Texture impressions in clay

Using textures to press into clay is one of the extremely fun things to do with clay and a technique I return to over and over. I use my own hand-made stamps, antique wood-block stamps and found objects and you can even purchase texture mats and rollers just for this--the possibilities are endless.  The effects are instant and addictive, the challenge is do something with it to make it your own.

I came across a huge sale of doilies and could not resist.

old doilies to use for clay texture. www.cathykiffney.com

Cathy Kiffney

 Pressed the doilies into the clay and painted colored slips on top.

process, Cathy Kiffney Studio

 I took the slip soaked doily and flipped it over onto the next slab of clay to press that color into the clay. Then painted it with a contrasting colored slip.

process, Cathy Kiffney Studio

I  jumped in to the process and did the most obvious-- not the most original treatment but oh, so much fun!-- And I needed a brake from challenges.

But then I was at a loss as to what to do with the beautiful textures. I decided to get back to basics and began carving into the texture my old friends, the owls.

Process, Cathy Kiffney

For variety sake I used an addition technique by adding a sculpted rabbit and flowers. For the Fox piece I used a combination of carving and sculpted additions.

Jumping rabbit and tulips

process, Cathy Kiffney Studio

Mr. Fox and falling leaves

process, Cathy Kiffney Studio

 ...and of course, the birds....

ceramic wall hanging birds, Cathy Kiffney

ceramic wall hanging birds, Cathy Kiffney

wall birds, Cathy Kiffney

Off we go to Piedmont Craftsmen

Group of clay wall birds going to Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery. Cathy Kiffney

I've just sent off a new group of ceramic wall birds to Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery in Winston-Salem, NC. These, plus a few extra will make their debut next week.
Rather than press texture into the wet clay, I've kept these smooth on the surface and used a variety of underglazes and glazes to concentrate on painting the surface. The flat surface works better for mark making. I am pretty happy with the way they turned out.
 I'm going back and forth with this. The last group I made has textures, all those nooks and crannies call out for a glaze that will meld down into the textures. But then I miss out on the mark-making fun!  

The little ones

Today I was reminded to be grateful for the small stuff. Whynot Pottery blog talked about the importance of the small works for potters. Sure, we love the show stopping larger works, but the small stuff sustains us over the years
How many little birds have I made over the past 25 years? I will try to figure that out soon, but it is a very high number!

Birds and textures

Happy to receive a order for some new birds so I am back to work on a favorite series-- good opportunity to incorporate some of that tatting I scored last week!