Story Bowl: Scuba Divers

This bowl was a commission for a wedding present, the couple share the passion of scuba diving and that's also how they met. I pondered long on the theme, how to capture this in a story bowl. The material would be porcelain, no doubt there, but how to position the divers, what else to feature, .... I decided to start with a sea creature an imagined sea horse:

 Than the bowl and the divers followed soon and a starfish too, a red one I knew straight away.

I made some fishes and all was fired. I glazed the fishes, seahorse, starfish and divers and fired all again.
Than the fishes and seahorse needed to be strung across the bowl.

A fair trade box makes this gift complete.

Wishing the couple many many more happy years of scuba diving.

Story Bowl: Cat and swallows

A while ago I was asked to make a bowl for an anniversary. She loves cats, he has got a fascination for swallows. I suggested a large bowl in porcelain with swallows flying and a cat watching. We decided to keep the cat pure white  but give him a trail of turquoise foot prints as she likes turquoise too. And thus this colour was incorporated in the bowl in a subtle way. Now that pair received their gift, I'm happy to share the pictures of the (making) of the bowl with you (with permission from the commissioner and the new owner).

Sneak peak of the result.

I started by making of the swallows, 6 in total, so I'd have some spare.

Than the cat and the bowl. Bowl is sanded for silky smoothness after the high firing. 

The porcelain is nearly translucent in some places.

Translucent porcelain

The swallows got a black matt glaze and were fired a second time. 

Of the 6 swallows, only 4 survived the bisque / low firing. 

The stringing of the swallows on tread through the holes in the rim of the bowl. 

Initially I had thought of stringing only 3 swallows, somehow odd numbers usually look better, 

but in this case 4 worked just as well.

***

The finished bowl:

Some details:

 The bowl in it's fair trade gift box.

***

This is a quote from the couple whom received this bowl (in Dutch):

"Dit is een uitzonderlijk mooi en een prachtig stukje en toont zowel 

inspiratie, creativiteit en bovenal talent in dit vakmanschap."

Etsy Lokaal - Etsy Local

A couple of fellow etsy-sellers from the Netherlands decided to start promoting more local. #etsylokaal is the hashtag to follow on twitter to know who is offering what. I joined this nice initiative too.

I'm offering free shipping, most likely hand delivered by me instead to all who leave in the greater region of Hulst or Terneuzen in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. (Gemeente Hulst en Terneuzen dus :) Use code TERHULST upon check out.

You can buy some of my local inspired items like the ones below or something else, custom orders are welcome too :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of you!! 

Wishing you a lovely 2013 full of happiness, love, laughter, specials moments and all that in good health.

This was my year, our year, of me and hubby, buying a house together and renovating it. Before we did that we went on a trip to Finland in search of the Northern Lights. Which we did not see, but all the more reason to return as it was a great trip anyway.

A big, big thanks to all my fans out there. I created a little less and attended less fairs, but online sales are up,  more and more people all over the world enjoy my work. So with a new year and a new atelier and most of all lots of ideas, 2013 is looking bright.

Have a great party tonight! We hope to have a sofa and a tv in our living room after half a year without, that will be our party :)

Treasure Trove

Last week I bought all these goodies from a treasure trove. Someone inherited the items from a haberdashery her great aunt had run. There were lots lots of buttons, ribbons, lace, tread, and other odd bits.

I bought lots of buttons, from different decades of the last century. 

The black lace  I'll use it as a table runner.

Got ribbons, tread, buttons to for cuff links, beads (complete necklaces which I'll recycle), black tread for mending socks. I just liked the fine ball shape so much, I got 2 of those. 

There was also some trim made with fake pearls in green and gold tones, I'm turning this into a choker and bracelet/cuff to wear for Christmas. Is was just long enough :)

Recycling

The person who lived in this house before must have been  bit of a hoarder. We found a cupboard full of old boxes for sending encyclopedia and books. Since he kept the boxes so long, I kept them too knowing they would come in handy when sending my creations into the world.

Story Bowl: the Charioteer

Some weeks ago I was asked to make a story bowl with a charioteer, a female one, dressed in a long garment. The horses did not need to be there. It meant to go with a poem the client had written. She allowed me to publish it here. It's in Dutch, I will not attempt to translate, so apologies to any non Dutch readers.

De Wagenmenner ment

het paard Paniek, de Tomeloze,

de hengsten Haast en Plicht,

de merries die met gebogen hoofden

door de oude voren hun hoeven voeren.

Voetstoot niet. De Wagenmenner maant.

Volg de ronding. Omarm de bocht.

Galoppeer. Draaf. Win de race.

En draaf. Ken ook de avond.

Weet het hooi. De nacht. Het stilstaan.

’s Avonds tel ik of jullie hoofden kloppen.

The bowl is about 18cm in diameter. 

To get an idea of size, here's the chariot and driver while I was working on it: