Mosaic

I've got involved in a community project to make a mosaic sign for our Community Centre.  We started with the colour scheme of the Centre (red and green) and sketched out some designs.....

One of the group found a piece of pottery in the beck which runs near the Centre.  That pottery shard is now one of the petals of the flower in the centre of the sign....

Isn't it amazing what a group of people can do in a few short hours?

  

The sign still needs to be grouted.  I'll take a photo when it is finished and takes pride of place on our building.  

Raku Bowls

I’m still hobbling about with my injured ankle – which is slowing me down and I’m not able to spend as much time on the things that I show you on this blog.  You can’t safely wield a metal-working torch while sitting with your foot up!!  So instead I thought I’d show you what I made in a Raku class that I took last summer.
In case you don’t know Raku is a Japanese glazing technique.  You heat the pot up to 1000^oC in a kiln and then take it out while it is still glowing hot.  You quickly plunge it into an enclosed container filled with sawdust and allow the Raku glazes to work their magic.  The pots smell of wood-smoke for weeks after.    

We used some metallic-effect glazes….

And some crackle glazes…..

Because there are such dramatic temperature changes, you need to use a robust, gritty clay with this technique.  It was hard on the hands to throw pots on the wheel with such gritty clay!  But I did have smooth, exfoliated hands for weeks after!!

Resin Fragments

It started with fragments from an old Schubert manuscript, a reel of wire and some resin.....

...and then I made a few more......

...and then I threw some tissue paper into the mix for some colour......

...and then I thought I'd better start making something with them because I was getting overrun!....

(Amethyst and resin fragments)

I've been quietly making these over the last few weeks and have got rather inspired by them.  I particularly like them with the tissue paper because they have a wonderful translucency about them.....

 I think my plan with them next is to try a few different shapes and to start using soldered wire shapes.  

Shell necklace

I came across some sliced shells and, as I often do, I filled them with resin.  I also added some teeny-weeny chocolate brown pearls into the resin and finished it off with some knotted glass beads.  

(Resin, Shell, Pearl, Glass beads)

The weather has changed here in the UK - spring is definitely on the way - and I think this necklace reflects that. It definitely has a feel of summer about it - I don't think I'd have made it a few weeks ago when winter still had us firmly in its grasp (hope I haven't jinxed the arrival of spring by saying that!!).