a little bit of process

Hello! It's Krystal here. When Heather & I began planning kindred around a blue & white theme, I immediately began sketching out my ideas. I always seem to approach making in this way. First with pen & paper, then translating my line drawings into their clay forms. As the forms take shape, my thoughts shift  to pattern and surface design, figuring out how each pattern will correspond to the form. This is my favourite part of the design process. As most of my pottery is decorated with floral/plant based motifs, I couldn't help but think of the classic 'blue willow' china pattern each time I sketched a leaf or vine in blue. It's such a ubiquitous pattern. Yet adapting my vines & flowers to a blue and white colour scheme has been a refreshing change. I've been experimenting with more lines & geometric patterning as well (photos of those pieces to come!)

As Heather mentioned in her last post, choosing a favourite blue isn't necessarily as easy as you'd think. And once you have it, now try creating that perfect blue as a glaze. I've been searching for a variety of pleasing blues: teal, a juicy pure cobalt, a deep blue/black or blue/grey. In a glossy semi-transparent base glaze. One mixture I really love is a combination of cobalt & chrome. And another, a combo of cobalt carb & nickel made a speckled grey/blue with a tinge of green to it. The testing process has been exciting!