Merry Maori gifts

Made some Maori themed amulets as gifts for Christmas this year. Unglazed and burnished.

December Kiln: 2015. I love my new green. It's different every time. This time everything green was double dipped. It's a really deep moss green with speckles.

 Some mugs. Matt brown. Various sizes and shapes. Nothing is the same here. Some stripes,

 some diagonals or spots. And the colors as the glaze breaks....

 is mesmerizing...

 A mozzy coil burner. Because everything should be beautiful.

 This one was designed for Turtle Spit.

 Beautiful; inside and out.

 A pair of bowls; matching in their color schemes of brown and green. One with fitted lid.

 The bowl on the left without textured concentric lines is so smooth and silky. The surface is like a crystal ball.

 Both a great size for serving curries. They will find their way to The Black Pearl.

 Here's a bit of Zen detail to ponder...

 Or meditate on the ripples circling out.

 Another set: Serving bowl and platter.

 The platter is perfectly round and the bowl is oval.

 The bowl has a high, open foot, so hot dishes can be safely served.

 Detail of glaze. Almost stingray patterned. Gold flecks on a dark background.

 Here's the edge of the platter.

 here's the glaze through the bowl hand-holds.

 This large platter (45 x 30 cm) has shell-like ripples

 and a deep sea milky-way at its heart.

.

Side view.

Here you can see how the scolloped ripples reflect the light.

Variable sizes set of six tumblers...

My fave glaze combo...performing at its best.

Some have dimples, for better grip, and to catch the translucent glaze.

Detail of glaze breaks.

And another set of tumblers!

Because its what everyone wants.. The inside green was a happy surprise.

And there's no handles to break. So they travel well.

And I like these grip rings on the side... 

Tumblers

These tumblers were made to test out my new green glaze. One dip is very pale. Two dips is beautiful mossy green.

More mug shots

 These mugs have had an underglaze slip applied. I mixed course sand from our Chumporn beach into the colored engobe before bisque. The silica in the sand has melted. There Is not much texture but many colors

Ice bucket with tear drop.

Ok. It's a lot like another ice bucket I've made. But this one is in my own kiln with my own glaze.

 here is that tear drop.







 And look at the beautiful green glaze.

Mosquito coil burners

 a sand dollar and  brain coral inspired these very useful coil burners.
Inside is a serrated grid to rest the burning coil onto. You won't need to find those little annoying tin stands anymore.

Faceted grog jugs

Title: Grog Jugs

Jan 2014

Porcelain

each jug aprox 8-10cm at base x 12 - 15cm hight

 These little jugs were wheel thrown then trimmed on the wheel for a neat foot and finished with rough hand trimming. They are sturdy enough to not break when slammed down. The neck fits a cork easily.

This grog Jug is the tallest. The facets get highlighted the most as the glaze thins over the edges. 

This jug gets the best out of the clear, glossy glaze dribble down the side. All of the jugs get a highlight from the clear, glossy on the handle and inside the neck. This jug also appears green inside.

This last jug looks like gold specks appear through the glaze.

Irish Cream Whiskey bottles

Porcelain bottles of alcohol are always very popular. Last year (2013) I made three small bottles and filled them with home-made Irish Cream Whiskey. It has a shelf life of 2 months but it has never been a problem yet. And when there is no more alcohol left to drink you have a beautiful bottle/vase.
The colors in this glaze are really brought out well by the camera flash.

semi glazed bottle

title: Bottle me up, fence me in

porelain, clear glaze. cork stopper

25x10x15cm

For Christmas presents this year, I made some olive oil bottles that I topped up with olive oil infused with rosemary. Olive oil was originally stored in ceramic jugs because it keeps best when not exposed to light.

This bottle and two others were covered in slip then stamped with wire mesh. I left the outside mostly unglazed and used clear glaze to seal the inside. I wanted to exploit the raw texture of the slip and stamped wire and not confuse these beautiful feelings with colors. 

I should do more unglazed work. I like it. Pure shape.