It was a Good Yarn

by Eleanor Hendriks

Wow -lots of ideas about how to glaze the Yarn Bowls with the tricky holes and slots! And some of you got very close...

So here is how I do it:
First I glaze the inside by pouring the light blue glaze. Inevitably, some of the glaze gets on the outside. I sponge this off and let the piece dry.

Then I glaze the outside by holding it upright and dipping it into the finicky cream glaze. The secret weapon for keeping the cream glaze on the outside and not running through the holes is -some of you guessed it -a balloon! But I don't blow it up. I have filled it with 110 mesh silica sand which has a 'grippy' quality. I can shape the balloon to the contours of the pot and a little into the holes and it will keep it's form... see my thumbprint...
Sand balloon pressed against the pot from the inside (sorry, I only had a finished piece to demonstrate with -imagine that horrible stark white bisque instead)...
I hold the piece upright with my hands only touching the inside -the left one holding the sand balloon in place and dip it up to the rim in the cream glaze. (Yes, I know I need to get some lotion on those desert lizard skin hands...)
And finally, I dip the rim in the third colour of glaze that I thicken by leaving it on top of my furnace boiler. This little purple dish has proved invaluable for dipping an even depth of glaze on rims. It came with a child's bubble blowing set as a dip tray for an over sized bubble wand. For once I was happy when the kids spilled the container of bubble juice before it was finished -then I could have the dish without having to wait! The little spout makes it extra handy. If I ever lose this, I plan to make a clay one to replace it...
I wish I could remember how I got the brainwave of putting the sand in the balloon.I would love to have that kind of problem solving inspiration on tap at all times...

Here's another solution to a problem that comes up in many potter's studios. How to keep trimmings from flying all over the studio? A while ago, Emily Murphy called for suggestions to solve this problem. I didn't submit mine because I'd always intended to come up with something better, like this solid solution by Ben Stark. My solution is a cardboard box cut to fit under the splash pan with flaps going past it on the side and reinforced with duct tape. Some trimmings escape on the left side, so I put an empty clay box on the floor where they would otherwise land and I'm good to go...
I made this 10 years ago as a stop gap measure until I could come up with something better. 10 years later, I have decided that if this one ever bites the dust, I'm going to take 15 minutes and make another one out of cardboard and duct tape -it's worked well enough until now and I always have plenty of both around!