Large pitcher jug

wendydiamond20
Oct 20, 2021
1 min read

Well, the pot survived the drying out process and the biscuit firing. Addressing the issue of decoration has led me on a very convoluted journey.

the kitchen of the barn conversion will be deep green, orange and white. I decided to use velvet underglazes of green, orange and white as a starting point. Then I used dried fruit, string and leaf patterns and mounted these on the jug, then overpainted them with the underglaze colours.

Having added the underglazes I removed the ‘props’

This looked a bit too pastel and although using transparent glaze would sharpen it up,I wasn’t convinced that the final result would be sufficiently bold and vibrant. So I set about matching in some strong glaze colours.

Mayco are my favourite glazes; they apply so smoothly and to date have not ‘crawled‘ in the glaze firing. I’ve used Sea glass, Green lustre, Emerald green and Sassy orange in the Mayco glazes, then Spectrum Burnt sugar and Terracolor Bird of Paradise. I love creating effects of colours merging so I have finished it off with layers of Mayco clear cascade. It’s in the kiln now….

Comments

Realising a Dream..

This is me. Setting out on my journey as a hobbyist potter.

Pottery was an ‘add on’ O level course when I was at school, only offered in the sixth form. In to studying Music and RE to A level, I embarked on pottery ‘O’ level as a bit of light relief. I loved it although I was never particularly good at it. I made a few pots, mainly handbuilding using slabbing and coiling but didn’t really learn much.

What I wanted to do more than anything was throw on the wheel – the school did have a wheel but no one was allowed near it unless they knew what they were doing… an interesting approach to the process of acquiring skill methinks. I do have one of my very first pots – rather crude really, but its mine, with my initials ‘scrauped’ on the base. Over the intervening years, of which there were many, I watched the art of throwing from a distance, always hoping that one day it would happen.

We had bought our little cottage in Halifax in 2009. Six years later the adjoining house became available so we set about creating a home by combining the two halves. The ‘under-dwelling’, a feature of a number of houses in that area of West Yorkshire was a real gem; we converted into a pottery studio for me and there began my journey. I enrolled on a course in Springhead. Oldham and my amazingly talented pottery teacher, Sue Devine gave me one-to-one tuition in throwing. I bought a pottery wheel and was given a small kiln. My journey had begun – 40 years later!

Twelve month ago, my partner and I moved to Newport in South Wales. I am most fortunate have a pottery studio here. Why Andante Ceramics? Well, I work slowly, I go with the flow, I create no deadlines for my self. My world of clay is completely self-asbsorbing and tomorrow, if I am fortunate to have one, is another day.

My media pages give a flavour of what I do and my blog documents my thoughts as I journey through the wonderful world of pottery and ceramics. I wont sell any of my work but I delight in making pieces specifically for friends; I love the challenge that creating bespoke pieces bring. If you would like me to make something special do please ask.

Wendy Diamond

Large pitcher jug

Recent Posts

Comments

Let the posts
come to you.

Comments

Let the posts come to you.

Let the posts
come to you.