Blog Drawing Winners from Porcelain Decal Drawing

Chloe has picked the winners of my very first blog drawing...

Thank you to everyone that commented...

The comments winner is...

Tari of Claybuttons.com

And from the 2nd drawing of people that commented and also posted a link to this blog from their blog or website...

The winner is...

Thanks for everyone that commented and posted links...

Tari and Jenny, send me your addresses and I'll put your goodies in the mail to you!

Blog Drawing Winners from Porcelain Decal Drawing

Chloe has picked the winners of my very first blog drawing...

Thank you to everyone that commented...

The comments winner is...

Tari of Claybuttons.com

And from the 2nd drawing of people that commented and also posted a link to this blog from their blog or website...

The winner is...

Thanks for everyone that commented and posted links...

Tari and Jenny, send me your addresses and I'll put your goodies in the mail to you!

Yumm... Chocolate Clay (Finally!) as Shards

Peeves couldn't help herself...

What's this she asked?

It's a different color, smells different (is that aging?), and is in my space...

So it hit me today...

I've been working with Porcelain for so long...

But have always had boxes and boxes of different clay waiting to be tried...

Umm...

Let's just try one...

This is my Cone 6 Chocolate Clay Body.

And this is what I worked on today...

Chocolate Shards, River Rock Buttons & Pendants, and some textured pendants...

I think one of the things holding me back from trying this clay was something internal.

Something in my head (from my early days of working with clay in a communal studio) kept telling me: Don't mix colored clay bodies in the same work space...

If you use a dark clay in the porcelain area of the studio, your porcelain won't be as clean.

And as true as that is...

Porcelain is a very white clay body - it's supposed to be super clean...

(to allow the glazes to come through not so muddled)...

I decided to pull out some old tools, not to be used on porcelain texture plates, and rubber stamps to fiddle with this Chocolate Clay Body.

Can you tell that I liked the Chocolate Clay?

It is SO plastic and easy to use...

It is so different than Porcelain...

Porcelain is so temperamental at times...

On a side note, somewhat related to this post and the previous one,

Because it is using the shard pieces...

Here are some images of some small pieces that I made a while back with some of the shards when I first started to work with them at this scale.

I say this scale because when I was going through my Masters degree in Ceramics,

I threw a lot of coils like this on the potters wheel that were around 8" up to 3' tall.

I did an installation with the pieces and if I can find the images in my backup files, I'll post some of them here.

These new small scale pieces are still trying to discover their potential.

They started out as tops for small scale pagodas for your indoor house plants and terrariums.

But I haven't worked on the bodies yet.

I think these will be fired then glazed and will sit on my windowsill or in some plants around here just as my starting point for a new body of work.

Oh, and by the way, I just stared an official Marsha Neal Studio Facebook Page (see side bar).

Also, In September I plan on having a challenge for anyone using my "shards" in their work to post pictures of. I've got to work on that detail and will post info here on this blog soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Yumm... Chocolate Clay (Finally!) as Shards

Peeves couldn't help herself...

What's this she asked?

It's a different color, smells different (is that aging?), and is in my space...

So it hit me today...

I've been working with Porcelain for so long...

But have always had boxes and boxes of different clay waiting to be tried...

Umm...

Let's just try one...

This is my Cone 6 Chocolate Clay Body.

And this is what I worked on today...

Chocolate Shards, River Rock Buttons & Pendants, and some textured pendants...

I think one of the things holding me back from trying this clay was something internal.

Something in my head (from my early days of working with clay in a communal studio) kept telling me: Don't mix colored clay bodies in the same work space...

If you use a dark clay in the porcelain area of the studio, your porcelain won't be as clean.

And as true as that is...

Porcelain is a very white clay body - it's supposed to be super clean...

(to allow the glazes to come through not so muddled)...

I decided to pull out some old tools, not to be used on porcelain texture plates, and rubber stamps to fiddle with this Chocolate Clay Body.

Can you tell that I liked the Chocolate Clay?

It is SO plastic and easy to use...

It is so different than Porcelain...

Porcelain is so temperamental at times...

On a side note, somewhat related to this post and the previous one,

Because it is using the shard pieces...

Here are some images of some small pieces that I made a while back with some of the shards when I first started to work with them at this scale.

I say this scale because when I was going through my Masters degree in Ceramics,

I threw a lot of coils like this on the potters wheel that were around 8" up to 3' tall.

I did an installation with the pieces and if I can find the images in my backup files, I'll post some of them here.

These new small scale pieces are still trying to discover their potential.

They started out as tops for small scale pagodas for your indoor house plants and terrariums.

But I haven't worked on the bodies yet.

I think these will be fired then glazed and will sit on my windowsill or in some plants around here just as my starting point for a new body of work.

Oh, and by the way, I just stared an official Marsha Neal Studio Facebook Page (see side bar).

Also, In September I plan on having a challenge for anyone using my "shards" in their work to post pictures of. I've got to work on that detail and will post info here on this blog soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

How To Make Porcelain Shards

Ok, so I love teaching.

I haven't done it in a while and I really miss it sometimes.

At bead shows I would talk to anyone that would listen to explain my process and try my best to explain how to use the pieces in a finished jewelry piece.

I remember how people always said "Marsha your booth is always packed with customers".

And my reply: "I love to talk to people, and I try to answer every question in detail, and boy can I talk..."

So I want to do some tutorials through my blog to help others feel a bit inspired.

I know I LOVE to see how other artists work in their studio.

Not to be able to replicate what they are doing, but for a jumping point...

So here it goes...

My first blog tutorial on making my porcelain shards...

This picture is one of my glazed shards that I've made into earrings (with Vintaj charms & findings).

The picture below is my work space which includes:

1. Some pieces drying on plastic lid (tray)

2. Plastic bag where I keep my clay moist while working

3. Texture plates (these are wood)

4. Fettling knife

5. Stylus tool

Here is a close up of the finished pieces drying on the lid.

Sorry it's a bit blurry... These pictures are from my phone.

The pieces are about 2-3" long each (I like not having exact measurements with these)...

So I cut off some clay from my wet clay roll and cut it into portions then roll it into a little ball.

I begin to roll it in between the textured wood pieces.

If I angle the wood, I can make a textured cone shape.

If the wood is kept parallel, the overall shape is more straight.

(This picture shows the wood parallel because I had to put it down to use my hands to take the picture, while the piece I was making is a cone shape).

But you get the idea right?

This picture below shows how random the textures can be from the same plate depending on how the plate lines up, the amount of pressure you apply, the way you apply it, and the condition of your clay (moist clay vs clay that isn't so moist and crumbles easier).

After I have some made, I will put a hole through one end with my stylus tool.

I push the hole through on both sides to make it a little more clean and even (but not too perfect).

And here are those pieces added to the original batch waiting to dry and be loaded into the kiln for the bisque firing.

I find that by working in batches, I tend to have a better success rate of pieces making it through the initial drying phase (to achieve "bone dry" state).

If you let pieces set for too long, then try to handle them, you will have a lot more breakage.

You can find these shards for purchase at my Marsha Neal Studio Booth #806 at Bead Fest Philadelphia and through my friend Darlene's table: D7 Studio at some smaller bead shows here in the North East.

Check back here with me after Bead Fest to see about a Blog Contest I'm going to have for people that want to make things with these shards...

(guess I'm going to have to offer them for sale somewhere and in some sort of grouping through Etsy too...)

If you like this post (and or my blog in general), and you have a blog, I'd really appreciate any extra added links back to my blog. I feel like I'm a bit behind with technology and want to catch up and appreciate any help your links could provide!

Have fun playing with beads and clay!!!

How To Make Porcelain Shards

Ok, so I love teaching.

I haven't done it in a while and I really miss it sometimes.

At bead shows I would talk to anyone that would listen to explain my process and try my best to explain how to use the pieces in a finished jewelry piece.

I remember how people always said "Marsha your booth is always packed with customers".

And my reply: "I love to talk to people, and I try to answer every question in detail, and boy can I talk..."

So I want to do some tutorials through my blog to help others feel a bit inspired.

I know I LOVE to see how other artists work in their studio.

Not to be able to replicate what they are doing, but for a jumping point...

So here it goes...

My first blog tutorial on making my porcelain shards...

This picture is one of my glazed shards that I've made into earrings (with Vintaj charms & findings).

The picture below is my work space which includes:

1. Some pieces drying on plastic lid (tray)

2. Plastic bag where I keep my clay moist while working

3. Texture plates (these are wood)

4. Fettling knife

5. Stylus tool

Here is a close up of the finished pieces drying on the lid.

Sorry it's a bit blurry... These pictures are from my phone.

The pieces are about 2-3" long each (I like not having exact measurements with these)...

So I cut off some clay from my wet clay roll and cut it into portions then roll it into a little ball.

I begin to roll it in between the textured wood pieces.

If I angle the wood, I can make a textured cone shape.

If the wood is kept parallel, the overall shape is more straight.

