Angels in the Studio...

by Eleanor Hendriks

I hosted a Mom's Night Out for some of the parents from my children's school a little while ago. A small but enthusiastic group of ladies gathered at StudioÉlan for an evening to make clay angels.

Just look at the fierce concentration...

...attention to detail...
..and a peek at the results...

The whole host of angels together...

And you CAN try this at home, folks!!

Start with a slab of soft clay...

Cut, decorate and smooth a circle...

Cut it with one segment a little larger than the other...

Form the larger segment into a cone by joining the straight side to itself starting at the middle. The curved edge will meet at the corners to form the circular base of the angel...

Cut a pair of wings from the remaining piece...

Smooth and decorate both sides of the wing piece...

Attach the wings to the back of the angel, partially hiding the seam in the cone...

Make a smooth ball for a head...

Poke a funnel shaped hole in the bottom of the head and join it onto the point of the cone...

Make some hair using some soft clay and a Kemper Klay Gun (don't you hate it when companies intentionally spell words incorrectly in their product names -or is that just me?..)

Do an angelic hairdo....

Make a halo from a thin coil of soft clay and attach it to the angel's head...

And voila! A clay angel....

Let me know how yours turn out!!

Kiln Magic

by Eleanor Hendriks

A group of fruit salt shakers with their glaze coats on waiting for the heat that will transform them...
...and how they look 24 hours and 2300 degrees farenheit later...
I just love how the subdued and dusty looking glaze coat becomes bright and jewel-like by the action of the heat. There were a few disappointments in the kiln too -a glaze ran and fused three really nice mugs to the shelf :( but these things sometimes happen in the world of pottery. I'm just glad this didn't happen to the special order mug that I also had in the kiln!

A few of the fruit salt shakers have already been listed in my Etsy shop.

Studio Scenery

by Eleanor Hendriks

Now I don't mean what you will see if you look out my studio windows -that's just all brown mud and slush and will be for a little while yet!

What I mean by studio scenery is the most lovely sight of all...

I just love seeing this... ...turn into this... ...and this... ...or this... I have always loved to look at rows of freshly thrown or finished pots. I wanted to take pictures of rows of pots even before I had a digital camera with the freedom to snap pictures of any old thing without fear of wasting film. I like pictures of pots in progress even better than pictures of the finished pieces. The finished glaze surface interferes with the experience of pure form that is more possible when the clay still has it's soft skin. And I like the feeling of accomplishment that comes from seeing many pleasing objects that I made all together. And perhaps, even after 17 years, there remains the thrill of knowing that I can now do something well that was once HARD!

Does anyone else sometimes treasure the process more than the finished products?

Back in the Saddle

by Eleanor Hendriks

After a hard drive meltdown imposed blogging break, I'm back with some news from StudioÉlan. A new round of classes has started here again -Welcome to Sylvia, Sandy, Sue, Suzanne (yes I am still getting the 's' names mixed up -I may have to make flash cards!) Betty, and Janet. Welcome back to Gayle, Lee Ann and Rochelle. I'm looking forward to a great session -some nice work has already been done by this group -but you'll have to wait to see it!

In the meantime I'll show off some work from the last round of classes and the March Break Camp for Kids.

First the adults....

Making ovals is a challenge to starting potters....

Look at the lovely colouring on this set....
T-pots are always a challenge -and check out the beautiful carved detail...

A set of mugs...

And the outhouse -finished at last! (Rod -if you are reading this -come and pick up your pieces!) And now for the Art Camp! I'm afraid the pictures are a bit scimpy even though the kids did a lot of great work. My hard drive ate the pictures of the mosaic mirrors, the abstract paper cutting, the tin punch lanterns and some of the pottery. So here is just a taste of their efforts...

Just a few of the great stacks of snack bowls -they each made and personalized between five and eight bowls -there were bowls on every horizontal surface for a while....

Gameboards and pieces -including the saddle that I'm back on!...

Castle towers chock full of details and carefully painted... Good job everyone! I'll be back soon with some pots-in-progress photos of the things that I'm working on and an embarassing story about how I improved my berry bowl glazing method by mistake.

Playing the Pottery Lottery

by Eleanor Hendriks

A while ago during a pottery class focussed on glazing, I joked with my students about the Pottery Lottery. Playing the Pottery Lottery (PL) is what I call it when we put glazes on our pieces without really knowing what they are going to look like. Students almost always play the PL because they haven't had enough experience with the glazes to know how they might work.

