Remember our post on the Evolution of the Painted Bowls? We now have a new addition to our painted bowl family! We are so excited about these new bowls because they are just as beautiful and durable as all our previous bowls, but they are also extremely light and easy to use!In the past, we would use our molds to drape clay on and then to allow them dry and obtain the shape of the mold.
We also have other molds called "slip molds" that are made out of plaster and are then filled with a very wet clay called slip. The plaster of the mold begins to absorb some of the water from the slip, which causes it to attach to the sides of the mold. After a short amount of time (usually about an hour), the molds are turned upside-down to pour out the remaining slip. They are left like that overnight and then taken apart the next day.Once the clay is almost dry, the molds are taken apart and the piece is cleaned up. This is the process we have used to make our disk vases, pitchers, and jars.
Finally, we have decided to combine the two processes to make our large bowls! The result is a beautiful, large bowl that is also extremely light and easy to use!
These three sets are now available on Etsy.
Reality TV
Do you ever watch shows like Cake Boss on TLC? It's one of our favorites, and makes me want to save up a lot of money (and calories!) and travel to Hoboken, NJ to buy cakes! Every episode, along with making beautiful cakes, there is always drama. I'm not sure if it's manufactured, or if the family is really that dramatic, but it definitely makes for good television!Recently, I've been thinking we should make a reality show out of our work at Jean Elton Studio. I'm sure the producers could really milk the drama that we occasionally encounter! For example, we get a big order and one of our kilns breaks down, or we run out of that particular color, or everything breaks in the firing. Did you know that if the clay isn't absolutely, completely dry for the bisque (first) firing, it explodes in the kiln!? Wouldn't that be a great episode?Even if we never get discovered by TLC, I'm still thinking of driving down to Hoboken to get one of those cakes. Can't you imagine a beautiful, handmade, hand-painted TEAPOT cake? Made to look just like one of our beautiful teapots! But unlike with our teapots, it would only be a one-time use product.I think I'll stick to our pottery: pretty enough for display, but durable enough to use every day.
New Teapots
We've been making teapots for a while now (remember the video From Jar to Teapot?), but they now have a new look. Lois has started to hand-throw them on the wheel, which gives her a lot more variety in shapes, sizes, and designs.
First she throws the body, the spout, and the lid, all separately. Once they have a chance to dry a little, she trims them, cleans them up, and then attaches the spout and handle. Next they need to dry completely. If something isn't completely dry when it is bisqued, there is the chance it could explode in the kiln, ruining not only all the hard work that goes into that one teapot, but also many of the pieces that are in there with it.The first firing goes up to a temperature of about 1800 degrees! Because we fire at such high temperatures, our pieces are very durable and not prone to chipping or breaking like so many other ceramic pieces. Stoneware is so durable because it is made with clay and then fired at very high temperatures. Like its name implies, the resulting material is like stone: hard to break and waterproof.
After they are fired, they are hand-painted in a unique design. No two of our teapots are exactly alike, which adds to their charm. We use glaze stains, or under glazes, and then cover them with a transparent glaze. Then they are fired again, to around 2000 degrees, which allows the colors deepen and the finish to shine.
To view our current stock of these new and unique teapots, visit our Etsy store. We add new pieces everyday, so bookmark it and check back often!
My New Bowl Collection
I've always loved dinnerware and I especially enjoy setting a table and layering dishes. That's why I'm enjoying creating pieces that have a "layered mystery" about them... The question is... "how is how is that pieces layered and where does the rest of it go?" It's almost like each piece has a secret.
All Our Various Projects
Wow, has our little studio been busy! Not only have we been steadily working on our project for the Bridgeport Rescue Mission, we've been getting ahead and working on Christmas projects as well!First of all, here's Lois working on the vases for the BRM. These vases were poured into slip molds, and then taken apart once the slip (a very wet clay) has dried and taken the shape of the mold. Then they are taken out of the mold and cleaned up, as Lois is doing here.
Next, we have been preparing for an upcoming corporate show hosted by our friends at Al-Lynn Sales. This includes pressing mugs, bowls, and plates, and impressing corporate names and logos into each piece.
As you can see by the picture above, we are also preparing for a large corporate Christmas order. As we create pieces for various orders, we try to make some for our Christmas home show as well.
