MONOCHROMES

I'm completely hooked on these new glazes - majolica glazes which reveal a wonderful sense of the texture and making process of the clay...delicious to drink out of!

These have all come out of the kiln this week...

In the spirit of 'world cups'...

Wheel thrown cups with majolica glaze -camaraderie, oneness, solidarity, harmony

Just for drinking...

ON BEAUTY AND USE

Just out of the kiln - a majolica bowl with carved edge

Side view of bowl

A very satisfying 'gem' out of the kiln today - a utilitarian press-moulded bowl for soup, cereal or salad..or just for contemplation!

Without using there is no complete seeing, for nothing so emphasizes the beauty of things as their right application' Soetsu Yanagi (1889-1961), one of Japan's leading writers and philosophers. He is also well-known amongst potters for his book The Unknown Craftsman.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yanagi_S%C5%8Detsu

STUDIO LIFE

SMALL MAJOLICA BOWL TEST PIECE

SMALL MAJOLICA BOWL TEST PIECE

SMALL MAJOLICA BOWL TEST PIECE

Yesterday - after several hours of packing up a large order, we were notified by the client that each piece has to have a sticker stating 'MADE IN SOUTH AFRICA' on it...aah, bureaucracy! Not even a sticker on the individual box will suffice, so now it all has to be unpacked again..!

Then a hardening-on firing of overglazes on a kiln load of cups mysteriously turned out soft powdery surfaces which now need to be re-fired, and hopefully not re-done!

But one little gem to cheer this day - wonderful little test bowls of majolica glazes and painted images, very inspiring. I am excited today to be wheel-throwing work where I will be applying this technique.

The discipline of ceramics is always such a life teacher, seemingly a metaphor for the ups-and- downs generally in daily living. And what a pleasure to be a participant!

END OF THE WEEK

Test pieces for a majolica glaze

Many streams of activity running concurrently in the studio this past week -

throwing and exploring the vessel form;
testing new majolica glazes for applying on thrown utilitarian pieces;
drawing and painting of portrait tiles for some panels;
surfaces and glazing of bowls and dishes for a Canadian gallery order;
decorating small cups for a Swiss gallery order;
completing a mural of tiles for an interior decorator's client in Knysna;
packing and paper work for panel going to S.A. pavilion at World Expo,Shanghai;
packing up tea bowls for a tea bowl exhibition at The Clay Museum in Durbanville, Cape Town
....ongoing admin work,
.... blogging....
AND trying to stay centred through all of this and to think creatively!
Sort of multi-thinking, multi-planning and multi-tasking all in one.

However ,always an inspiring thought to keep me going...I found this excerpt in a book called 'The Potter's Companion'(Ed.Ronald Larsen, Park Street Press 1993) which has interesting articles on the nature of craft and the ceramic discourse in general.
http://www.amazon.com/Potters-Companion-Imagination-Originality-Street/dp/0892814454

'Between the timeless time of the museum and the speeded-up time of technology, craftsmanship is the heartbeat of human time....The craftsman's handiwork teaches us to die and hence teaches us to live..'
Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) Mexican writer, poet, diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel prize for literature
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octavio_Paz