This is the continuation of part 1 and part 2 of a custom project that I am making for Texas based artist, Jean. It’s always a pleasure and an honor when another creative person commissions pottery from me – Thanks Jean!
Stoneware jewelry box with butterflies and bunny knob
My original plans for today did not call for posting part 3 of this ongoing series, however after tossing and turning for an hour at an ungodly time of o-dark-hundred, I finally decided to get up at 5am to begin my day with a cup of coffee and some blogging before heading to school to substitute teach. I finished the construction of the box yesterday and brought the box inside so that it can begin drying in preparation for bisque firing. I hope to squeeze it in with my student’s work on Sunday afternoon.
When Jean initially asked me to combine butterflies and a rabbit for a special birthday gift for her sister, I wasn’t sure how the 2 images would work together without being too saccharine. After sculpting the bunny knob, I think it works. What do you think? Granted, the box isn’t finished – it still has to undergo separate bisque and glaze firings – and I’m going to be adding ceramic laser toner butterfly decals to the respective shapes before calling it done.
I took a lot of photos to document the project – if you’re interested take a look at the gallery images below.
Meanwhile, I did my first laser toner decal firing yesterday and lo and behold, it works!! More on the process later – I took notes during the firing.
Tea bag saucer with water lily decal
You may remember this sketch of my water lily painting from this post. I took the image into Photoshop and resized it appropriately for this decal test firing and printed it out at 300 dpi onto decal paper. It’s not terribly apparent from the photo, but the image is a nice dark sepia tone which I think will work nicely on Jean’s jewelry box.
I'm attempting to dry the box evenly by adding rubber bands on each end to keep the lid from distorting.
I encountered a slight design challenge – after I cut the lid off of the box, the ends started drying at different rates and began lifting. As an experiment – I am drying the box with the rubber bands in place. I’m tempted to bisque the box with the rubber bands in place – they’ll burn off fairly quickly. Maybe not though, the rubber might leave a discoloration.
So, what’s my news? I received an email from the Landscape Architecture department at the University of Colorado and I’ve been re-admitted to the graduate program starting this fall. I’m super excited – but haven’t received the official letter yet. I was going to hold out, but you know me, I can’t. 
Have a great weekend everyone,
~Cynthia
35 Responses to “Ceramic Jewelry Box Part 3 & News”
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Congrats Cynthia!! Will you still try to make a pot now and then?
The rabbit looks very nice and fits well with the piece. Not to saccharine at all! I mean it’s not manly or anything, but that wasn’t the goal, now was it?
Of course I will make a pot now and again – I’m not exactly sure how this is going to play out. Fall 2009 semester won’t be terribly time consuming, but once I catch up and begin the studio classes in Jan. 2010, then the equation changes. The studio class is 6 credit hours alone – quite a time commitment. I also think that I’ll be learning autocad and more graphic programs in 2010 that will correlate to the studio.
Nah – the rabbit isn’t terribly manly
unless you mean to shoot and eat it!
Ok, change of plans. I just changed my mind. Do Not Send That Box To My Sister!
I Want It. It’s Mine, Mine, Mine! Noo, I’m just kidding, but I am so in love with it, and it is so totally perfect for her. You have no idea how much I appreciate your work on this, it is amazing! The bunny is great. She is going to love it. The tray concept is tops. Can you tell I am happy?
I am so happy that you were accepted! THat is wonderful for you. You are one going on gal!
This one is a steal, Jean – the next one will be market price!
Seriously, this has been a fun and challenging project and I’m enjoying myself.
Congrats on being accepted! That is wonderful news. The box looks great so far. I like how you have incorporated both of the design elements. I was wondering how that was going to play out. And the decal plate looks wonderful.
I WAS wondering how this box was going to play out, Jerry! lol – I was ready to ring up Jean and tell her that she had better buy a gift for her sister sooner rather than later.
Wow Cynthia! This is just amazing! I love it! And the decal has come out really well too!
Congratulations on being accepted back to Uni! I’m wondering if the positive choices you have made regarding Uni has breathed new life into other areas of your life – such as your ceramic work – not that it needed new life, but I feel it has got some anyway!
Funny, you should mention my new found energy, Linda – I don’t know that it’s new found, or that I really had an epiphany. I was sitting in my house one day feeling rather uninspired and frankly bored to tears. Clay held no mystique – and I was thinking that with my daughter hitting middle school next year, the time is ripe to move on. I left this very program in 2006 when she was 7 and needed me more. Now that she’s 11, smart, confident and movin’ on in her own life, I feel like it’s time for me to make more of an investment in myself. I also made the realization that I would never make it as a potter because I only want to make what I want to make when I want to make it. That limits the income a bit…. So, I hope to make pottery and ceramics a very passionate hobby for myself.
the Bunny topper is perfectly WONDERFUL!! I was also wondering how you would combine a butterfly, bunny theme and have it look artful and not too-too or cute-sy… you did such a great job!
I’m looking forward to another post on your laser transfer -I just got a packet of the laser paper in the mail yesterday! Can’t wait to see what you post next
)
I keep trying to scratch the decal off – and I’m happy to say that it is fused to the glaze! I’m going to run it through the dishwasher next and microwave.
