Pottery with Knitting patterns

I finally got around to it and completed my dishes with a knitting pattern. I had mentioned about them in my previous post and I am so excited to see how they came out. I LOVE them!!! Great for tea bags, spoon rests and even holding stitch markers
I listed them in my Etsy shop and very soon I sold 20+ of them.

I made more and listed them here
I also have a SPECIAL going on for Free shipping till August 29th. Just use coupon code AUGFREE14 at check out.

My mind is now creeping up with more ideas, so let's see where this goes

Bollywood Influence

As many of you know, my work is influenced a lot by Bollywood and Indian fabrics and costumes seen in the movies. It is amazing to me when these influences penetrate your brain.

I came across this video of a Bollywood song shot in 1970 (Shot before I was born). There is a striking resemblance to how I even take pictures of my work compared to this video.

You can see the main actress (who appears a little later in the video) in red dancing in the center and the other dancers in colorful costumes dancing in the background. Now look at the picture below of my Dancing Bottles. I took this picture several months back without intentionally matching it to this song. Can you see what I see?

Potter's Guage

A simple tool which can save you a lot of time and frustration when trying to throw similar sized items on the potters wheel.

Previously I used a chopstick that is fixed on the splash pan with a wad of clay. It is efficient and super cheap and quick to set up. Several potters use this technique and they will agree that they have knocked the chopstick off its position once in a while.

Of course there are wonderful guages you can purchase but it just a lot more fun making your own. I spent 10 minutes in my garage and found a a few items which worked perfectly for this. The base is a heavy weight steel which came in the packaging of something I purchased earlier.. can't remember. It is really stable and all I did was attached a scale with a bolt (a scale not for measurement.. but that is the only thing I found with an already drilled hole) And then just attached a light weight iron rod with a clamp and I am done.

Just finished throwing these tealight candle holders with this guage and they came out great.



They make perfect diyas for Diwali.


I would love to hear about tools that crafters in all media have made themselves.

Studio space

I have met very few artists who would claim that they have more studio space than they need. We are always struggling for more room and the space keeps shrinking.
Of course it is not possible for us to move to bigger space every time we run out of room, ….though that would be awesome! Like many other artists I try my best to get the maximum utilization of space that I have. Very often I convert a part of my space for another stage of the process as well.

Here is a glimpse in my studio
Using dead space under by slab roller table to store my glazes and having everything on wheels to make moving things easy.

Tools arranged on a pegboard with hooks for easy access when I am throwing on the wheel.
Stackable large storage bins to store glaze chemicals.
Clearly labeled chemicals in clear containers.
This is how my regular work space transforms in a photo studio.
Do comment with your secrets to make the most of your space.

Final stages of decorating jars

A few weeks back I had blogged about the process of decorating my jars.

That was one of the earlier stages after which the pieces get bisqued. After getting bisque fired they look colorful.

But to have the colors pop out more, I go through the process of painting the groove lines that were carved with a contrasting color. It is a time consuming process but makes all the difference.These are then glazed over and fired again with the following results.

You can find these jars for purchase on my etsy shop.

Why do I need to learn Math?

Parents can admit that they have been questioned several times by their kids, “Why do I need to learn Math, Geometry, Algebra….?” And the list goes on.
I for one loved doing Math as a kid. For me it was a good pass time. Yes, you heard right, good pass time. When I was asked to study by my parents and I used to always pick Math. My parents had to push me to study other things. As I grew Math and Physics became my favorite subjects.
Of course this did help me in acquiring my current job as a software engineer. So you are wondering why I am even mentioning this in my art related blog.
The fact is that I see myself applying my knowledge of Math in my art work very often. A good example are these big jars I made recently. Of course, one option was to throw them on the wheel, but I wanted to make them big and much lighter and consistent in size. So I decided to make them from slabs of clay, a technique I got more confidence after seeing the work of Ginger Steele.
For the walls, I could make straight cylindrical in shape, which would involve cutting a rectangle and joining the ends. But what if you want it slightly tapered? I would have to have a curved slab, but how big? What curve? What radius? What angle? That is when geometry and Math help. I spent several hours designing the shape that I wanted and then trying to figure out the template for the slab I would need to achieve the shape I wanted. Here is a small snippet of my scratch pad. Oh yes.. it sure has some Math there.
Once I figured out the size of my template, it was a lot easier to construct these jars. Once I knew I had the template right, I didn’t have to struggle with the shape that I wanted. The top lid seats and lids have been thrown on the wheel. I still need to go through the process of decorating them, but at this stage I am happy with the way they turned out. I will post more pictures when I am done with these.
So tell your kids to stick to Math, even if they don’t know where they will need it. It will surely benefit them in some way or the other.

Some new work

So once I made the decision of buying the pugmill, I felt free to experiment. I wanted to try some new things I hadn't tried before. I have been updating some of these pictures on facebook, but here is a glimpse into some new work. Having the pugmill is really liberating!

This new line of work is a lot more decrorative and time consuming. I am still trying to figure out pricing work like this before I post it on Etsy.

Interview with Craft Nation

I recently got interviewed with Crafty Nation and they posted the interview on their blog.

http://craftynation.com/blogs/417

You can read it here as well.

