New Shelves, New Clay, and a New Look for my Glazes

I'm really excited about the new adjustable shelves my husband is putting up in the studio. They look great and make my life so much easier.

The piece on the upper shelf is a lot of fun. It's an explosion of carved roses all the way around the pot. I threw the bottom pretty thick in order to carve really deeply (the petals point downward, while the body of the pot curves in, out of sight). On Tuesday I got up at 5:30 am, marched into my studio, and carved for seven hours straight. Yesterday I cleaned and refined the roses for another three hours. It's hard to stop myself! I'm so glad clay dries out or else I'd never have a reason to put down my carving tools.

Now it's on to thoughts of glazing... My regular clay manufacturer recently went out of business, and although the new clay doesn't look much different from the old, my glazes are turning out much differently on the new clay body. I'm very excited! There are glaze tests in the kiln right now -- (going to go check on it right now, be back in a sec!) -- so as I get to know my new colors I'll get new ideas for my pieces.

Leafy tea bowls show off the new look of my green glaze.

This glaze used to be a dark lilac.

Voilà the lovely fountain inside the Apothecary. I dropped of my new pieces on Wednesday. I'd like to think the koi fish on the teapot are feeling right at home here.