In addition to plates and bowls for our Christmas home show, we are once again making ornaments! Remember all the ornament posts from last year? Well, we're doing it again! The picture below is an example of a personalized snowman ornament. It's only in its beginning stages, but once it's done, it sure will be cute!
And finally, we are making Christmas pendants, to go along with our new line of jewelry. There are snowmen, gingerbread men, hearts, bears, and crosses. But that's not all! We'll make sure to take more pictures as more and more of them are done.
From Jar to Teapot
We here at Jean Elton Studio continue to develop many new products. One such piece is our new teapot, which is handmade from a slip mold of a jar. A slip mold is a mold made out of plaster that is filled with a very wet clay called slip. The plaster of the mold begins to absorb some of the water from the slip, which causes it to attach to the sides of the mold. After a short amount of time (usually about an hour), the molds are turned upside-down to pour out the remaining slip. They are left like that overnight and then taken apart the next day. Watch the video for the rest of the process.
What is a Slab Roller?
In our studio, we have many machines that aid in the production of our pottery, like our pugmill and our slab roller. The slab roller itself is very unassuming and doesn't take up space, but we use it to create many different items!
First, we take a log of newly extruded clay and cut it in half lengthwise.
Next, it is smooshed (a very technical term) down with other thin pieces of clay. We tend to use two to three whole logs of clay for a good sized slab.
The slab of clay is very thick at first, so we roll it through several times. Each time, we turn the knobs on either side of the roller to press the clay flatter and flatter.
We then use the resulting slab of clay on our various molds for vases and bowls.
Or we use it for our ornaments...
Or wall-hangings.
So as you can see, our slab roller is a very important part of our studio! Without it, we wouldn't be able to create some of your favorite pieces.
If you enjoyed learning about this machine, read our post on the pugmill and keep checking back for more posts about various other machines in our studio.
Why Stoneware?
At Jean Elton Studio, we work exclusively with stoneware and have for over 30 years. We love stoneware because of its durability in every day use, as well as the ability to dress it up for more formal table settings.Stoneware is so durable because it is made with clay and then fired at very high temperatures. We fire our pieces at over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit! Like its name implies, the resulting material is like stone: hard to break and waterproof. Many of the dinnerware that you can buy at big box stores are made of another type of porcelain dinnerware and tend to break more easily. Like Lois says, "While we believe they are of better quality, safer, and better designed than many of the imports currently available in the marketplace, we hope you will want to own them because you love the way they look and feel!"On a personal note, as the daughter of "Jean" and "Elton", I grew up using their stoneware dishes. In my nearly 30 years of interacting, using, cooking with, and cleaning their dinnerware, I have only ever broken one bowl! And on that occasion, I had mistakenly slammed it against the dishwasher as I was unloading it. I can testify that, as well as being beautiful, their products are durable and will last years and years.
Making of Square Plates
This movie was filmed in Jean Elton Studio and shows the whole process of making our square plates, from making the mold in the beginning, to glazing in the end. These plates in particular were made informally for an executive education class at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
The New Wall-Hangings
Wall-hangings are not a new idea to Jean Elton Studio. In fact, we've been creating wall-hangings for years! But you might be surprised at how much they've changed recently.
If you are unfamiliar with our larger wall-hangings, take a look at them on our website. The wall-hanging you see there is a four-piece, three-dimensional wall hanging measuring 22" high and 52" wide!
But recently we have started creating much smaller wall-hangings like the one you see to the left, for those of you who may not have nearly 5-feet of wall to spare! Interested in how they are made? Keep reading!
As with many of our hand-crafted ceramic art, the wall-hangings begin with a slab of clay.
The slab of clay is then cut into smaller pieces and placed on plaster bats.
Next, we hand-stamp each piece of clay with any number of phrases.Here are some examples.(We do take custom orders!)
In order for the wall-hangings to remain flat, we have to cover them with another flat, plaster bat while they dry. When they are completely dry, they are fired in a bisque firing. Then comes the fun part: painting!
Next, we sprayed them with a transparent glaze so they would be shiny and then fired them again. Here's the finished product, not including the one you will find as an April item on our website!
And there you have it! As previously mentioned, we do take custom orders, but even if you're not ordering, we welcome ideas for words or phrases you'd like to see on a wall-hanging. So leave them in the comments, or you can always find us on Facebook or Twitter.