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This will be the last year that I will be doing the advent calendar so I thought I'd do an retrospect of my work. This leaf is a new piece created with porcelain clay, with manganese dioxide added to the porcelain, which has specked through the clay. Then imprinted with the design and tinted with rutile and copper oxide.
I do like the effect, they are delicate and natural.

Similar shape to the piece before but so different. This pot has be coiled using stoneware clay, which has a smoother finished. The grog in this clay is very fine, which does give the clay strength but little texture. The decoration has been created by carving lines into the clay, then the grooves have been filled with decorative coloured slip. The slip is scrapped back so it only lies in the grooves. Then it has been glazed i

In complete contrast to the porcelain leaves is this coiled pot made from sculptural terracotta. This clay has a lot of grog in it, which is sand, stone or clay that has been fired and ground down and added into the clay body, creating a strong textured clay.
By working into the clay, the design shows the contract that can be achieved. The side has been glazed with transparent glaze.

A coffee pot I made at Art School. It was made in a mould. The whole process involved making a plaster shape of the body of the coffee pot and making a mould of that shape. The hand, spout and lid are all made separately in their own moulds. Then casting slip is poured into the the moulds, the water in the casting slip is absorbed into the mould creating a skin of clay to take the form of the pieces. When the skin is thick enough, the excess casting slip is pour out and the mould is left upside down to dry. Once all the pieces are dried enough to handle, they are taking out of the moulds and cleaned up (fettled). It is important that the handle is cast solid otherwise hot coffee would flow into the handle and make it too hot to handle. The handle and spout are added to the body making sure there is a hole in the body for the liquid to flow into the spout.
Gosh hope that's clear. This is is how I started my journey to creating with clay. Decided hand-building was more my thing.

Creating pieces by hand-building and sculpturing the clay is endless and allows you to work with highly grogged (rough) clay. Though if you can centre the clay quickly on the pottery wheel you can throw with grogged clay. It also removed any dry skin on your hands
These bowls have a wonderful natural texture on the outside and are glazed inside so they can be used for food.

An experimental piece. Pressing different tools and natural objects into tiles of stoneware clay, then joining them to create the shape. More texture was added to the coils of clay between the tiles and all highlighted with manganese dioxide. I love playing around with texture, the beginning of a journey

This shape is one I love, starting with the coffee pot at art school to the sculptural pieces I make today. I love the gentle curve and softness of the form. It is asking to be held. Well I think it does

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