I happen to love fish shaped plates, and yes, dear readers, I made these ceramic fish plates with my own two hands. The funny thing is that although I dreamed of working with clay for years, I'm really having a hard time connecting to the whole process. Can't explain it really, but part of the problem I think is not knowing for even a few months how your project is actually going to turn out, or how the glazes will look. So while I find these fish interesting, I find myself totally disconnected from them, unlike so many of the other things I've created over the years!
So, the little question bouncing around my head now is whether to continue with my ceramics adventure or move on to other things, you know like woodworking and quilting? Hmmmmm. Toss that dream aside and move on with other dreams that might be more satisfying ultimately or give it a bit more time? Any thoughts?
The Technique:
These fish plates were made with a slab that was first textured with a cloth doily in one case and a textured rolling pin in the second case. The slab was then gently picked up and placed on top of an existing fish and cut into it's fish shape bases on the plate underneath. This was left to dry partially covered for 1 week and then it was gently removed from the original mold. The pieces were left to dry for several weeks, after which they underwent two firings, an initial firing and then a "bisque" firing before which the clear glaze and the green glazes were applied. The doily imprint stands out because after dipping the fish in glaze I gently wiped the glaze off of most of the fish so that it would remain in the area textured by the doily. That's it!
Leave a Reply