While I'm dyeing...

I' m in the middle of some natural dyeing... so, while I wait (and nervously run back and forth checking that everything is going well), I wanted to show you this little matchbox books I made over the weekend, to include in every order that is going out now:


For the gods of crafting! hahaaha I just took out the first batch of wool... DEEEEP PURPLE! hahahaha smoooke on the waaater....chanchan chaaan chan...ok...
Anyway, the little books were fun to make and add some color to the package. I see that the ceramic tags that go with the orders are a success too...



I have a second type of tags which just came out of the oven, but they have to do with a bit of rearranging the logo/marketing side of this little biz (yes, I know... it' s taking me a while, uh? Well... I'm learning!):


These are also ceramic tags where I' ve drawn with a glazing pencil. I wanted the scratchy, pencil look on them... as if a little kid had been drawing. They were later fired a second time with a cover of transparent glazing just for a bit of protection and shine...

Well, you see..tags I have! hahahaa
And now I also have some cotton and bamboo dyeing... intrigued. Will show you latet this week how it looks.

So, happy monday.

Candle holder

Today I went to my ceramics class and I picked up some of the ceramic pieces I made a couple of weeks ago, before the spring vacations here in The Netherlands. I love this class. I learn so much from Maud (Maud's Keramiek Atelier en Galerie), and she is so encouraging and talented herself!! She is one of the first -and few- teachers I've ever had that shares everything. That doesn't hold back knowledge. Those aren't real teachers. You have to have it in your heart to pass on what you know. Share.
But anyway, this is not an entry about that class but about the magic of ceramics and glassing. It's pure chemistry. One might choose a pot of a certain glaze which you've already tried and liked, but the circumstances in the oven at a couple of thousand degrees, you just can't control. The chemical combinations in the oven between ones pieces and the ones from the rest of the class make every time, a unique explosion! So when things come back to you, you might be surprised. And that is just fine... magic!
It is the case with this little candle holder which I made thinking on our camping trips. I wanted something simple where I could put a little tea candle when we stay up at night watching the stars and having some wine. I don't want a lot of artificial light, just something small.
So I made this... I had chosen a glaze that imitates a bird's plumage, but... it turned out -due to the Pandora's box an electric oven is- as a bit of a tiger, camouflage pattern. I love it anyways!