Here are some clay creatures made in September, 2020.
First up, this three-legged insect creature. He’s maybe 8 inches tall or so.
You may remember the puff people I used to make – in the dozens, if not hundreds. Here are a couple, to remind you.
Here is a variation on that theme.
For both of these new creatures, I used sgraffito and scratching techniques as well as using clay stamps I made myself. The eyes in particular were made with a stamp.
How about a drama shot, to end the post?
Back in 2016 I did a thing called Claudia McGill Art Camp. My goal was to use supplies I had on hand, finish up projects, or try something new. One thing I did was to pull out my wood-burning kit and make these figures:
Here’s the post that describes the event – take a look.
Well, these ladies have been rattling around for – almost four years. I decided recently it was time to do something about this state of affairs.
My husband cut some @ 3″ square wood blocks from a scrap piece of lumber we had at home. I got some double-ended screws, the name of which I have already forgotten, but no matter. I painted the blocks black. My husband drilled small holes in the blocks and the figures and screwed them together.
Voila! So much better to be vertical, these ladies say.
Now, for the glamour close-up shots:
I said back in 2016 I would love to do more of these figures. Well, life intervened, and I have not done so. Things are different these days, though. I plan to check out some locations in the park for new sticks…
You may remember other stick ladies I have made. Painted them, is what I did. I don’t have any of these left – I distributed them through my art drop-off system that you know if you follow my Sometimes You Get So Confused blog. But here are some photos, anyway – it’s nice to revisit these little entities, I think.
I made these little guys in summer 2019. They are 3-4″ tall. I was experimenting with animal forms. It’s an ongoing exploration.
Here is one fellow:
Another one: (who was left at Bryn Mawr College as an art drop-off)
and this one.
I think I have an orange one, too, but I don’t seem to have a photo. Maybe later on.
Recently I made some animal figurines incorporating the circle shape.
To make them, I cut a circle shape in the clay and then cut that in half. I then joined the half-circles along the curved edge, added a bottom, legs, and a head. Next thing you know, clay animals. They look like this:
The largest animal’s body is made from about a six inch diameter circle. The clay is quite stiff and held up well to the process. I decided not to put my usual colorful decoration on these creatures as I liked the simplicity of their black and orange scheme.
Made in July 2019, terracotta clay, fired at cone 06, colored with Velvet underglazes. Here are some more photos showing leg styles – I made some with tubular legs and others are formed from slabs.
Everyone says hello!
Some more medium cylinder people from June 2019. They are made with low-fire white clay fired at cone 06 and colored with Velvet underglazes.
A close-up portrait:
and a couple of back views.
Here are some medium cylinder people – about 5″ tall or so. I made them in June 2019.
Terracotta clay, fired at cone 06, colored with Velvet underglazes.
Excuse the title, but that what we call them. Because they are pots, and because they are heads.
More potheads. These are medium-sized, smaller than the large ones and a lot bigger than the baby potheads. They fit right in. Here is the whole group.
Made in August 2019, low-fire clay, fired at cone 06, Velvet underglaze for the black wash look and Amaco Teacher’s Palette glazes for the interiors.
And for individual shots. One: (Please excuse the yellowy cast to the portrait view – the other one is more the correct color for the clay)
Two: (I turned this one a little so you could get a better look at the eyes)
Three: (I realize the interior glaze is actually a Duncan color rather than being from the Amaco line I referenced earlier)
All right. That’s the pothead universe up to now. Here’s a portrait of Large and Medium together.
Excuse the title, but that what we call them. Because they are pots, and because they are heads.
Now I’ll show you the baby versions of this category. They are about 2″ tall or so, and about the same in width. I used white low-fire or terracotta clay and colored their exteriors with Velvet underglaze Jet Black in a wash-off technique.
The interiors are done with Amaco Teacher’s Palette glazes – this makes them able to hold water, if anyone wanted to fill them with it. They were fired at cone 06. I made these in June 2019, as I did with the large potheads.
And, unlike the large potheads, I decorated the back sides of these little pots with various colors, using Velvet underglazes.
Previous pothead post – look here.
Excuse the title, but that what we call them. Because they are pots, and because they are heads.
Here are two more large potheads. Both are fired at cone 06, using Velvet underglazes color Jet Black on the exterior in a wash-off technique, and Amaco Teacher’s Palette glazes for the interiors. Both are about 8-9″ inches tall. Made in June 2019.
This one is done in terracotta clay.
You can see I glazed the interior in the green color – it looks like this (like this photo from the previous post):
And here is the one done in white clay:
Its interior is done in the blue glaze (like this photo from the previous post):
You may notice I have made the faces so that they are full of asymmetry – even the eyes don’t match. I used a variety of shapes to get this effect, making sure there was sufficient changes in lines and textures for the underglaze to show them well. I thought this would give the faces more interest and expression.
Previous pothead post – look here.
Excuse the title, but that what we call them. Because they are pots, and because they are heads.
I’ve got some new items I’ve been making to show you – potheads. I have some large ones and some baby ones. I decided to make them because I wanted an item that was functional, to some extent, and yet fun for me to make.
So I arrived at the concept of potheads. Basically, they are hand-built vessels. I take a slab of clay, wrap it around a base, give it a face, and glaze its interior. Let me show you the first two.
This guy is about 9 inches tall or so. Terracotta clay, fired at cone 06. Exterior colored with Velvet underglaze Jet Black in a wash-off technique.
Here is its interior.
As you can see, it’s glazed, rather than just having an underglaze color applied. By doing this the vessel can hold water. I used these glazes for the interiors of all potheads:
I learned about this product at a visit to the Ceramic Shop in Norristown, PA, not that long ago – they were having their sale day and the Amaco rep was there. I asked for some information about a good product for my purposes and came away with two colors of this glaze. It’s called Teacher’s Palette and is designed for low-fire applications such as I do. (The item numbers all start with TP, as you see on the label, and I keep wanting to call the series “Teacher’s Pet”).
Here is another pothead. White lowfire clay, all materials and firing details the same as the one above.
Claudia McGill and Her Art World 