Projects for the New Year

Hey there!  First off, I've gotta say (of course)...

We'll see if I can keep up with this blog a little better in 2013!  It helps that Christmas Day is past, and I'm done with travel/guests for a while now... time to buckle down in the studio!

Since returning from Memphis, TN where we went for Christmas, (it was great fun & we even had a little snow!  Snow is always* a novelty to a native So. Cal gal) I picked back up on three ceramic pieces I set aside when things got crazy last month- two Sarah Minkiewicz-Breunig "Dantes" and a Kelly née Savage "Little One."  (My ceramic break is over!  Well, maybe 'hiatus' would be a better term, hmm?)

Here, for your enjoyment is one of the Dantes-in-progress (I'll save the other for next week!).  I'm trying something a little different from my usual dappling technique.  It is a combo of my normal airbrush dark/erase-away method combined with ceramic underglaze pencil (its kind of like a pastel pencil in feel).  My crazy looking start:



I'm only 95% it will all work out the way I imagine in my head, but I figured that was a high enough chance to take a shot at it!  I'm trying it this way ultimately, because I'm looking for a little more control with fine lines.  I've never been able to do a dark dapple buckskin that quite lined up with a great reference photo I have, and I think this method will help.  Here's the other side- I'm blending the pencil with a rubber tool:



Here he is with the first coat of black over the pencil.  I'm gradually building up the layers and I've been erasing & even adding in more pencil, as needed.   



Now he has almost all of his layers; I imagine there will be areas that I'll want to (or need to!) add black china-paint over the top of the glaze when he's done, to give it the final effect I want.  I've seen some neat things done with china paints of late, and I'm very inspired!



He will get his golden coloring, nose/eyes, hooves, legs, mane/tail when the dappling is all done.  The lighter colors will sink down during his final firing, allowing the black to show through.  Pretty cool that it works that way!

Sooo... what else do I have planned for 2013, I hear you ask?  Plenty!  As far as sculptures go, I'm really going to try to push myself to get my little Adagio/Spiritoso historical horse in Levade all done before the year gets too far along.  I'd like to add some art prints to my Etsy store (I've a few ideas in mind, but ceramics will come first!), finish my Jeanie Cat book before a conference in May, get further along on my animation project, earnestly work on my Native American horse...  yeah, I don't think 2013 will be boring! 

Okay!  I wish y'all as safe, happy, and creative New Year!


*Well, nearly always.  I say always, unless I have to drive in it, then it loses novelty right quick!