Yet More Terra Cotta

I don't know exactly what to call this piece. "Tile Bowl"? "Tray Bowl"? I don't think I've ever seen a piece of clay with this particular combination of pieces.......but that's the joy of being a clay engineer.......inventing new forms.

This piece has a black underglaze decoration and a transparent glaze. I like the primitive look about it. The design is sorta' reminiscent of ancient Ainu (native people of Japan) designs. I was thinking along the lines of that and a bit like the Western Pacific tattoos or modern arm tattoos. Maybe I'll make "Tattoo Pots". huh? Didn't want to go overboard, though, and wanted to only enhance the form.

When I repeat this form, and if I use terra cotta, I'm planning to burnish the surface to see if there is a difference in the whole look of the clay. I'll make my own slump mold with this piece in mind and maybe even engineer in the tray form when I make it so that the whole process will go faster.

I used a plaster block mold that had a bowl indentation in the middle. First, I made the bowl, then formed the spout and attached it. Then I made the tile from a slab of clay and pinched and added the feet. The beauty of using the mold is that the bottom of the bowl and the indentation of the tray marry perfectly because it is using the same curve.





Here's it's ugly cousin. Remember this from last September?