Chocolate Clay Shards Glazed!

Here is a quick snapshot of the chocolate clay shards glazed...

Sorry for the not so great picture quality....

I was having a bit of a rough weekend (must've really been working on something internally with the new baby - like brain development or something because I surely had no energy and wanted to sleep all weekend...)

Here is a close up of some of my favorite pieces that came out of the glaze firing.

Unfortunately, nobody will ever see these in person...

The glaze did not fit the clay body...

And what I mean by this is that at the final firing temperature of the glaze and clay,

which should be the point where they have the strongest bond and most durability...

The glaze decided to leave the clay (sad story, I know...)

When I had tried these two particular glazes on my porcelain clay body a few years ago,

the same thing happened...

So over the next year (hopefully in the sooner part of this next year) I can do some experimenting to see if I can get it to fit better...

I've got some ideas and will see what works and what doesn't and will share here to give you all some insight into the glazing process.

Ok, So this morning, before the sun came over our trees, I quick snapped these pics...

Sorry for the side view of the pieces - it was the only way to get them without glare from the sun (even though it was indirect sun)...

I made sure to get some multi hole pieces and some 6 hole pieces glazed up for Bead Fest.

I've just been into that mode of seeing things dangle from pieces (I think Jenny Davies-Reazor has gotten this implanted into my head - Thanks Jenny! It's a good thing!!!)

The Chocolate Clay pieces towards the top right (with the river rock texture) are all glazed on one side, and some have one hole, others have two. There are only so many of these...

Below is one of the nature series pieces.

This particular one is a *Blood Root leaf impression that my friend Kim Love of AspenWear helped me with a few years ago.

*I posted some images of the Blood Root growing in my garden to the Marsha Neal Studio Blog in March, April, May (when it is in bloom) right before I began my garden blog: Marsha's Garden Blog.

Have you discovered my garden blog yet? Lots of pictures there of stuff that is going on in the garden... Ok - mostly blooms and other textures I find...

Off to get some decals designed and printed out for a last firing for Bead Fest!

Stop by and see me in booth #806...

Oh, and make sure you are signed up for my e-newsletter mailing list...

I'm going to be finishing that up this week and it will have lots of information on upcoming giveaways and contests... and of course coupons for shopping with Marsha Neal Studio!

Hope you are all having fun!

Chocolate Clay Shards Glazed!

Here is a quick snapshot of the chocolate clay shards glazed...

Sorry for the not so great picture quality....

I was having a bit of a rough weekend (must've really been working on something internally with the new baby - like brain development or something because I surely had no energy and wanted to sleep all weekend...)

Here is a close up of some of my favorite pieces that came out of the glaze firing.

Unfortunately, nobody will ever see these in person...

The glaze did not fit the clay body...

And what I mean by this is that at the final firing temperature of the glaze and clay,

which should be the point where they have the strongest bond and most durability...

The glaze decided to leave the clay (sad story, I know...)

When I had tried these two particular glazes on my porcelain clay body a few years ago,

the same thing happened...

So over the next year (hopefully in the sooner part of this next year) I can do some experimenting to see if I can get it to fit better...

I've got some ideas and will see what works and what doesn't and will share here to give you all some insight into the glazing process.

Ok, So this morning, before the sun came over our trees, I quick snapped these pics...

Sorry for the side view of the pieces - it was the only way to get them without glare from the sun (even though it was indirect sun)...

I made sure to get some multi hole pieces and some 6 hole pieces glazed up for Bead Fest.

I've just been into that mode of seeing things dangle from pieces (I think Jenny Davies-Reazor has gotten this implanted into my head - Thanks Jenny! It's a good thing!!!)

The Chocolate Clay pieces towards the top right (with the river rock texture) are all glazed on one side, and some have one hole, others have two. There are only so many of these...

Below is one of the nature series pieces.

This particular one is a *Blood Root leaf impression that my friend Kim Love of AspenWear helped me with a few years ago.

*I posted some images of the Blood Root growing in my garden to the Marsha Neal Studio Blog in March, April, May (when it is in bloom) right before I began my garden blog: Marsha's Garden Blog.

Have you discovered my garden blog yet? Lots of pictures there of stuff that is going on in the garden... Ok - mostly blooms and other textures I find...

Off to get some decals designed and printed out for a last firing for Bead Fest!

Stop by and see me in booth #806...

Oh, and make sure you are signed up for my e-newsletter mailing list...

