Thing-a-day.com

Day 28:

I worked on this elephant that I’m making for my grandmother. Here is the state that it was in when I finished up for the night on day 28:

Day 29 - Finale:

I did two things today. I painted a bowl (unfortunately no picture available as I will not have it until next week after it’s fired) and I also did some more work on the elephant. Here’s the elephant status at close of business today:

That was fun! Now I’m left to my own vices for another year…

This is not a new thing, but it’s a follow-up to the unfired plate I posted about last week:

I hate it.

Can any experienced potters out there give me a hint about some way to do this design that would not have come out a gloppy, uneven mess? Laying down a solid orange ground under the brown (except where the blue is) would have helped, I’m thinking, but how can you tell where you’ve already painted, when you’re trying to get a deep color? I’ve clearly got four layers of glaze in some places and one in others. (It only looks blotchy on the unfired photo because the last coat hadn’t yet fully dried; once it’s dry, it all looks the same.)

Yesterday as part of my friend Sarah’s bridal shower festivities, I went with a bunch of friends to a paint-your-own-pottery studio. I picked out a large square plate, not coincidentally of a size suitable for displaying a cake. For the design, I knew I wanted it to be very simple, but what? Well, I really like the print on the dress I was wearing, so . . .
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