(This picture shows the wood parallel because I had to put it down to use my hands to take the picture, while the piece I was making is a cone shape).

But you get the idea right?

This picture below shows how random the textures can be from the same plate depending on how the plate lines up, the amount of pressure you apply, the way you apply it, and the condition of your clay (moist clay vs clay that isn't so moist and crumbles easier).

After I have some made, I will put a hole through one end with my stylus tool.

I push the hole through on both sides to make it a little more clean and even (but not too perfect).

And here are those pieces added to the original batch waiting to dry and be loaded into the kiln for the bisque firing.

I find that by working in batches, I tend to have a better success rate of pieces making it through the initial drying phase (to achieve "bone dry" state).

If you let pieces set for too long, then try to handle them, you will have a lot more breakage.

You can find these shards for purchase at my Marsha Neal Studio Booth #806 at Bead Fest Philadelphia and through my friend Darlene's table: D7 Studio at some smaller bead shows here in the North East.

Check back here with me after Bead Fest to see about a Blog Contest I'm going to have for people that want to make things with these shards...

(guess I'm going to have to offer them for sale somewhere and in some sort of grouping through Etsy too...)

If you like this post (and or my blog in general), and you have a blog, I'd really appreciate any extra added links back to my blog. I feel like I'm a bit behind with technology and want to catch up and appreciate any help your links could provide!

Have fun playing with beads and clay!!!

Blogging About Ceramic Decals

***See bottom of this post on how to win one of my pendants***

I was thrilled to be asked by Mary Harding via the Beads-of-Clay Blog about the process I use to create my Porcelain Decal pieces.

There are two other Beads of Clay artists that also contributed to the blog post through Mary, so check it out for all the details.

I wanted to post some additional pictures about the actual process here to give you a visual insight into how I make the pieces (to compliment what the BOC blog has on it)...

The following picture is of my normal work space when applying the decals to my already glazed (to Cone 6) pieces. Decals are cut out, pieces are laid out, and extras are on stand by in baggies. I dry fit the decals before putting them into the water bath. The towel on the table is there because I like to be able to get a little messy when working and not worry about dripping all over the place...

This picture is a close up of the warm water bath that the cut out decal pieces sit in to remove the paper backing and moisten the "glue" on actual decal. You can see one of the paper backings towards the top right of the picture.

Here are some of my Chickadee and Dark Eyed Junco, and a few abstract designs once they are in their final place. Notice how dark the image is before the Decal Firing (Cone 1).

And here is a bunch of my flower pieces. I liked having the images a bit smaller and off center so charms and other dangles can be hung from the hole without covering the image entirely.

A close up of some of my flower drawings as decals before they are fired in the kiln...

Here is a quick shot of the pieces in the kiln before the Cone 1 firing...

And after the firing... Notice the color change?

Here are some pieces out of one of my very first decal firings. And like anything, you keep testing to see how to make the pieces come out as you visualize. For me it was figuring out to put a very thin coat of glaze (not my normal 2-4 coats of glaze as pictured here) and firing to Cone 1 for the decals...

If you want to give this a try, you will have to be ready to run tests to see what will work best for you (well, really, what works best for the materials you are using).

For blank beads, check out my friend Marla's company:

Bisque Bead Supply

Early in the year when I realized that I wanted to work more on the layout of the design on the piece rather than on the actual making of the plain porcelain pendants, I asked Marla if she could have my entire line (and then some) of my standard shapes and sizes made for me - and for her to be able to sell through her company (why reinvent the wheel right? and why not help support another artist and small business - especially when the quality of the pieces are out of this world!!!)

So that's what we're working on... well, I sent the sizes and shapes and she's working on it, I'm buying them...

And you can benefit by being able to just click and buy the same pieces that I use by going to her website and shopping. And she offers various clay bodies with different firing temperatures. Amazing!!! Lots more to come as the pieces are finalized...

Oh and check out the Bisque Bead Supply Blog as well. She's got news and contests on there!

For other suppliers, check out the Beads of Clay Blog link (for info and for where to get the laser-jet water slide decal paper)

And for those of you who have gotten to the bottom of this blog - a contest (2 actually)...

If you comment on this blog, you will be entered to win this:

My daisy flower on my large round porcelain pendant - on a black silky ribbon.

If you have a blog or website and post a link to this blog, then comment here with a link, I'll put you in a 2nd drawing to win the above pendant and some additional surprise goodies.

Chloe will be pulling the winners (from a box or hat of sorts) on Friday, August 7th.

Have fun!!!