New techniques and New work

I am so excited about this new way I am decorating my work. Of course it is a lot more intricate and lot more time consuming and I wish I had warned myself what I was getting into. :)

I am liking the slip decoration in black and then filing in all the colors. I feel like a kid again, painting in my coloring book with my mom asking me to stay within the lines.

As you can see the designs are a lot more intricate and detailed. Very inspired from henna tattoos. I like the tightness of the designs and how I can give it multiple colors in the small tight spaces. Takes me forever to decorate these. I will probably use this technique on my larger high end pieces like my platters and dancing divas. See pictures of some finished work below.

I will have all the new work at the upcoming Edmonds Arts Festival (June 17th-19th)

Quit my Day Job

I am glad to annouce that I finally quit my day job and I am now a full time potter. It is going to be interesting to see what unfolds.
Etsy did a feature on me last week with my story and here is the interview.
http://www.etsy.com/storque/seller-handbook/quit-your-day-job-creative-with-clay-12750/
Thank you all for your support!

Pantry Storage

I am thrilled that we finally have pantry storage in our kitchen!!
Ever since we moved into our house (few years back), we have been struggling with storage. The kitchen is big, but the cabinets dated pre-Costco, so all shelves are fixed and nothing fit in. So we were storing stuff in our garage. Have gone back and forth several times thinking about remodeling the kitchen, but the expense always is a shock!
I found this pinkish brown corner armoire on craiglist and which would need some work but would be a perfect addition to our kitchen. It is all solid wood and was in excellent condition. And for $40, a steal!
It had some missing hardware and the color was weird. Instead of repainting it another shade of brown to match our existing boring cabinets, I wanted to go wild on this one. Went with a soft lime green with chocolate brown accents which goes very well with the backyard and brings the outside colors in.
What do you think?

Added new hardware and shelves and finally have storage in the kitchen!!

Extruded and Pulled Handles

As potters know, a comfortable and aesthetically balanced handle is a goal we all strive for. And for many it is a dreading part of the whole process. It is a constant learning process and now I actually enjoy pulling handles. I have kept experimenting and changing my handles to get them consistent and the shape that I want.

Since I love my extruder so much, potters at shows and online always ask me if I pull or extrude my handles. Well.. I do both. I extrude mostly for getting a consistent shape for all my handles and also it is a lot faster. But plain extrusions and result in a very lifeless handles. So then I go ahead and pull my handle.

I cut my oval shape extrusions to 5" in length. To make this a more pleasurable experience, you clean warm water for pulling. My left hand is always dry to hold the handle. Dip the handle in water and taper it with your right hand.

After tapering, I run my thumb in the center a few times to create a curve. When finished, this slight curve makes a good place for the thumb to rest.

Check the video below to see the whole process. When attaching the handle to the mug, I cut with a cookie cutter as this lets me join the mug to the curved surface of the mug without distorting it. I got that tip from Ginger Steele on one of our clay play dates.

And here is the finished result.

Below are pictures of pots from Ginger Steele and Kristen Kieffer whose handles I really admire.

Feel free to add your tips on handles in the comments.

Mother's Day Sale

The one thing that my mom loves is a good deal! And I am sure there are many like her.

So if you haven't shopped for your mom yet, this is a great opportunity to make her proud with a good discount.

Purchase any item in my shop and get 25% OFF shipping.
Any two items and you get 50% OFF shipping
Any three items and get 75% OFF shipping
Any four or more items and absolutely FREE shipping.

Just mention "Mother's Day discount" in Message to Seller when you purchase.

Discounts will be given as refunds via paypal as soon as payments are made.
Items will be shipped via USPS Priority Mail or Fedex ground.

Act fast as this deal only lasts till May 2nd, to ensure that your gifts reach in time for Mother's Day!

Soap Dishes with New Recycled / Upcycled Glaze

I have been making soap dishes for a long time now and I love their simple design and at the same time they are very practical.
The deep grooves help keep the soap high so it drains and dries the soap well. They have very smooth glossy glazes which makes them very easy to clean. And if you love automation, just stick them in the dishwasher to clean them. :)
And the feedback I have got for these is just amazing. Custmers love them and keep coming back for more.. either for their other bathroom, kitchen or as gifts. Read through some of the feedback I have gotten with pictures sent by my happy customers.

"Well made, sturdy, great design and functionality. I love the two tone veriation that looks great with the tub and am so glad I got two for my master bathroom!"
"Wonderful product!!! So well made and generously-sized, these soap dishes are more like beautiful piece of art. Seller was great to work with - attentive and responded quickly to my request. Highly recommend!"
"Love my soap dish! I used it today for the first time. Awesome quality! Quick shipping. Arrived safe, all in one piece.I will definitely be purchasing more from this artist!"

The main reason of writing this post is that I am introducing a new glaze color for my soap dishes. And it is just not a new glaze recipe.. it is very special. While working in the studio and clean up glazes, I always saved up the glaze which came from spraying glazes or cleaning pots. To this I also added glazes that I wasn't using any more. Rather than just dumping this in the environment, I tested and tweeked it. Low and behold, I have this beautiful deep blue grey glaze which has some specks of brown. I looks beautiful over the white glaze and also has some white specks in it if you look closely.

I cannot replicate this glaze ever, but I have 5 gallons of it. So I should be able to make several soap dishes.

So don't waste your glazes. Mix them up and see what you get.

I would love to hear what waste material artists recycle in their studio and upcycle it to create truely unique work.

Pushing the limits

If you have been following my blog and my work, you would have noticed that I have a big fascination for patterns and textures. The patterns on my work can get detailed but I felt I could push my slip decorating skills further. I always wanted to try the hanna patterns applied to the hands of the Indian bride.

I started with this platter for which I made a floral pattern inspired by Arabic henna designs. I love the flow of the pattern with the shape of the platter.

I got great feedback on facebook with that platter and wondered, "Can I push myself further?"
So, I took a slab of clay (16x12 inches), put some lines on it as general placement of my pattern and went to town with it. I spent my entire Sunday doing this, so it did take me forever.
I will make a textured mat with this, so I can redo this pattern on other pieces of my work. I still have to figure out how that is going to work.
This might be moving my work in a new direction and hope it is a good one.