mc.

2 years ago, my lovely friend Adriana started a wicked clay community blog called Mud Colony. It became a great platform for potters around the world to share work - you've done a top job A. 

This week is our last chance to post on MC before switching over to Facebook - let's run over for a read shall we? The 2 year archive will stay active - thank you Adriana :) x

[view from my wheel this morning]

SPOONS!

I finished throwing for Ebb Tide in the third week of January. 3 weeks late, I learnt that I had to pack up and leave Australia. 2 months on, I have been ITCHING to MAKE something. Thankfully, my old training ground, Craftworks Studio, have flung open their doors and found some CLAY for me to mess around with. Naturally, I made spoons (with holes so they can be pendants too!).

HEY it's Thursday (in Australia, still Wednesday evening here), let's go to Mud Colony shall we?! Big big thank you for the sweet farewell wishes from 2 weeks ago! x

install

Wednesday: 3 days 'til Ebb Tide.

[Megan assembling her 'Bloom' sculptures]

[Yah, amazing right?!]

[my empty space!]

[how wonderful to finally see them in the gallery]

Hey! It's Thursday! That means Mud Colony is open again!

painting through the storm

Maybe you heard; we had a visit from ex-tropical cyclone Oswald last weekend. I happily ignored him and carried on painting.

[playing cup games with Adriana]

[thankful for a dry and warm studio, safe from the raging storm]

[mishima scrapings - pretty huh]

[moving from painting to mishima]

[then back to painting]

[glorious, happy studio time!]

[building an army]

[and remembering to take regular breaks, of course.]

HEY LOOK! Mud Colony is back for 2013! Thanks dear Adriana!

mud people

An extra treat at the Eveleigh Artisans' Market in Sydney; a few Mud Colony potters met in person!

[Therese + Anna from Port Hacking, Adriana from Melbourne, ME and Sadhana from the Blue Mountains!]

I had no idea that Adriana was flying up from Melbourne...surprised doesn't even touch it! Thank you lovely lady, you made my day.

the week.

I've misplaced my 'normal' camera, so I'm not recording my studio days as much as I would like. In the absence of more substantial photographic evidence that I am in fact MAKING stuff, here are some Instagram shots: 

[early Sunday morning studio session]

[chai latte in my Allysha Hurd cup]

[Tuesday morning studio breakfast]

[my excellent $1 op shop find!]

[FINALLY trying my hand at Mishima inlay]

What's that? It's Thursday? I've remembered? It's time for Mud Colony! Did you see my interview over there on Monday?! Big love to Adriana.

days in pictures.

It's been a busy week. The proper camera didn't get any use, but here are a few Instagram shots.

[sunday breakfast in a John Gillson bowl]

[glazing on a Sunday afternoon]

[blood orange salad in a handmade bowl for a special girl's birthday on Sunday evening]

[my breakfast time view on Monday morning]

[loading the kiln on Monday afternoon]

[early morning coffee in the studio on Tuesday]

It's Mud Colony day, off you hop!

tea cake.

I assembled my teapots today. It was tedious. I grumbled a lot. Thankfully I had a freshly baked cake break with my friend Wendy, so my sanity is intact.

pre-handle

post-handle

possibly cuter without a spout and handle...!

Now to baby them for a week so they dry super slowly and *hopefully* won't crack! Then the other worries will creep in...will the lid let go after the firing, will they handle well, will the spout straighten correctly and pour sufficiently...ah!

It's Mud Colony day again, off you hop!

stamp.

Way back in February I signed up for Diana Fayt's first e-course, The Clay: Surfacing. At the time I thought 'Sure, I have time to keep up with this every week', but of course, I didn't (for good reasons of course!). Thankfully Diana graciously designed the course so it would be available for us to drop into when we could (I say we, there were well over 100 of us that signed up from all around the world!) and even extended the video viewing time by an extra month than we expected. Diana in her own right is an inspiring ceramic artist; her combinations of form, colour and pattern always excite me (I highly recommend following her on Instagram!). The course was thoughtful, insightful and overflowing with a wealth of information. I am only now, 6 months on, allowing myself the time to try my hand at the technique that most caught my attention; carved printing blocks.

[paper tests]

I gave myself the afternoon to play and shake out some of the ideas that have been floating around my brain!

[work space]

Ah, I loved it. Diana said the printing blocks would be addictive and she was right!

[I need to refine my heart design as a silhouette]

 I love that this is a quicker way to apply an image, but each application will be completely individual.

Thank goodness for odd wobbly cups hiding on bottom shelves (do we all save them for moments like this?)

I also carved myself a feather shape. I don't know if I can apply the correct amount of colour to equal the brightness of the hand painted designs, but I'm very keen to get these samples fired to see if I can refine my lorikeet feather range somewhat. 

I love the lorikeet feathers still, as do my stockists and customers it seems, but they are very labour intensive and if I can reduce the time-per-piece then I hope I can sustain this range a little longer before they drive me crazy!

Thursday = Mud Colony! Wishing love and luck to Adriana this weekend as she participates in her very first trade show, Design:Made:Trade in Melbourne! Wish wish wish I could visit!

yesterday.

Life has been a little unsettled of late in my little world, but I find solace and peace in my gorgeous snug studio space.

Brainstorming for new projects, drawing, taking inspiration from Sunshine Coast artist David Green.

 Painting little dishes and longer SPOONS!

 Throwing and trimming - a bit of repetition and a few challenges.

Thursday = Mud Colony! Do you know, dear Adriana has created a Facebook Group for us clay geeks to use too?! How good is she?!