I'm very excited about my new bird decorations I have been designing ! I thought I would show you the making process from start to finish ,there are a lot of stages and they are quite time consuming but worth it for the finished result ! First I have rolled out the clay and cut out the shapes with a cardboard template I designed.The edges are smoothed and sponged for a good finish . Also I have added some impressed decoration with stamps that I have made .
Next I have attached a paper wing and stuck it down with water ,which will act as a resist when slip is painted on .
Various coloured slips are then applied and the paper resist is then carefully removed .
More impressed decoration is added using a metal tool to give the effect of stitching around the wing. White spots are added using a slip trailer ,which is a bit like an icing bag .
The birds are then left to completely dry out ready for the first biscuit firing .
Here are the birds after being biscuit fired .
The birds are now dipped in a transparent glaze ready for firing.
They are carefully placed in the kiln not touching so they don't stick together. They are fired again which takes a whole day to reach the right temperature ,then another 8-12 hours to cool down .
This is the most exciting bit about pottery ,opening the kiln . I have been doing this a long time and it still is a thrill to see how the work looks finished !
Some for the birds are turned into hanging decorations and some I have tried as decorations on sticks for putting in plant pots .
Really pleased with these new designs ,hope you like them too !
I'd love to hear what you think too !
P.s These are my own designs and they have taken a lot of work to get right so kindly please don't copy these images or designs to sell Thanks!
I am busy working on some new ceramic designs using more coloured slips and some more burnished smoke-fired pieces for an open studios week in June . Will be taking lots of photos
along the way and look forward to sharing them soon xx
Love these birds! So cute! Also love the spring blanket, gorgeous colours! Funnily enough I was also inspired by Meme Rose to make some crocheted African Flowers, and make a hanging from them! You can see pictures in my blog. Her work is so pretty isn't it?! She also uses such lovely colours!
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