I provide tile samples of the glazes we use in my studio but there are so many variables in glaze application that the tiles give only a small part of the possibilities. Even more unpredictable results come when glazes are layered or mixed.

During a class with some students who were really spooked by the PL, I lead the way by putting glazes on some of my own pots in combinations that I had never tried before.... and this time I WON the Pottery Lottery!

I used underglazes under a glaze that might have been opaque and hidden all my painting -but it didn't -in fact it has a soft aged look that I will probably be repeating.

I spilled one glaze over another and rather than cleaning it off I went ahead and splattered a third glaze on top of that. There are some fabulous subtle patterns where the glazes met that I will try to repeat on some other pieces...

I would never have thought of putting these two colours together -I did it by mistake at the end of a long late night (early morning actually) glazing session -and I LOVE it!

These strange rivulet patterns come from layering glazes with wax in between to prevent the top glaze from covering the entire pot. The result is fascinating -and nothing like what I expected!

And on this piece I think I won the lottery twice -the outside is an amazing array of colours...

...and the inside is just stunning!!

Of course I would be celebrating my Pottery Lottery wins more vigourously if I could remember which glazes I put where!! Oh why Oh why don't I write these things down!!!

Etsy Mud Team Critters on the Loose!

by Eleanor Hendriks

The Etsy Mud Team is putting on another interesting challenge. Visit the Etsy Mud Team website to vote for your favourite critter and be sure to look for critters hidden in participating shops -you will receive a free something-er-other with any purchase if you find the critter!


This is a little taste of my critter.
I'm still cooking up something good to be the prize with a purchase -I'll let you know!

Medieval Times

by Eleanor Hendriks
March Break Art Camp at StudioÉlan is going well so far this week and their project today was so successful that I thought I'd show it off! We made castle towers and tricked them out with all kinds of medieval elements and details. The series of process photos and the Rapunzel tower are the one I made as an example. The last three pictures are the great work of Lydia, Heather, Madeleine, Ally, Garett and Tyas -way to go guys!

Clay is done for the week -next we'll be working on mosaics, tin punching, printmaking and abstract paper cuttting. I'll post an overview of all the projects after the week is done -I hope they go as well as this one!!
Edited July 25, 2013 I was too busy during those sessions to take pictures, so I never did get posts about the other projects up. See the comments for tips on how to do this project with your own group...

Hedgehogs and Outhouses?!?

by Eleanor Hendriks

I hinted at a future containing outhouses and hedgehogs -well, here they are, courtesy of my beginner pottery class students. I get so excited when students take a basic skill -like making a slab box or a simple thrown bowl and really make it their own. Congratulations to Rod and Lee Ann for really making all they can of the skills they have acquired so far!

Rod's outhouse -still awaiting a date with the glaze kiln (and the ever elusive satellite dish installer!)

Lee Ann's cute little hedgie before glazing....

...and after!

Thanks to Ross, Sandy, Rod and Lee Ann for a great winter session! Stay tuned for some more class highlights....

Do you know how to Etsy?!?

by Eleanor Hendriks



For those of you who have tried the "Etsy" I keep talking about but still find it confusing, here's a handy video that explains many different ways to wander through Etsy...



My favourites are the Treasuries (I make one whenever I can -look for StudioElan in the curator's list) and Pounce. Of course, you can skip all that and just head for my shop ;)

I'll be back with an update on studio goings on soon -the winter classes are coming to an end and I can't wait to show off what my students have been up to!

Don't forget -hedgehogs and outhouses....

StudioElan World Domination!

by Eleanor Hendriks

A package of pottery goodies from StudioÉlan reached its destination in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada today -so if you are near there and would like to see -in person- fruit that shakes salt or any of these other clay treasures ......

....you should go to NOMI, the brick and mortar store of fellow Etsian, Kristi Cross

Find hours of operation and location info for NOMI here.

You will also see lovely jewelry, like these earrings , made by Kristi...

If Newmarket isn't in your immediate travel itinerary, be sure to stop by her online shop full of lovely jewelry and FREE shipping until the end of February!!

I'm busy planning an March Break Art Camp for Kids and yes, I am taking any and all suggestions for how to keep eight 8-12 year olds in an arty state of mind for five mornings in a row!!

Meanwhile, back in the studio, my students have been creating up a storm -I'll give you a peek next time -here's a hint -hedgehogs and outhouses!