I'm going to be finishing that up this week and it will have lots of information on upcoming giveaways and contests... and of course coupons for shopping with Marsha Neal Studio!

Hope you are all having fun!

Chocolate Clay Glaze Tests

I have been quite the glazing fiend in the last couple of days...

This first picture is a grouping of glazes I plan on using with the chocolate clay...

This next picture is a grouping of potential glazes for the future...

And there are some that didn't make the cut, they are just hard to see with the dark clay body, so why bother using them and just wasting the glaze...

So at the end of the day today, here is a try full of pieces that are going into the kiln for a glaze firing. Loading this amount of work will probably take a good 3 hours (and hopefully just one kiln load).

I got about 1/2 the kiln loaded before running out the door to get Chloe from school. The rest will get loaded tomorrow morning after she goes to school.

Then I get to pull the porcelain shards to get them glazed for Bead Fest.

I can't wait to see how this kiln load comes out!

Will keep you all posted...

Chocolate Clay Glaze Tests

I have been quite the glazing fiend in the last couple of days...

This first picture is a grouping of glazes I plan on using with the chocolate clay...

This next picture is a grouping of potential glazes for the future...

And there are some that didn't make the cut, they are just hard to see with the dark clay body, so why bother using them and just wasting the glaze...

So at the end of the day today, here is a try full of pieces that are going into the kiln for a glaze firing. Loading this amount of work will probably take a good 3 hours (and hopefully just one kiln load).

I got about 1/2 the kiln loaded before running out the door to get Chloe from school. The rest will get loaded tomorrow morning after she goes to school.

Then I get to pull the porcelain shards to get them glazed for Bead Fest.

I can't wait to see how this kiln load comes out!

Will keep you all posted...

Random thoughts on Digital Marketing

Couple of weeks back, I was in Malaysia, attending a 5 day workshop on Advertising during these times (read tough times). Everyone was of the unanimous opinion that times are indeed tough, especially for the advertising industry. With lower profits, bleak economic forecast, companies are cutting down their budgets – especially their marketing budgets.
While the overall mood was somber, everyone were gung-ho about digital medium. Internet / Mobile they say are the way to go. Advertising can be measured, sales quantified, and at end of the day – the client gets to see the ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment)
What makes digital such a favorite amongst marketers and advertisers is the fact that controllable, measurable, and all on real-time basis. Until the advent of Internet, most marketing campaigns were like a bullet released – you could only aim and shoot; once the trigger is pressed, you had no control on it… however, now it is like a guided missile – you can target, shoot, change direction in mid-air, change target, do anything and everything till the last minute – this greater degree of control is what everyone likes.
The marketers and advertisers are saying that - Consumer is the King. This is the biggest hoax. No Brand or company would like to leave the control of what they own into the hands of the multitude. No, it is only that they (Marketers & Advertisers) want the ‘consumer’ to ‘believe’ that they are the King. When was the last time you changed your toothpaste saying that “I do not like this company/brand anymore”. Closer to the digital world – there are numerous blogs, BBs, comments, about Microsoft and its offerings…. Reading those bits online would make one believe that half the internet population is against Microsoft and its products… but Windows/Microsoft products are by far the ubiquitous thing that is in 90% of the personal computers in the world.
As humans, we tend to ‘quantify’ everything… it is our ability to ‘count’ that helped us reach where we are today in the evolution process . Performance of any individual or activity needs to be measurable. The success depends on the measurability factor. Advertising of all the promotion activities used to make up for most of the budget, but was the least directly measurable activity, thus far. The digital advertising opportunities, with the measurability factor put in is a boon for all the marketing managers – here is something that has proof of performance attached – not just the creative or something vague like “brand connect”
The rise of social media in the digital world has brought in a new problem – consumers have began talking in the cyber-space; this worries the brand managers and advertisers – as this gives the consumers a platform to vent their feelings (especially if negative)about a product attribute or service guarantee denied to their expectations.
But a good brand manager would know what it takes to make the consumer believe that he / she is in control… while actually the story would be something different… very different

