Artea

http://whatemmadid.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/tea2.jpeg

http://www.teamuse.com/article_080501.html

Tea stain just has the right look, even before connotations of beautifully crafted old tea pots and lacey gloves begin to surface. It is the colour and fade of age. Old books, old clothes, old buildings...

Old for its age

Once fired there were a few pieces which are starting to get that old feel to them. 

I particularly like the effect of shiny recesses with matte "worn-looking" raised areas.

Sugar, Spice, Oxide, Glaze

I have been trying to figure out what the "look" I am trying to accomplish is. It seems to be a tea-stained-like effect. Cracks, fades, matte and shiny in places where an object wouldn't be worn out over years of use...

I tried some variations with oxides and glazes, putting to use the feel I've developed of their different "looks" in my experimentation with ceramics.

 Some I painted with oxides and then lifted the colour off of the raised areas.
Some I glazed a light brown glaze over the oxide layer.
Some I clear glazed over the oxide and then lifted it such that only the recesses were left shiny.

 The pieces where the clay was quite dry before being pressed came out in a subtly cracked texture.

ConTEXT

Because I wanted to make use of a specific kind of font, I turned to the CAD design program Rhino and with it made a plater of paris press mold. I used the words Sugar and Spice breaking them down into "Sugar", "&" and "Spice"

I tried to use glazes and underglazes and oxides in a way that would end up looking old and a bit worn.

The drier the clay before I pressed it, the more "cracks" it had. I am drawn to this look. It reminds me of old ruins and aging book covers or overused dry leather.

I glazed some and left others to be matte.

I found the oxides to be much stronger than anticipated which resulted in a burnt-like appearance. This itself is quite effective in the right dosage.

Ceramics. Learning how.

Once my pressed pieces had been "bisqued" I painted them with various under-glazes and oxides, glazing some and not others or glazing parts and not others.

As can be expected some turned out well (in my opinion) and others not.

I particularly took to those with oxides which I did not glaze over as they look old and are mat. 

Those which I wiped all but the recesses clear of colour also look quite effective. 

The yellow under-glaze seems to be most effective when used on high relief or very selectively as it otherwise washes all the detail into a blob-like blur.

Here I used glazes and underglazes selectively withing each piece. It seems to be most effective with the oxides.

I broke this piece befor it was even bisque but saw some potential for putting it back together as a piece later on. It suggests something of fragments of memory to me.

In this piece the strong contour of the ceramics actually made it quite effective with very little colour. So too is the case for the lamb below it. Unfortunately the glaze ran in to the drilled holes closing it up, so in future I must take better care to keep the glaze away from the holes,

These Babushka dolls are concave with hollows at the back. I think if I am to use such subtle colours the carved or sculpted detail will have to be deeper.

Continuing my thaumatropes into ceramics I found success in this one where the oxide creates a strong enough image to see when it turns.
The Babushka doll adopts the larger outline when spun.

Matryoshka Fly pressing

I have been using Babushka/ Matryoshka doll imagery as a part of my efforts to create nostalgic heirlooms or intended heirlooms. After making a number of them in ceramics I moved on to fly pressing the outlines of them into sheet metal.

I made the fly press mold out of Masonite boards which I pierced and then stuck one on top of the other for added depth.

 The first one I made was using a piece of copper plate that I had etched using the Edinburgh etch and then gone on to flood the recesses with silver solder. I rolled it once more after that.

 I then, instead of piercing out the actual outline of the doll as was my original intention, rather sawed it into an oval shape such that the outline is perhaps less contrived. I cut out the face and a heart to give it some more character and perhaps more identification as a Babushka doll, but this might still be too vague.

 I made more test pieces using copper (etched and as above) but tried to establish what details were necessary to be identifiable.

 For one mark of a Matryoshka doll, I practiced some traditional Russian designs or motifs which are largely based on their national flower, the Chamomile.

This particular piece is to be the prototype for a platinum piece.

 With a piece of long copper plate intended to be cut into smaller pieces, I fly pressed the centre and rather turned it into a cuff.

 To add a decorative Russian reference I again designed a small section to be pierced out of the plate. This proved to be tricky as the plate was so long that at times it was deeper than the saw frame.  This is something I will keep in mind should I make more.

 As in the test pieces above and below the cuff, piercing the line across the doll's "stomach" seems to make it more identifiable compared to the  plain doll on the cuff. I also intend on giving it a silver face behind the copper, and ceramic ones for the pieces which will become pendants or brooches. (also see below)

Dandelion magic toy.

Here is the dandelion magic trick. Because there is already the element of magic attached to it, I like to think that one can throw in the myths associated with dandelions, and make a wish as you spin it, or send a thought to a loved one. I think the green string worked wonderfully with the image but will not work for many others so I need to start a little collection.
The metal spins much better than the card prototypes because it is heavier= better inertia. ( I say as if I really know what that means).

I think the interactive element to this allows so much more room for triggering and/creating memories associated with this old invention and it's revamp.
I am working on an animated gif to give an idea of how beautifully the images become one when it spins.

The Life of Inanimate Objects

I virtual-stumbled upon this artist who makes beautiful jewellery using old teacups which might otherwise be cast aside. They really seem to have a life of their own and a story behind them. They were possibly somebody's favourite or worst, or kept in a cluttered cupboard only to be used for special occasions and special people, but as subtle or obvious someone's reaction to them, i find it hard to believe people could have been indifferent to them.

http://www.cleverbastards.co.nz/html/blob.php?document=23382&filetypecode=2&fileId=7264