Kensington back garden bliss

I'm not sure if I'll always get to post something everyday. At the moment my kids are sick, so I am house bound and have had to cancel all our school holiday catch-ups. [Sigh]

I thought I might as well give a tour of my studio.

It is a lovely space with lots of natural light, situated in my back garden right next to the sandpit. Sometimes the kids come in to the studio and fiddle around with bits of clay and the seconds bowls. My two year old likes to "share" my tools and always knows where I left my special knife, as I am always loosing it. She is pretty good company mostly, though does tend to make lots of mess with water. I must say I get a bit selfish with my space when more than one child comes in and wants to fight over stuff - they get kicked out pretty quick smart! Mostly they are more than happy to play outside together in the garden :)

The first series of photos are a few years old but they show my dodgy mould making skills with the results at the end.

Eucalypt Series 2007

These are quite small and very fine. I used a porcelain body which I colour with stains and clear glaze the interior. The pieces are wet sanded after bisque firing and again after glaze firing to give them a satin feel. Rims are important to me so I sand them flat and smooth too

Back to the studio...

This photo was taken during production time. It doesn't take long for the space to fill!

Then I start loading the kiln...

Actually I try to glaze and load as I go. These days I once fire which means I brush the glaze on green wear (unfired clay) and do a slow firing to temperature (1260*C).

Ok, the little ones are up from their sleep and I'm off to the doctors now...