Flower Lino-Cut Printed Covered Box

Carving house shaped lino-cut

This particular house shaped lino-cut was made for the article that Annie Chrietzberg wrote for the current issue of Pottery Making Illustrated (Jan/Feb 2009 pg 17-20) and this is the first time I’ve actually used it to make something clay related – ’bout time wouldn’t you say?  I did just have a flash of an idea as I wrote that last sentence – excuse me while I make a note to self….  Okay, I’m back now and will test my idea later today.  In case you’re interested, the house template is 5″ tall from base to peak x 3.25″ wide – the roof begins at 3″ from the base.  Don’t ask about the .25″ – it must have been a good idea at the time. Want the template?  Click here:  house-shaped-template-pdf

Click on one of the images below to see larger construction photos of the  “House that Cynthia Built”:

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The box is not quite finished yet – I still have to cut the lid off, add some feet and a knob.  I made it on Monday, so it should be leather hard by now.  I make most of my covered boxes with “stiff slabs” meaning that they are already at the leather hard stage by the time I assemble them.  To make this box, however, I  used 1 hour old fresh slabs since I needed fairly pliable clay so that I could bend the eves of the roof without worrying about cracking – yet the clay also needed to be slightly stiff so that the walls would not flop over during construction.  As with many things in life, timing is everything.

Meanwhile, I am chaperoning a field trip to the Denver Art Museum and the Colorado History Museum tomorrow with my daughter’s class.  I’m bringing my camera and also a sketch pad so that I can get some ideas for new designs.  I’m always amazed when I see pottery from eras past -  still very fresh – or maybe it’s just that there are only so many things/forms etc. that one can make with clay so we keep reinventing the past?  Not sure what the answer is.

See you Friday,

~Cynthia

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