Ceramic Ambitions

I haven't cooked adventurously of late because I've been obsessed with pots. I recently saw these gold lustered cups (I think they're from Anthropologie in the U.K.)and want (because I think I can)to reproduce them with the Frost Porcelain I have left. And I'm just now noticing that the horizontal stripes are inside the mug too.

If I try to re-create my version of the mug below, I should definitely try to play with cobalt oxide.

I've also been admiring the stencil work of Diana Fayt. I may have to add a bag of Laguna Electric Brown clay to my shopping list at Clay Planet and use the Oriental Pearl slip that Kat gave to me and Meral.

Yesterday was Ceramics Club, hosted by my colleague Zan. Before going to her classroom, I copied an image of Frida Kahlo and lines of text, one of which I affixed to the plate I bought at the Pick of the Litter.

I wasn't quite read to dig into the bag of Coleman Porcelain and instead opened a bag of BMix with Grog (which I learned is Cone 5/6 whereas BMix with Sand is Cone 10). Whenever at a loss at what kind of project to build, I turn to hand building mugs or plant pots. And test tiles. I think I was only in the ceramics classroom for an hour and a half. Zan watched me inexpertly pulling a handle and gave a quick lesson, and so I stole her handle and attached it to my mug.

When I got home for dinner, there was no reason to cook because I had made baba ghanoush and hummus and a Greek salad and bought feta with sundried tomato and basil at Grocery Outlet over the weekend and stopped at Safeway for gyro beef and whole wheat pita.

Back to ceramic dreams. I've a bag of speckled buff too and want to be thoughtful about what I make from it. I want to go geometric angular like these espresso cups and saucers.

Those mug handles are so cool. But I won't make saucers though I love that contrast of raw and glazed clay. And if I'm going to make it on a bigger scale, the size of a coffee mug, then maybe I need to go back and make my brass knuckle-like handles. And cobalt oxide! But I've a feeling that the pots below are outlined in marine blue underglaze.

In looking at all my bottles of underglaze, I've every shade of blue from sky blue to royal blue to ice blue, but no navy or indigo blue. However, Zan says I can play with cobalt oxide to create all those different shades. My aim will be to use that color palette to create something almost as intricate as this vase.

But I'm not interested in peacocks. I love nautical, and so my plan is to make a big porcelain (or not....maybe I'll have to use Grogzilla)lamp. Really I need to measure some lamps and look at the electrical hardware I have to figure that out. Meral wants to do the same--only she also wants to build a shade or some kind of frame in which to weave the shade on to.

I'm not that ambitious. The above image is from a painter, who's a sometime potter? I suspect that the surfaces on the pot above are acrylic painted and collaged with paper. The ceramic vase is lovely, and I love the whales and the sailing ship, two motifs I would like to include on my lamp.