Weird Looking Tomatoes!

My gardener took out at least a dozen oleander bushes in my back yard this summer because half of them were dying. All my neighbors have the same problem. So now there was an empty strip of ground along a sunny wall that I decided would be great for vegetables. I dug an area long enough for two tomato plants, sifted out the rocks and added good soil amendments and fertilizer. Then planted two tomato plants. I don't have the tags for them, but they were normal plants like Better Boy, and they were both the same. The plants definitely liked the soil and the warmth of the wall and now have grown higher than their cages. However, the tomatoes on one plant are normal looking, but the other plant has weird looking tomatoes. I think THEY think they are tomato pumpkins! I picked a few today and had to share them with you. It's definitely better than sharing with the scavengers who come out at night!  By the way, the tomato in the back is a "normal" one from the other plant! Here's the photo. What do you think? Tomato pumpkins?

Two Ovals Plates and A New Blue Mug

Wow! It's soooo hot in Southern California right now. And even though it will get cooler by ten degrees over the next few days, the humidity will be going up! We are not used to humidity. We don't like it. Go away!

I posted a few new items on Etsy. This mug is another of my series with the Southwest Swirl stamp. Will I ever tire of this stamp? Of this type of mug?  No. No. This one is almost a purple, but I called it blue.

The two plates below are favorites of mine. They have so many uses. Oh no, did I use that swirl stamp again?!  The bottom plate has a leaf imprint, fresh leaves from my garden that are rolled into the clay. I had great plans for my hosta leaves this year ... rolling them into clay. But the hot sun has burned most of the leaves. Even though the plant is in a shady spot now, the sun has found a time to peek over the roof top and do its damage. So the plan is to move the plant to a shadier spot for next year.

New Photos of Stoneware Square Plates -- Rust Matt Glaze

I decided today to take new photos of my two stoneware square plates with rust matt glaze.  The original photos on Etsy were taken outside on my brick patio and they were not great (too much interference with the background).  The plates are a great size for a simple serving of lunch, salad, dessert.  Here are the new photos:

I like making these plates. A round slab of clay is placed on a plaster mold which is attached to the potter's wheel. When the slab has been smoothed, it is cut to this shape. Then a ring of clay is attached and the foot ring is formed. September is my scheduled month to start clay work .... next week!  Yay!

The Pioneer Woman on the Food Network!!

One blog I follow is The Pioneer Woman.  She starts her own TV series on the Food Network this Saturday morning, August 27th.  There's a short video of the upcoming show at the link below.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-pioneer-woman/video/index.html

Fold Forming Projects

A few days ago I mentioned a friend and I were working with copper and trying our hand at fold forming. It's been so much fun, and no smashed fingers yet! This pendant is not finished, but it is looking good. There are scratches that need to be sanded and then patina to be applied. This photo taken with my phone looks pretty large here; the pendant measures 1-1/2" x 2-1/4".

I visited the local jewelry supply store last week because my liver of sulfur was no longer working.  I'm referring to the small chunks in a can and you use only a small piece in warm water.  Well, they told me they no longer carry the can with the chunks ... there is a new product for us to try, liver of sulfur in a liquid form that is supposed to last a long time. We experimented a little yesterday, but my piece doesn't want to be dipped yet.

I worked on this heart wall hanging yesterday and finished it today.  The center heart is raised about 1/4" with cut tube pieces and is attached to the bottom piece with rivets.  Then the little bird's nest with turquoise beads added a nice touch. The coiled hanger is done with "The Coiling Gizmo". This simple gadget is amazing and so easy to use!   Do you have one?

All the coloring on this piece was done with the torch.

Precious Metal Clay (PMC) Classes

I finished my second PMC class yesterday, having taken the first one a couple months ago. Something sparked my interest this time, but I still felt very inadequate when working with the stuff. And I felt the teacher picked on me! Seriously, she was trying to correct all the things I was doing wrong, but I noticed I was the one in class with the most problems! But at the end of the day, I felt I had learned and improved. And I want to continue working with PMC.

The PMC classes were taught by Lora Hart. She is a wonderful teacher and I really recommend her. She is quite famous and highly qualified in the PMC field. Check out her blog and learn more about her. The blog has a wealth of information and a long list of jewelry artist sites. Unfortunately Lora said she would be moving to the East Coast next year.  I'll take a few more classes from her before she leaves.
http://lorahartjewels.blogspot.com/

Here's a photo of the two pieces I made in my classes. The first is the heart pendant with the TOO large bail. I guess I can always replace the bail with another later. What was interesting about making the heart was the texture on it. After the heart dried, we used a template with a cut out pattern and spread PMC slip on the template with a knife, like Spackle. Then carefully lifted the template off. The slip remained as a raised decoration. That has tons of possibilities!

The heart was treated with Black Max. I don't like the look. I'll remove it and try liver of sulfur.

The hinged piece wasn't what I expected to make at all. I thought we would be making a pendant that closed. This one does not close and was never intended to close. But now I know how to make a hinge out of PMC and will figure out how to make a closed one later. I added two jump rings to which I will add silver chain. In class Lora asked me how I was going to hang this piece. I said I would drill holes after it was fired. She dragged me to her work table, took out a twist drill and said I HAD TO DRILL THE HOLES NOW!! She very quickly twisted the small drill bit by hand into one corner of my piece.  Then told me to do the second hole. It worked. Nothing cracked. The hole was clean. It's something you would not do with dry stoneware clay .... it would crack. So I learned how strong PMC was. She also showed me dry PMC could be cut with a blade and it didn't crack.  Wow.

Have you had any experiences with PMC you'd like to share?

Stoneware Square Plate - Buttermilk Glaze

I listed this plate in my Etsy shop today, after selling a similar one last week.  I have one left that I will keep, since I noticed it has a little flaw.  And what else is new?  I only get to keep the seconds!  These plates were so much fun to make, I can't wait to start on another batch.

Baking Dish Wheel Thrown - Buttermilk Glaze

Here's a larger baking dish I added to my Etsy shop today.  It's a nice size and easily holds a quart.  It is made from red stoneware clay and glazed with Buttermilk (of course).

Stoneware Wheel Thrown Baking Dish - Buttermilk Glaze

I added this small baking dish to my Etsy shop yesterday.  It's one of the smallest I make, and so great to have in the kitchen.  It holds 1-1/2 cups.  Again it has the Buttermilk glaze.  Why do I like that glaze so much?!  On white stoneware it looks so pure and clean, and it picks up all the throwing lines.  On red stoneware it can vary with every reduction firing.  Sometimes the glaze has speckles from the iron content, it could have a golden or light brown cast, and the piece shows the double dipping lines which I really like.  I often do an entire kiln load with Buttermilk glaze and know that my other glazes feel hurt and ignored.

Stoneware Wheel Thrown Bowl - Buttermilk Glaze

I love this bowl and continue to make the shape, bigger or smaller.  And I love the lines that are created by using a rutile and iron wash.  The lines always seem to come out differently, sometimes they are pencil thin like I brushed them, then other times the lines spread and flow.  That's reduction firing for you.  Like the outside of the bowl.  Sometimes when I trim I purposely make the trimming tool shatter, which makes groove patterns in the clay, and the glaze loves these grooves.  Magical things happen.

I listed this bowl in my Etsy shop this morning.  You can see more photos and details at:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/80015363/stoneware-bowl-wheel-thrown-buttermilk