Meet Crafty Nation Member CreativeWithClay: Interviewed by Christy Nelson

I conducted an email interview with Charan earlier this month as I was fascinated by his story and his work. Here you will find my questions with his responses in his own words. I've also included some pictures of his work found at his website and also his etsy shop. Please take a moment to go and look at the wonderful things he creates!

Crafty Nation: From reading on your website, I noticed that you had a passion for clay even before you had easy access to it. When you were first learning to throw and make pottery, was it your intention to turn it into a business?

CreativeWithClay: I had a passion for clay since I was a kid and I was always fascinated by three dimentional things and my ability to use what is made by hand. When I started learning how to throw and make pottery, it was almost as though I had been doing it for a long time. My instructor was sure that I had been throwing on the wheel before. It never occured to me that I would turn it into a business. It was something I was doing because my body was yearning to do it. I feel I have some clay in my veins and it just felt so right to be working in clay. I wasn't thinking that I am doing this so that I can start a business and make money from it. I am making pots because I am passionate about it and really enjoy it. I am very glad that I am following my passion and now selling pots and establishing a small business with it.

CN: What are some of your major design influences?

CWC: I was born in Kuwait and even though I was brought up there for a significant part of my life, we were very Indian at heart and visited India every year. We watched Indian movies (Bollywood movies) a lot at home especially with the harsh weather there. I moved back to India during the Gulf War, and I was always facinated by the colors, fabrics and designs I saw in India. My mom's family has a business in making beautiful Indian fabrics with gorgeous embroidery specailizing in Indian weddings. I believe that has a great influence on my work too. I strive to give life to clay, making it decorative with Indian influences keeping functionality in mind.

CN: I speak with a lot of artists and crafters and most have a hard time balancing making things they love and making things that other people love. How do you decide what to make and what to put into your etsy shop? Do you focus on your best sellers, continually make new pieces, or a combination?

CWC: I can understand the dilemma artists face regarding this. I have gone through those periods too, where I think I need to make what people like. The truth is that if you make something just because other people will buy it and not with real liking to make it, then you will find it very hard to sell. For artists I think it is very important to work from your heart. Make what your heart enjoys... make something that can give you goosebumps... make something that will make you jump with joy. If you create something with real passion, you will find it very easy to talk about it with your customers. People can tell you really enjoy what you made and are fascinated by your influences and ability to create. Selling becomes a lot easier, as you don't have to pretend any more.Like every artist, I do have best sellers. My Bollywood mugs, bowls and soap dishes sell very well online on etsy and in shows. I do focus on them, but I am always creating new work. Sometimes it is a design or glaze, sometimes a new decoration technique, sometimes it is a new form that I have never created before. Over the last year or so, I have started branching out and working towards sculptural work. I like the way my work transforms. I keep pictures of my work and it a great learning experience to see how work transforms,... still being my work and still being different.

CN: Thank you so much for your time and we wish you much success in the future! We'll be looking around Crafty Nation for future feature crafters. If you have something special to share with the community, let us know in the forums.

Where is my bud vase?

It is hung on a wall in a massage office.
I got an email from Sharon Remagen who bought one of my wall bud vases in September last year at the Puyallup fair. It is always good to hear when my pieces are being used and bringing joy to my customers. I love how it looks against the wood and the flowers are a beautiful color choice.

I haven't posted these on my online shop yet, but eventually will come around to it.

Test tiles glazed

I did get some success with my new test tiles and my glazing technique. I have tried to duplicate the effect of colorful fabrics from India. These fabrics are commonly known as bandhani block printed fabric which is made with a combination of block printing, batic and dyeing. I don't know much about the techniques they use to make the fabric, but I have been hard at work trying to duplicate it in clay.

Some of these tiles are promising. I like the ones with the glossy glaze more. The matt glaze kind of dulled the colors. The technique to get the look in clay is complicated, with a combination of carving, slip decoration, and multiple firings. I will next attempt to use this technique on my new Dancing Diva sculptures.

Salt Pepper Shakers Evolving

With every artist, work keeps evolving and changing. It doesn't even need to be intentional... sometimes it just happens. I for one keep experimenting and trying to do something new. It makes me excited about every piece and thrilled on opening the kiln. And where does one get ideas? Books, magazines, nature, movies, other art work and the list goes on.

In my trip to Dallas during Thanksgiving 2008, I visited David Hendley of http://www.farmpots.com/ who is a very impresive artist and also a very tall one....LOL. I am most impressed with his extrusion work. It was fun spending sometime with him and chatting about his process and studio. I bought his DVDs to add to my skills on extrusions and now you can see the change in my salt pepper shakers.

Earlier, I extruded them straight out and altered them pushing from the inside giving them curves and finished them with a top and bottom attached. This time around I added the "David Hendley" twist while extruding them and followed my process as before. I also made them more decorative by slip decoration emphasizing the movement in the piece. Earlier my shakers danced, now they have just that extra bit jump in their feet which I like. You can see the before and after pictures of the shakers and see for yourself. Also attached is a picture of David Hendley and me at the studio.... in case you are wondering.. I am the short one. :)

Slip decoration

There have been several requests from potters, friends and customers who want to see the process of my slip decoration. So here it is....
These are done on my Bollywood inspired mugs and of course I have to listen to Bollywood music while making them. If you put one of my mugs against your ear you might still hear some music. :) I hope you enjoy the clip.
The music track is taken from the movie Saawariya starring Ranbir Kapoor
To purchase, please visit my store http://creativewithclay.etsy.com/