The bunny is so sweet! I was quite surprised. Not that I doubt your ability to sculpt. — If it was for me, I’d be a little worried about the ears standing out free; probably I would be a coward and have them carried by the back.
I considered the ears, Eva, but knowing that it was going to a grown woman, I figured she’d take care of it…
The box is wonderful!
And big hurray for your acceptance into the landscape architecture program – that is super exciting!
Thanks Lisa! I’m excited about going back to school, and have really mulled it over given my previous experience in the program and the work and time I know I’ll have to commit to be successful.
well congrats on getting back into the programme, the corners drying off on the box is interesting, prob needed wrapping back up, the bands are a good idea for now and the decal looks great, i did look up the decal paper but it sounded like they were for transfers only not ceramic firing.. maybe i got the wrong site..
Thanks Ang! The decal paper is from http://www.decalpaper.com/category-s/3.htm and you’re right, it’s not marketed for firing in a kiln – the key isn’t in the decal paper – it’s in the ink formula of the laser printer. There needs to be 30%+ iron oxide in the ink for the laser toner decal to work. After researching printers, I decided on the HP P1006 mainly for its price ($89 USD) and Justin Rothshank’s suggestion. I own one of his decal printed mugs and have been impressed with the stability of the laser decal. I subject his mug to a lot of wear and tear including microwave and dishwasher.
well thanks for that, it explains the whole paper thing, i have a lexmark laser printer so will look into the toner info to see if the iron oxide content is up to the mark, ta mucho ang
I tried a quick search, Ang, but couldn’t find anything…I remember though that I had to really hunt the HP site to find ingredient list for the HP P1006 ink cartridge.
I swear Cynthia, leave you alone for two seconds and you produce more work than I can even comment on! What an amazing lady. I love this box and the process you described yesterday or when ever and wow! To see the decal and the other stuff is so cool. Neat girl!
Wonderful newsy blog post. Congratulation’s first of all. How very exciting for you. Your stoneware jewelry box is awesome. Really unbleievable what all you accomplish. Congratulation’s, it is beautiful.
Thanks, Nancy – good to hear from you again!
Your butterfly bunny box is beautiful. The bunny is so cute and I like the fact the top is rounded – which makes the bunny look like he is sitting on a hill. I was right about your news – congratulations. The decal is wonderful, how neat it’s your own lotus drawing, can’t wait for your next post on how to do decals. I find I can draw on paper better than I can paint slip and so I wouldn’t mind trying my own decals on clay one day when I can invest in the paraphenalia to accomplish it.
Will you be putting decals on the box?
Someone said (can’t remember who – oh maybe it was Judy Shreve) said they put a rubberband around the seam and overlapping the top and bottom on a covered casserole to try to get them to dry evenly and not warp – not sure if I am explaining myself – but using another rubberband in that direction might help.
Great post – can’t wait to see the box after it’s fired.
Good idea about placing rubber bands in other direction too. Yes – I’ll be adding butterfly decals to the butterfly outlines.
Thanks for the congratulations too – I’m excited!
Congrats on the graduate admission.
Love your decal !!! Great job.
And yes. I think you’ve done an excellent job of combining the rabbit with the butterfly.
Let us know if the rubber band idea works, eh? I’ve been having a dickens of a time with lids and your rubber band concept looks like one of those: “why didn’t i think of that myself” ideas.
Hugs
Chae
So far so good on drying, Chae. I’ve lifted a bit of the plastic up and have been rotating the box around. I’m going to take Linda’s advice and add 2 more rubber bands. I haven’t had any issues with square boxes – only this one that’s longer than wide. Plus, it’s a bit larger than I normally make these.
This is so cute with the bunny knob. The recipient is going to love it.
Congratulations on being accepted into the program. You are really going places, ya know.
Thanks Janet – well, I don’t know about going places, but I do feel like I have a clear vision of what I want to do.
Really nice! Love the form and scale of this piece. What a wonderful gift!
Congratulations on being accepted into the program too!
Coming from the master of animal themed boxes – that’s a true compliment – thanks, Sarah!
That box is wonderful! Love the subtle look of the butterfly, and your plate looks great as well. What cone did you fire the decal to?
Thanks, Keith! Wouldn’t you know that after taking the plastic off of the box, when I picked it up this morning all the feet came off. Doh, I just reattached the feet – this time I added a bit of vinegar to the slip. Come to think of it, I think vinegar is supposed to help prevent cracking so my pre-coffee logic made more sense. It’s done now…
I fired the decal to cone 04 – the glaze is ^6.
Big congrats, Cynthia! Back to school — what a concept.
I think what I like best about you is your willingness to dive into BIG THINGS! That’s an amazing quality, and I’m proud to (kind of) know you!
Ah, you’re sweet, W.J.! There’s a part of me that says to self, “What are you crazy? You’re going to be 43 this year – what gives you the right to run with the youngin’s???” Then my more confident self says, “Screw that flawed thinking – do what you want to do, who cares how old you are – go run – be free!” (Chariots of Fire theme song playing in head…or maybe theme to Rocky?) As a more “mature” non-traditional student, I think I have a very broad view of the world and am accepting of variety in life. As a mom, I’m really good at multi-tasking!
Congrats Cynthia, that’s great news. Love how you’ve pulled the themes on the box together, the rabbit looks fab.