Results of blog Giveaway.

I would like to thank everyone who entered and left such lovely comments on my last blog.
All the names were written on pieces of paper and the winner was drawn by my son.

And the winner is!

Ello Design
Well done a pair of porcelain storm cloud bobby pins coming your way!

Porcelain Jewellery Blog Giveaway

Well it's just over a year since I began "Little Brick House Clayworks" blog and have just gained my 100th follower so without further delay I am having my 1st giveaway. I hope you have a go at entering. My giveaway will be a piece of porcelain Jewellery currently being sold in my Not on the high street shop.
You don't have to be a follower just leave your comments below and choose which piece you would prefer to win. I will draw names on 29th April 2012.
Good luck everyone!!!

Option 1.   Storm Cloud Porcelain Bobby Pins

Option 2.     Storm Cloud Porcelain and silver (coated) Ear Studs

Option 3.   Storm Cloud Porcelain brooch pin.

Option 4.   Little Porcelain Owl Brooch Pin

Leave your comments and option choice below to be entered for the draw on 29th April 2012

For more porcelain jewellery makes please click link....

Porcelain Deer Head... Something for the house.

I have been meaning to post pics of this so here it is. I made this a few weeks ago for my house out of porcelain clay. I didnt hold out much hope for it as the antlers are really fragile and needed to be supported whilst drying out. Infact I thought if it made it to the kiln for the firing it would be nothing short of a small miracle. Yet, here it is, quite sweet and small and now hung on my wall.

Here it is hung on my wall inside an old frame.
This blog shows some animal head hooks that I have
been making in my workshop.

Lovely Old Book.... Anatomical Diagrams for Art students

Well my Art student days are far away behind me now but this book would have been put to great use then, when I was taking figure drawing class two/three times a week. Friends back then will remember my drawings and paintings to be fine until you take note of the hands and fingers. (Mittens some might say, others might call them blurs, I on the other hand just knew that hands take so much time to get right I am impatient by nature, so they were an area of the drawing in need of T.L.C.
Oh to have had this lovely book then, it shows all the bone structure of parts of the body and muscle tone to help you to draw.

Salvaged from the Art department clear out.
I just  love this old book

See more books that inspire me

House Name Plaques update and finished project

Its a good feeling when a project like this is completed and the customer likes what they have got. I always feel under more pressure when making to specific requirements as things may go wrong in the kiln or the customer may not like what I have made and I generally feel daunted by commissions but feel compelled to take them on. After all if the customer has faith in what I produce then why shouldnt I?
Here are some of the processes that the two name plaques have been through, and the finished item.

At this stage the lettering has been drawn onto the clay and the plaque is left to go to leather hard stage ready to work  on again.

As above but this plaque I scratched a drawing of the hens and the pigs and left to go to leather hard stage.

At this stage the clay is leather hard which means it is still soft enough to work on but not wet  as the initial stage and not dry enough to not do anything with.
 I have dug out all the lettering with a clay tool and smoothed with a soft brush ready to paint glaze into the letters. After this I have to weight down all the corners to allow the work to dry really flat. This takes weeks sometimes. I am going to single fire these pieces (which means fire once with the glaze painted straight onto dry unfired clay)

Here I am putting the shelves in my kiln together to load up my work and do a firing.

These are the final fired plaques before I delivered them to Pairpoint's Farm.

The lady who bought them really liked them. So phew!!
Until another commission comes along.