Clare carving out the clay for one of our crosses.
Finished cross after firing and raku firing.
Part of why we love coming to work everyday is that we get to play in the mud. It just never gets old! We rolled out a slab of raw clay and cut it into a cross and, in the first photo, you see Clare carving away the clay to create the pattern that gets glazed with color. In the second photo you can see the smoky pattern and iridescent crackling left behind by the raku fire.
Our find transformed with its new clay tile mosaic top
We are fascinated by the beautiful colors, textures, and patterns found in Suzani textiles. Inspired by these wonderful textiles, we added our raku fired clay tile pieces and semiprecious stones to this locally found vintage table in order to create this intricate mosaic.
We think it would be a pretty statement piece at the end of a hallway or maybe would be a nice addition to a screened porch.
This week we are knee deep in Red Poppy Bowls! We are happily working on an order for 130 of our small handle bowls. First we start with the bisque and give it 2 coats of black underglaze. Then with a pencil we draw on the design. Next we paint on the green and red glaze - 2 coats each. After we add the clear glaze (shown in the second set of photos), we kiln fire the bowls for the final product. Here is a progression photo...
Below, in the first photo, is a good grouping of the bowls in various stages of underglazing. The second shows the bowls coated in clear glaze. Some are fully coated others are waiting to get their second half coated. After they are fully covered with clear glaze, they get stacked into the kiln and fired
We found this second empire style round mirror at a local resale shop and worked our magic on it. We gave it a fresh coat of paint and embellished it with a custom clay tile that we raku fired and topped off with semiprecious stones (coral, jade, purple amethyst, turquoise, carnelian) and grout. See more info about this piece here.
Here is our Red Table Before and After its transformation!
Clare working on raw clay slab
The design on each piece is freehand drawn. Then the texture is carved and stamped into the clay.
The first firing is the bisque firing
Romy painting on the several layers of glaze.
The second firing is Raku fired
Setting in the semiprecious stones and beads to create the mosaic.
Grouting...it's gotta get worse before it gets better!
Setting the tiles into our great find - the vintage red table.
Finished table! Viola!
We've been meaning to do this for a long time. Did a photo shoot and finally got one we like!
Found this diamond in the rough when we were out picking the other day. Can't wait to get started on it! Fresh paint + custom tiles + tender lovin' care = Fabulous One of a Kind Buffet. Stay tuned for the transformation!
Here is the start of this little table's transformation into a Romy & Clare art piece. Watch for future posts to see how it turns out!
Our Find
Clare carving tile for table top
Weapons of choice
