STORMY AUTUMN DAY @ THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO



Chicken Ah La Rose !

It was a bit of a stormy day here on top of the hill today so I had my first big sleep in for a very long day...Yes I had forgotten the real estate agent was coming this morning...Very embarrassing answering the door at 10:30 in my PJ's I must say!
As the Kiln was still cooling from yesterdays Bisque I spent the day cozy indoors enjoying the change of seasons. Mikes Veggie patch is ready for the winter Veg but no planting today!!!

This dinner we had a couple of weeks ago was the last of the tomato's...Everything you see in this pic except the Free range chicken was from the garden...Absolutely delicious





Succulent... mmmm I can just smell the roasted garlic and herbs!

This what I was doing while waiting for the chicken to cook! I'm sure it added to the flavour!!!
Well I'm off to the kitchen again and looking forward to an early start to my Glazing morning tomorrow and then I'm off to Mum and Dads for lunch.
So Cheers till Next time and Bonn Appetite!

MASKS IN PROGRESS @ THE BLUEDOOR

From this Blank of my face

To the finished Masks

Detail one of Gorgeous

We've had a some great pottery weather here at the BLUEDOOR STUDIO over the last couple of weeks...Well some really lovely days mixed with a few not so great ones...Today the sun is shinning and the air is crisp and I've had a lovely flow in the studio over the past two weeks.

I started with a play with Tea Bowls which I'm really happy with,although as yet unglazed and then fiddled with the Altered forms that I shared a sneak peak with you in an earlier post and I've been having a great time over the last couple of days doing a long needed Mask 'Run'.

I love the shadows on damp terracotta

Sweet dreamings

 I use a plaster press mold of my face to form these 

 which I detail with dentistry tools at the firm(ish) 

 leather hard stage.

 After they are dried I apply an iron oxide wash  

and then fire to about 1000degrees.

Sweet dreamings two

I must say that although Today is lovely the cold got to me by about 4 o'clock yesterday so I set up a table in front of the heater inside and finished the last couple of masks over a glass of wine...How civilized!
Just thought I'd share these pics because I love how they look at this stage as much as when they're fired!
Well Cheerio for now... Off to finish the last couple of masks in the sun!


Cheers from ROSE MAGUIRE @ THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO

PLAY TIME AT THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO

Autumn again! It's been great Potting weather up here @ THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO. I've had great fun playing with some new forms, pretty different for me and great fun!
I'm not sure where these guys are going to go yet but thought I'd share the results of today's play.

I've thrown the body on the wheel and added stretched and textured slabs for the neck. once the neck is attached and consolidated I put it back on the wheel and give the neck a bit more shape. Then I attach a couple of lugs and pull and roll them to make the 'handles'. After that I have slapped on a thick luscious slip to create even more texture. Now theyll sit in the damp cupboard for a couple of days and then dried slowley. Can't wait to see them fired!
Till next time... Cheers From ROSE AT THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO

All slipped up

Thrown and Altered

THE OLD STOMPING GROUNDS

Just a few pics from My trip home to New Zealand in February. We've jumped off this warf more than a few times in the past. What a fantastic place it was to grow up!

Veiw from the warf

Here we are 25yrs on shame Linda had to take the photo

OWL SKETCHES 2011

My Goodness two posts from the BLUEDOOR in as many days. That must be a record!!! As promised though here are some of my favorite OWL sketches. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

I really LOVE this drawing technique (very new for Me)

I  use a very fine gel pen and work very fast.

This gives the drawing lots of energy and allows

 me to create depth or build the "form" so to speak,

 so I feal more like I'm sculpting rather than

drawing, which is probably why it works for me.

Mean while I've spent ages trying to format the layout of this post and it just seems to have a mind of its own. So apologies if it seems a bit hap hazard.
Enjoy! 
Until next time
CHEERS!
ROSE MAGUIRE @THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO
ALL IMAGES REMAIN THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF ROSE MAGUIRE AND ARE SUBJECT TO COPYRIGHT.

OWL PHOTOS FROM THE BLUEDOOR -UPDATE TO '2011 YEAR OF THE OWL'

As I mentioned in my last post its been a very busy year @ the BLUEDOOR this year and Ive been developing a body of work that started with some simple line 'studies' using a fine gel pen, I managed to fill up most of  a large sketch pad. That's pretty amazing for me as until the last few years I usually just do a few rough sketches to get the feel of the piece I want to make, splash around a few colour swatches and get stuck into the clay.

My very first Lecturer at art school used to tell us to draw every day and to draw all our Ideas religiously and couldn't impress on us enough about how much this would inform our work. I struggled with this as I was very much a hands on 3D person and usually started my journal with the few rough sketches etc as mentioned then do a drawing after the work was finished. Yes I know that's cheating!!!

Any way over the last few years I find myself NEEDING to start any sculptural project by getting a feel on paper, This usually involves a pile of the big cartridge paper a lot of charcoal and a great CD (very important!!!)  I find these drawings give me a feel of line and a sense of scale, its at this stage that the character of the piece will start to develop and by the time I get to the CLAY stage the piece almost seems to make itself. I LOVE PROCESS.  

