Porcelain Rosette Brooches

Made especially for all you lovely horsey people. Finished and for sale at my Etsy shopWendyWallworkCeramic.
Each porcelain brooch has been designed, hand crafted and fired by myself. Using high quality porcelain and velvet glazes. Each brooch is presented in its own classy box. Available in all the equine rosette colours with an option of 18kt gold onglaze.

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Glazed Ceramic Knobs

Well, these have turned out pretty good. So pleased with the outcome. Some have now gone to a new home but there will be plenty more to come !

Just love the way glazes have that powdery pastel look before firing.

After a few test pieces I continued to glaze the cupboard/draw knobs, using 3 coats of brush on glaze and no clear glaze. Plugs out for the first 2 hours and fired  to 1105c, cone 03 with a 15 min soak. A test piece fired to 1140c proved to fade and blur the colours.

 These are some samples of the metalyk bronze on-glaze  I used on parts of the mushrooms and faces.

The effects of layering the bronze onto different colours, looks good over the darker colours.

I used the bronze onglaze around the hairline and at the base of the knob to give a nice neat finish.

I added some bronze onglaze detail to add more interest to the mushrooms.

The hats reflect the cowboy theme.

Ceramic Knobs

Well, I have been busy ! It all started when a furniture designer The Shabby Chiffonier asked me to create some draw knobs for some furniture she was designing. She was inspired by Alice in Wonderland and Mackenzie Childs designs. So off I went collecting and pinning designs in this theme until I came up with some unique designs.


I then researched the different techniques in making ceramic draw/cupboard knobs and decided the best technique to use would be wheel thrown in high fired white earthenware grogged clay ( K112 ).

 Each thrown knob was then hand sculpted. I made the small fairytale mushrooms separately and joined them onto the main body of the knob.

The hats were totally hand sculpted, no wheel work necessary. 

 The swirly pattern was created by using a hand held sculpting tool when the clay was leather hard.

The faces and hair were carved out of the wheel thrown knobs. One male and one female face because they will be used for 2 bedside cabinets, his and hers.

I inserted a deep hole in the underside center. Taking care not to distort the ball shape. The apertures were made 14 % larger to allow for shrinkage during firing. This allowed the bolt inners to sit comfortably after firings. I used my white pencil measuring 715mm. inners measured        .

I measured the bolt inner with some digital callipers for precision measurements.

Once thoroughly dried they were bisque fired to 1004c. Plugs out for the first 5 hrs. No soak

Fish Can !

  I've just completed a new piece of ceramic to be entered in an art exhibition. The theme is WATER and the environmental impact that we have on polluting our oceans, the theme raises political and ecological concerns. My design depicts our precious fish transforming into hazardous waste. We are what we swim in ! 

Earthenware pinch pot fired to 1000c, glazed using mayco with no transparent dip. Fired to 1004c and soak for 15 mins.

Oiled

 I've just completed a new piece of ceramic to be entered in an art exhibition. The theme is WATER and the environmental impact that we have on polluting our oceans, the theme raises political and ecological concerns. My design depicts an oil platform with spill contaminating the seas. 

Earthenware pinch pot fired to 1000c, glazed using mayco with no transparent dip. Fired to 1004c and soak for 15 mins. The waves were created by 3 coats of cotton tail and 2 mins later 2 coats of blue. Using a cocktail stick scraffito design for the curly waves.

rosette brooches

After doing much research on rosettes, I decided to create some porcelain brooches inspired by the equine rosettes, I used JAB porcelain, porcelain under glaze and a transparent high fire glaze. Once the basic shapes were created I scored and joined the pieces together and biscuit fired to 1004c. I  applied the coloured underglaze and coated them in the clear glaze. Once dried I fired to 1220c with a 15 min soak.

The luster detail was applied onto the solvent cleaned brooches. I used Duncan Bright Gold and fired to 700c with no soak. So here they are !

Masked Up

 I've just completed a new piece of ceramic to be entered in an art exhibition. The theme is WATER and the environmental impact that we have on polluting our oceans, the theme raises political and ecological concerns. My design depicts the most powerful and largest marine mammal, the Killer Whale, but even this mammal succumbs to wearing a filter mask to filter out the many toxins being released into our environment and water. The idea of it is preposterous, even comical, or is it !

John Wayne

Completed a repair for a customer on John Wayne's bust from the USA, cast in plaster of paris. I pinned and glued the exposed plaster all along the break and secured them in with glue. I then hand formed the missing brim of his hat using air drying clay and pressed it onto the broken edge, securely fixing it around the pins.I sculpted the Das a little larger to allow for shrinkage. When the Das was completely dry, I sanded and finished it.