will be a good experiment.  I was a bit too hasty when I removed the excess slip and then I sanded fairly vigorously on top of that.  Note to self – don’t rush….  Once it’s fired, I’ll add a silver plated Aanraku bail (used by dichroic glass artists) to the back with epoxy glue.

Meanwhile, ever put the wrong cone in a kiln sitter and not realize your mistake until it was too late?  I’ve over fired a kiln once before and you think I would learn, but luckily, this time I put a cooler cone in the sitter rather than a hotter one.  Yesterday, I fired the kid’s work for my Tuesday clay class  and this morning when I went to pop the lid open, everything looked just plain drab ugly.  I grabbed the box of cones that I left laying out near the kiln and luckily I put a cone 018 in the cone 06 glaze fire.  Thank goodness I noticed my mistake early enough and since class isn’t until tomorrow afternoon I replaced the cone with the correct one and am refiring the kiln as I write this post.  It should be cool by tomorrow morning in time for me to unload and pack the work for class.

Bonus – it’s freezing in Denver today and we’re expecting a high of only 18ºF so my garagio will be nice and toasty when I head out in about an hour to work since one of my kilns is firing.

Have a great week,

~Cynthia