Up hill and down dale.

Decals have been collected pots out of the kiln, with some lovely unexpected results. 

 Here are some of my tiles which I love making. The repetition of the process of stamping them out like making cookies really appeals to me. During making the last batch I pressed some bits of greenery into the clay. They have had their first firing here and the shrunken powdery residue of the leaves still remains, like ghosts.

	neckpieces
	This was the image I was trying to show you from the website I just mentioned, still trying to get the hang of this blogging lark ! Anyway I have recently been looking back into jewellery again and the maker of this work also uses ceramic and fabric in her work as well as metal just as I was hoping to do. During my previous studies I worked with silver with the addition of coloured resin my pieces were quite sculptural. At the time I had a great interest in plants but not the knowledge I have gathered since I started gardening myself. I think this will help me a great deal particularly as I now have my allotment to grow my own primary research material in and study up close !

Wow love this !

http://www.nora-rochel.de/main.html

Ive just found this I love its detail of form and at the same time simplicity of colour.

Home again !

Im back home now after a lovely weekend away visiting family. I have returned with a bag full of inspiration in the form of magazines home and plant themed. Also a camera full of first hand images of beautiful flowers (images to follow)

My back yard.

Here are a few images of my back yard in close up, taken last Autumn I think.

I love the contrast of colours in these.

A little look at my work.

First attempt ever at throwing. A bit messy and useing scrap clay may have been a cheap way to practice but arguably harder to use too.

After a bit of practice with some new AWS clay and also trying out some slip casting in porcelain

 ta da !

Oops a little too thin on the bottom made a hole while turning, dissapointing but a valuable lesson learnt.

Another oops. After this I sanded the broken edge down on an angle, results later.

Third oops at the bottom here, it was a lovely thin bowl but as I was smoothing it down it cracked so I tryed to make it a feature but it kept cracking, and I ended up with this shape. It had been slip cast, apparantly the cracking could have been due to me leaving it to dry out compleatly in the plaster mold.

I wont be doing that again!

Above my first experiment with underglaze colours restricted pallette and a little scrafitto thrown in for good measure. The design was spontainous playing about around the theme of botanicals.

Busy, busy, busy !

Sooo busy today just two weeks left before the latest deadline. I been designing my own decals for the ceramic vessels and tiles i've been making. Today was the day they needed finalising and sending to the printers. Made it just in time should be picking them up next Friday if everything goes to plan !

Green shoots even if it is just grass !

Patchwork path.

My inherited shed is beautiful in its ramshackly bodgedness !

A soletary oak leaf in the watertank.

My Husband made a path through the plot which is constructed of a mishmash of different tiles and slabs, I love the red glaze on this one.

Spring is trying to spring

My allotment is still sleeping at the moment, here are some recent pics from last weekend. I had not visited in quite some time so it was strange to see it so bare. Here is a hint of whats to come in a little corner of the plot.

Petals & Berries is born !

So here I am i've bitten the bullet and gone for it, an exciting time ahead !