Cheers

Santosh

Random thoughts on Digital Marketing

Couple of weeks back, I was in Malaysia, attending a 5 day workshop on Advertising during these times (read tough times). Everyone was of the unanimous opinion that times are indeed tough, especially for the advertising industry. With lower profits, bleak economic forecast, companies are cutting down their budgets – especially their marketing budgets.
While the overall mood was somber, everyone were gung-ho about digital medium. Internet / Mobile they say are the way to go. Advertising can be measured, sales quantified, and at end of the day – the client gets to see the ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment)
What makes digital such a favorite amongst marketers and advertisers is the fact that controllable, measurable, and all on real-time basis. Until the advent of Internet, most marketing campaigns were like a bullet released – you could only aim and shoot; once the trigger is pressed, you had no control on it… however, now it is like a guided missile – you can target, shoot, change direction in mid-air, change target, do anything and everything till the last minute – this greater degree of control is what everyone likes.
The marketers and advertisers are saying that - Consumer is the King. This is the biggest hoax. No Brand or company would like to leave the control of what they own into the hands of the multitude. No, it is only that they (Marketers & Advertisers) want the ‘consumer’ to ‘believe’ that they are the King. When was the last time you changed your toothpaste saying that “I do not like this company/brand anymore”. Closer to the digital world – there are numerous blogs, BBs, comments, about Microsoft and its offerings…. Reading those bits online would make one believe that half the internet population is against Microsoft and its products… but Windows/Microsoft products are by far the ubiquitous thing that is in 90% of the personal computers in the world.
As humans, we tend to ‘quantify’ everything… it is our ability to ‘count’ that helped us reach where we are today in the evolution process . Performance of any individual or activity needs to be measurable. The success depends on the measurability factor. Advertising of all the promotion activities used to make up for most of the budget, but was the least directly measurable activity, thus far. The digital advertising opportunities, with the measurability factor put in is a boon for all the marketing managers – here is something that has proof of performance attached – not just the creative or something vague like “brand connect”
The rise of social media in the digital world has brought in a new problem – consumers have began talking in the cyber-space; this worries the brand managers and advertisers – as this gives the consumers a platform to vent their feelings (especially if negative)about a product attribute or service guarantee denied to their expectations.
But a good brand manager would know what it takes to make the consumer believe that he / she is in control… while actually the story would be something different… very different

Cheers

Santosh

Random thoughts on Digital Marketing

Couple of weeks back, I was in Malaysia, attending a 5 day workshop on Advertising during these times (read tough times). Everyone was of the unanimous opinion that times are indeed tough, especially for the advertising industry. With lower profits, bleak economic forecast, companies are cutting down their budgets – especially their marketing budgets.
While the overall mood was somber, everyone were gung-ho about digital medium. Internet / Mobile they say are the way to go. Advertising can be measured, sales quantified, and at end of the day – the client gets to see the ROMI (Return on Marketing Investment)
What makes digital such a favorite amongst marketers and advertisers is the fact that controllable, measurable, and all on real-time basis. Until the advent of Internet, most marketing campaigns were like a bullet released – you could only aim and shoot; once the trigger is pressed, you had no control on it… however, now it is like a guided missile – you can target, shoot, change direction in mid-air, change target, do anything and everything till the last minute – this greater degree of control is what everyone likes.
The marketers and advertisers are saying that - Consumer is the King. This is the biggest hoax. No Brand or company would like to leave the control of what they own into the hands of the multitude. No, it is only that they (Marketers & Advertisers) want the ‘consumer’ to ‘believe’ that they are the King. When was the last time you changed your toothpaste saying that “I do not like this company/brand anymore”. Closer to the digital world – there are numerous blogs, BBs, comments, about Microsoft and its offerings…. Reading those bits online would make one believe that half the internet population is against Microsoft and its products… but Windows/Microsoft products are by far the ubiquitous thing that is in 90% of the personal computers in the world.
As humans, we tend to ‘quantify’ everything… it is our ability to ‘count’ that helped us reach where we are today in the evolution process . Performance of any individual or activity needs to be measurable. The success depends on the measurability factor. Advertising of all the promotion activities used to make up for most of the budget, but was the least directly measurable activity, thus far. The digital advertising opportunities, with the measurability factor put in is a boon for all the marketing managers – here is something that has proof of performance attached – not just the creative or something vague like “brand connect”
The rise of social media in the digital world has brought in a new problem – consumers have began talking in the cyber-space; this worries the brand managers and advertisers – as this gives the consumers a platform to vent their feelings (especially if negative)about a product attribute or service guarantee denied to their expectations.
But a good brand manager would know what it takes to make the consumer believe that he / she is in control… while actually the story would be something different… very different

Cheers

Santosh