My shop on Etsy is now open!

I've finally opened my shop on Etsy. I've listed a few of my 'bread-and-butter' items that are in stock or can be made to order. I'll be adding more items as I photograph them. You can visit my shop from the thumbnails at the top right of this blog post (if you are viewing the web version) or at:

http://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/CCouldridgeCeramics

Please let me know if you have any feedback or comments!

Some new glass colours to experiment with

I love using glass in my ceramic pieces. I love it for its translucent fluid qualities, the way it crackles and crazes in the kiln. It can add a focal point of interest to an otherwise subtle piece and of course the colours are clear and true.

A friend has asked me to make egg cups for her and her two daughters - the colour requests were quite specific! So that was an excuse to put in an order for some more glass...

Coloured sheet glass from the Create Glass Guild - aqua, pale purple and orange

I've used the aqua before in the floral piece earlier on in my blog. Some exciting colours to start playing with - watch this space!

I get all my glass from the Creative Glass Guild - excellent service and delivery is really speedy.

A very happy accident!

Sometimes something amazing happens when you experiment and when the unexpected turns out well, it makes the failed attempts worthwhile.

It's all about learning that failure is part of success...

I created this slip-cast piece as an experiment to try out a new glaze I'd made up which was emerald green. What came out of the kiln first time round was particularly underwhelming, and made its way into my (ever growing) box of rejects.

Then a week or so ago when I was preparing a stoneware glaze firing I realised I had some space in the kiln. I decided to try to breathe life into a couple of 'dead' pieces - nothing to lose there. So I reglazed this and one other bowl with a white over the green. I could never have predicted the result...

Stoneware slip-cast bowl twice glazed white and emerald green

Stoneware slip-cast bowl twice glazed white and emerald green - detail

It looks best when viewed directly from above...

Stoneware slip-cast bowl twice glazed white and emerald green

As I can easily reproduce this effect now, this is going into my soon-to-be opened Etsy shop.

Dahlia inspired earthenware piece - finished!

And here is is - survived the glaze firing in one piece, not stuck to the kiln shelf, didn't collapse, the glass stayed in the petals and didn't dribble out. Fluke or am I actually getting the hang of this now?

These are the photos I took this morning while the glass was still making a 'pinging' noise this morning while it cooled down from about 60 degrees. Its 30cm across and only just fits in my small kiln - heat resistant gloves and lots of care required to get it out.

Better photos to follow - and yes I will be trying to sell these!

Dahlia inspired white glazed earthenware piece

Dahlia inspired white glazed earthenware piece - close-up

Dahlia inspired earthenware decorative piece

This floral inspired piece went into the kiln this afternoon. My sweat was dripping in the kiln as I was loading it its so hot today!

Its my second attempt at a piece of this type with some lessons learned (like making the base thicker to support the weight of the petals when firing). We'll see how this turns out in the morning!

First experiments with lettering using hot metal type

Been playing around with some hot metal type and experimenting with glazing inside the lettering. I am very pleased with the results. Will glaze over these with white and see how they turn out!

Lettering on petra smooth using 48pt perpetua hot metal type

I just created my very own glaze!

Just started experimenting with glaze raw materials. This is my first success! A nice crackle with an interesting volcanic effect when thick.

'Secret recipe' low temp. glaze on petra smooth