Myrle Borine Beaded Perfume Bottle

In case you don't know, I have a

Renaissance woman in

my ceramic class!

Myrle Borine, 

clay hand builder and beader 

extraordinaire, made this amazing

perfume bottle by bead weaving

her own design around it.

What an amazing gift she has given me!

ScrapBachs

I bet you have no idea what a scrapbach is!

Well, let me tell you... When David Weisenbach

creates DropBach trays for ceramic clay, 

he has scraps and these scraps married

together in various designs

become ScrapBachs!

 Now that you know what they are, let me show you

some of the many things I can do with them...

 This shape when foam pressed into a circle of clay,

makes an interesting folded looking dish.

I'll have to try this with a larger circle

and see what happens...

This weird shape can be folded in to create 

a dipping bowl which pours.

Again these are just prototypes I am playing

around with forming...

And this shape makes an interesting creased

dish or catchall as well.  None of these

are huge, quite the contrary...

I'll keep playing with different sizes and shapes of clay

with these and share the results...

Oh, what fun!

Fired Clay Ruffled Pinchstrip Bowl

This earthenware pinchstrip constructed bowl

not only has bands of borders, it also

has wax resist patterning and

multi-glazing.

The inside glaze is Blue Stone, a lovely glaze

which has been discontinued

much to my disappointment.

Drop Mold Trays

Well, I finally got around to actually using

the NEW wood drop molds made for me by

David Weisenbach in Florida.

I was so impressed with how they work with 

clay slabs which have been stenciled

that I took them to my Monday class

to demo...

This tray was made by Barbara Palma

in class today!

And this is the slab I used to demonstrate

both the stencil technique, carved border

and wood drop molds from David.

These molds can be purchased directly from

Catfishstu on Etsy.

The Year of the Bracelet

I am officially declaring the bracelet as 

the Mother's Day gift for 2015.

Raw clay beads absorb the human essence 

as they are being worn

making these bracelets truly a part of the wearer.

 Raw beads also make great carriers

for essential oils...

A long time symbol of slavery, these contemporary

shackles can celebrate the job of mothering

and acknowledge the sometimes

cruel punishment it can be...

and convey thanks to those who have gone there!