frosty

the first wintery weather of the year, and a high pressure system gave us pretty frost pictures today – even nettles become decorative with delicate crystalline structures drawing white lines around each vein and jagged edge.

thistles have every hair outlined.

the sun was melting everything in its path

but in the shadows frosted leaves sparkled

and pattern gleamed softly

back in the shed I have added another layer to the porcelain, by washing china clay slip over it then sprinkling on china clay powder, and gently pressing it in with the rolling pin.

three tallish bottles to fill a space in the kiln

and another rectangular piece – there are a few of these now –

the impression of stems from the garden weakens and sometimes ruptures the pot wall, making interesting non-curved planes as the slab is bent around.

these crusty surfaces on darker clays work well with the saltmarsh and chalk beach glazes, but the white st thomas stoneware clay will make a difference, I need plenty of them so I can experiment.