Juju Loves Polka Dots

Flooded

My house has been flooded and my life is in chaos but I got an ipad and get to play with hipstomatic. Yeah!

Succulent Love

I made this little fellow a while ago when I had more ceramic time, but I only just got his hair planted. I like him more now that he has hair.

Cup O' The Month May

For May's Cup O' the Month, I was lucky enough to get one of Ayumi Horie's beautiful cups. When she posts items for sale, they go very quickly. I was hoping to get a mug with a beaver or log cabin on it, but I didn't get there fast enough (maybe 1 hour late).

I like my pig though. It's a lovely cup. The bottom swells a little and the handle is very comfortable. I like her minimal use of coloured glaze dots. I wonder if those are glazes she's mixed herself or if they are bought paint-ons. I think the pig wonders too.

Cup O' The Month ~ April

April's Cup O' Month is from Jacqueline Leighton Boyce. I found her wonderful website and really admired her work. I couldn't see any cups for sale so I emailed and asked if I could commission her. To my delight, she accepted and made up five wonderful cup/jugs which you can see on her fb page here.

I loved them all and couldn't choose. In the end I bought two, one for April and one for a friend's birthday.

I had a hard time choosing, but decided to keep the one with the clover. I can remember playing with clovers as a very small child and being intrigued by how much stuff was going on in such a small flower. Also I have been drawing them in sketchbooks recently. So I guess that's what swung it.

I love this cup! The iridescence of some of the lustres is magical and well suited to the small flowers and bugs scratched into the surface. I love how it has a different profile from every angle. It is very comfortable to drink from.

Now that I own a piece of Jacqueline's work,  I'm an even bigger fan. It is really special.

 

I'm working on my next book

I'm working on my next book a lot at the moment so don't have much ceramic or painitng fun time right now. This little plate has been bisque fired and is waiting for it's final firing.

I've been searching for April's Cup O'the Month but have nothing to show and tell yet.

Sometimes I Should be Happy With the Scraps

Because the scraps can always be manipulated in photoshop.

And then used as birthday cards...

Somedays things don't go your way in the studio

I spent a whole day mucking about with paint and stuff and all I got out of it was the left over scribbles and a lot of frustration. You have days like that?

So Ugly, it's Beautiful

I bought this ceramic plate at Camden Passage for £10, a few weeks ago. I love the way the pooling glaze makes the shadows in the relief and the strange child on the hobby horse, and the weird colour combination.

I know it's kinda ugly, but I think it is also kinda wonderful.

Cup O' The Month ~ March

March's mug has to be special, since March is my birthday month. I chose a cup by Shoko Teruyama, one of my favourtie potters.

I'm delighted with it. It is much bigger than I expected. Although the colouration is delicate it really lifts the drawn sgraffito work. The lines of the sgraffito work seem quite fine. Finer than mine, anyway.

Love it, love Shoko Teruyama, love March!

Cup O' The Month ~ February

I bought February's Cup O' the Month from Elke Sada at the Ceramic Art London 2011 fair.

Elke paints slip onto plaster and then pours wet clay on the plaster. When this firms up, she uses the slabs to build her ceramics.

The colours were bright and the marks were gestural. I also really liked her shapes. On the mug I bougth the painted slab is used for the bottom of the cup, which is a nice surprise inside.

I paid £40 for this cup and I think it is another treasure.