I thought I would post the slide show images as photos as I'm not really sure if the slide show from the earlier post presents that well so I apologise to anyone who feels this to be unnecessary repetition. I will also share a few of my Ink OWL STUDIES in another Post. Till then Cheers from ROSE MAGUIRE @THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO.

'Owl Dreaming' stoneware 35cmx25cmaprox

Hand built Porcelain Beakers with iron oxide inlay or green alkaline glaze 

Add caption

Owls in progress, slipped and drawn into ,waiting for Iron oxide wash

'Owls' Wash applied waiting to be rubbed back



Detail Stoneware Owl

 









Stoneware owl 50cm aprox



The Family





2011 The Year Of The Owl

This year I've finally gotten around to playing with owls. A bit of time to explore (and the deadline of two exhibitions fairly close together)has allowed me to develop my original drawings into a lovely body of work including a series of stoneware wall tiles 30 x 30cm approx. Some small porcelain tiles and hand built beakers, both with embossed inlays,A collection of thrown and altered sculptures and a new bowel series I call Nest, not to mention some lovely Owl pendants. Another spin off is a series of digital prints from my original drawings. Its been fantastic fun and there is still a lot more scope for further development.

The Owl sculptures start life as bottle forms thrown on the wheel then the top is sealed and clay added to create the head and facial features. I then apply a porcelain slip and draw back into the surface to create texture on the form,after this an Iron Oxide wash is applied and left to dry. This is then rubbed back with fine sand paper (always wear a mask if you try this!!!) glazed and fired to cone 6. Initially I sponged of the excess Oxide but found it often took off to much and spread the oxide around to much, sanding offers me far more control. I'm really loving all facets of producing this body of work.


Find more photos like this on Electric Cone 6, Mid-Fire Potters

To view this slide show as photos and to read a bit more click HERE or to view More of my OWL SKETCHES click HERE.

A Pedestal Platter Demo from THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO

Hi all, I've been playing with movie making again. Here's a wee video compilation I filmed earlier this year whilst figuring out a quick and easy technique to throw pedestal platters (cake/fruit stands)without too much fuss . Not only quick but I found them lots of fun. And I love throwing them all in one rather than two pieces ( we're so clever)

  

The finished pieces were made from Walkers No. 10 and fired to cone 6 (1220ish) after bisque. I was happily surprised that there was no warping or cracking.

If you're going to give this a try please remember to keep the water to a minimum and compress (everything that can be) really well.

So here's the basics, have a play....

You can contact me via the comments section if you have any questions.

Comments please on length and picture/sound quality and any other constructive criticism would be appreciated.

Till next time Cheers from The Bluedoor Studio 

(Rose Maguire Ceramics)

FIRST DAY OF SPRING AT THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO

Well, really...
I should have just posted the same photo I posted last August. Same weather, same window, same computer distractions, Today was defiantly not my idea of Spring and it was great because I could justify a day of research (concept development) on the interweb (ha) 

Who Who what a day, the eyes have it (mine feel like they're popping out of my head)

If anyone has any Owl stories, myths, analogies or quotes (not from Edward Lear) I'd love to hear them (whoo whoo things are a flutter)

Meanwhile back in the Studio....

Although My Studio time has been sadly and severely limited over the last few months I have been playing with Tea pots with over the top handles.

I've avoided this type of handle for the whole of my potting career and now for the life of me I have no idea why, they're such fun and the wee pots have turned out beautifully...

My other wee play was inspired by some gorgeous Indian wood blocks that came into work the other day. Usually used for fabric printing,  I took one look and then couldn't wait to get back to the studio and press them into some porcelain.

So now I'm re exploring jewelery (what fun)

It was a bit of an Eureka moment for me but then I remembered that my dear Ali had had the same sort of  moment years ago...ah well.

What goes around comes around and we always infuse our own Ness into what ever we do

( comments please)

  

I've had such fun with these and after the first firing have a clearer picture of the next turn in direction I'm bound to follow.

So that's about it for now all that's left is to apoligise for the photos being pre bisque. Just you wait untill I get the glaze pics off the camera.

So ciao for now, or should I say bonne nuit mes petits pois. Thats all the news from THE BLUEDOOR STUDIO (ROSE MAGUIRE CERAMICS) 

WET WET WET Stirling Market March 2010

Well I'm home and recovering from a very soggy Stirling Market day,I've had a nice hot shower and a bowl of yummy soup and thought I'd share some Photos of of our day.
It was constant drizzle all day but that didn't deter the visitors, it was a smorgasbord of colour filled umbrellas rain coats etc...

As usual a great chance for a catch up with Ang and market regulars. 
The ambiance is always great and was enriched with a fantastic impromptu jam session featuring Dylan and his wife playing Dylan's amazing Elder wood shepherds flutes, Morgan on the drum, Hanna vocals and shaker and 'Our Ragan'(T Shirt print-maker extraordinaire) percussion flute and juggling sticks...Plus another couple of guys as well. I tried to make a video but the sound didn't work.




Neither Ang nor I believed the weather mans prediction of showers  (lets face it they've been predicted for about two weeks now) so we were caught a bit short and our tent isn't quite rain proof. So I got to and designed a new line of 'Bubble Sheik' rain apparel which we launched with great success, in fact we made quite a splash!

   

That's it for now I'm off to bed with a book!

Till next time 
Cheers from the Bluedoor (Rose Maguire Ceramics)