Yes, it seemed that only gnomes would enter the realm of little people seen on hardwickhandmade pottery, but the dark side has made an appearance. A small one granted, but an appearance none the less.
Two mugs have been designed with drunken goblins dancing about in a mushroom filled background with slipware highlights.
goblin detail
This series will draw from the slipware pottery (which are extremely difficult to pull off well) as well as from landscape painting traditions.
I’ve finished painting the bowls and have moved on to painting the plates for my Eastern Songbird commission. I’ve very excited as the results are turning out better than I anticipated. Some bowls are glazed and out of the kiln as indicated by the featured image of this article, but others are still waiting to be fired. This weekend I will finishe painting the plates. My last one to do is the Goldfinch which takes extra time as I have the bird sitting on a group of sunflowers that requires more work. Luckily, I love what I do.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker dinner plate process
This picture was taken after the underglaze was painted, but before it was glazed. The color is muted, but will pop once the durable clear glaze reaches temperature of 1948 degrees Fahrenheit.
13oz. mug with Chickadee in the snow
The bird cup is an example of what can be done with this imagery on other forms.
I completed a new sample series that came out of the kiln last weekend and looked really good. I made a chickadee bowl, a goldfinch bowl and a titmouse bowl with an abstract pattern background.
Chickadee dinner plates
All my work playing around with backgrounds is starting to pay off. I’m using a combination of painterly brushwork and stamped color that together is organic and colorful. It took a while to find something subtle enough that let the birds stand out.
My next round of imagery should be just what I want. 🙂
