Wrecked!

by Eleanor Hendriks

So, in my last post I was showing off pots as they were going into the kiln and wondering if I had wrecked things or not. Well, the kiln load turned out fairly well -a nice batch of berry bowls, a collection of perfect fruity salt shakers, nice mugs and square hors d'ouevres plates BUT I did manage to wreck something.....

....the sculptural jars I had been working so hard on! -difficult shapes, lots of fiddly details, a persnickety glaze job.... and I mis-matched the lids!!!

They can't be switched because then the lids don't fit!! So it's back to the drawing board with the sculptural jars!! Boohoo :(

This little vase turned out well though. I particularily like how the glaze emphasized the carving rather than obscuring it as I was worried it might -since I had never tested it on a textured piece before! This little vase has been named Sweetheart and is already listed in my Etsy shop.

With another making cycle done, I'm back to the wheel and soft clay to come up with the next round of clay creations. Stay tuned....

Blogging while the kiln cools...

by Eleanor Hendriks



It was another slow week in the studio -two (nearly three) snowdays changed a lot of plans! So I recruited some help in the studio to get the glazing done! (Actually, my daughter is decorating ornaments she made herself).


I bit the bullet and glazed the sculpture jars -its always so hard to first decide on glazes and then execute the plan.


Did I wreck them with bad choices or poor execution??

I may have to break my pattern of posting (almost) weekly once the kiln is cool enough to unload -if it's exciting enough I can show you how all these turned out!!

Good Chemistry at StudioÉLAN

by Eleanor Hendriks

This was a slow week in the studio -my kids were home from school because of weather cancellations for a couple of days, but I still managed to spend some time playing mad scientist and mixing up some glazes...

I try so hard to be neat but I fail miserably ....

A little sneak peak at a new Dream Box . I miss seeing that crazy little sprout lid out of the corner of my eye so I decided to make another one....

See you next week with more studio news!

Etsy Mud Team Salt and Pepper Shaker Challenge

by Eleanor Hendriks

The Etsy Mud Team Salt and Pepper Shaker Challenge takes place February 3 - February 9.

You should go right away to the Etsy Mud Team website and check out all the entries. Vote for your favourite and you will be entered into a draw to win something pottery made by one of the team! This is the website:

http://www.etsymudteam.freeweb7.com/

And here is my entry:

Salt shakers only, I'm afraid, too many snowdays with kids home from school delayed the pepper's trip through the kilns -I'll have to show them to you later!

Snowflakes are Falling INSIDE!!!

by Eleanor Hendriks

Today's blog is mostly pictures -of the process I use to make snowflake designs on my pottery.

Blank slab formed plates

Cutting paper stencils

Wait for it...

...the fun part!

Stockpile

Matches made

See you later!

Wait...

Careful!

Ta Da!!

Looking at the ruined stencils in the garbage always make me a little sad...

...but these neat leftover cut bits give me ideas!!

You can see a finished platter using this method here in my Etsy shop along with a few other pieces.

More Etsy fun for StudioÉLAN!

by Eleanor Hendriks


I had some Treasury thrills yesterday! -First of all, I got to make a treasury -this has become harder as the number of treasuries sometimes soars over 500. Second, my treasury was used as the front page (the first thing people see when they enter the Etsy website) within hours and it was up during the evening for most of North America -so it was seen by many! Here's how it looked (at least for a while -it kept changing around while it was up)...




Not a speck of clay in it, but fun all the same.



Later on I got a nice note from a Toronto artist who goes by the name RatGirl, to thank me for featuring her necklace and she put the page on her blog. I think the World Wide Web is aptly named and I am enjoying being part of its weaving!



The Matryoshka collection wasn't the first treasury that I made that became the front page -this one was....

I didn't realize how rare it was to get chosen for the front page yet then -I think this may have been only my second Treasury -and now the competition is even more fierce with so many treasuries to choose from every day! So I guess I'm feeling a little boost because "they like me, they really like me!!!" Silly, huh? I do like that they didn't mix this one up when it was on the front page -perhaps it was left alone because the layout was so important to how it looked. I wish that the Matryoshka collection was left alone too -even though the layout wasn't so obvious, I did choose it very carefully and didn't like the variations that were generated by Etsy. Hmm.. I wonder if it was a human making the changes or some piece of clever code?? I don't mind insulting a computer for poor aesthetic choices but I'd rather not dis a human!

If you don't get what I'm blathering on about here you'll have to pop over to Etsy and check out the Treasuries to see! Each collection on the list is chosen by an Etsian and its rank in the Hotness list is determined by the number of people who click on the items featured. Caution: major timewaster website ahead!

So Cool!

by Eleanor Hendriks

At least that's what I hope you'll say about today's post!

These are pictures of a few of my zoetry sculptures that live at StudioÉLAN. I'm posting them here for your entertainment and as reminder to me that I'd like to make some more of this type of work soon!

Strange Noises are Coming from the Studio Again!

by Eleanor Hendriks

The second of the sculptured jars is nearly finished -I'll just give you a peek here...

The strange noises are coming from ocarinas I've been experimenting with -We'll be making these in class over the next few weeks. I can play an 8 note scale on this lovely fellow...!

...and the more mundane products of a pottery studio -berry bowls and mugs in progress this week ...

I love looking at boards full of freshly made pottery!

A Blast from the Past

by Eleanor Hendriks

I found this while unpacking some boxes of books for my studio library earlier this week...

October 1996 the date says!! It makes me want to sing -"she's just a young thing and cannot leave her mother.." and check out those glasses!

The caption says "The 10th Annual Elora Arts Council Studio Tour featured the work and crafts of 21 artists and artisans in the Elora and Fergus Area this past Saturday and Sunday. Pictured left, Fergus potter Eleanor Hendricks at the wheel..." (Yes, they did spell my last name incorrectly!)
I participated in the Elora Fergus Studio Tour for 11 years until we moved from Fergus to Fenelon Falls in 2007. I'm looking forward to being part of the Victoria County Studio Tour here this coming fall. I'll be sure to let you know when and where!

In class notes: this week saw the start of the winter round of classes -welcome to Angela and Lee Ann and welcome back to Sandy and Ross. They deserve a prize for braving the north(ish) Ontario winter to come out to classes from now till the end of February (don't worry -I've built allowances for snowdays into the plan!) I'm looking forward to another great class session!

Small Disaster at StudioÉLAN

by Eleanor Hendriks

I came in to the studio earlier this week to find a plastic wrapped blob lying on the floor. Unwrapped it revealed this...

...leaning, misshapen and rather unfortunately cracked.

Luckily, I had six others to work with and my first session with the first one ended like this...

Not done yet, stay tuned!

(I did wrap up and keep the disaster -maybe it will get to be the ugly cousin and end up being the most interesting of all!)