I Spent Quality Time In The Clay Studio Today

Ready to be bisque fired. ^6 stoneware and it should be okay in the oven. The clay has enough coarse stuff in it that it should be able to handle oven heat. 

The first of the condom containers. 

 The third box (before I cut the lid). Boxes are for holding sex accoutrements. 

Small condom containers. 

Condom container large enough to hold both condoms and lubricant.

Today, I Dye

I used twice as much dye as the recipe said because the last time I used this dye, I could hardly tell that I had dyed the crochet thread. I'm thinking this may become my favorite color. I've got fabric for slacks and a bog coat in there. 

This is fabric for a blouse and I'm wondering if perhaps I'm not going to get a color that's too pink for me. If I do, it becomes Jim's shirt. 

Bog coat to go with the terra cotta slacks which are nearly finished. 

This is an incredibly intense YELLOW. I only used half the dye called for in the recipe, and I think I'm going to get something more intense than pale yellow. The fabric is for slacks and a bog coat. 

Newest Clay Pieces

My latest covered casserole dish. I used ^6 very groggy tile clay. I'd hate to try to throw with this clay, but it's great for hand building. 

What happens when I wait too long before completing the covered casserole - I get a nice bowl. 

I read a post in the Clayart archives which started me thinking. I got to thinking about how nice it would be to have a box containing um.... necessary items.... for sex on the night stand. Here are a couple of my attempts. 

Instead of cutting a key when I cut the top, why not let one vertical design be the key. 


Since making these boxes on Tuesday, I made another box last night and a small container for..... um..... used condoms. 


I'm having fun - which is really all that matters.

Terra Cotta Slacks

This is a cotton twill dyed with Procion Terra Cotta. I thought it would go nicely with the intense peach blouse I made. 

I'm Dyeing

I put in enough dye to make an intense peach. This is a rayon bamboo fabric dyed with Procion fiber reactive dyes. 

Gas Firing 3-27-12

My favorite of the sugar and creamer sets, and the glaze blistered. Sigh. 

A bit of localized reduction. This piece was in the back of the kiln next to a flame. 

Commercial glaze that blistered on every single piece no matter where it was in the kiln. 

I used low-fire white clay and fired the kiln to ^05 down, ^06 just starting to bend. All the glazes are commercial, and one blistered badly on every piece. Either it's a bad glaze for this clay or it's a bad glaze for a gas firing. 


I did find a tiny bit of reduction on the covered casserole. That piece was in the back by a burner. The reduction happened even though the damper was fully open and all the peeps were open. 

Dyeing Surprises

Small doily made from the crochet cotton dyed in sea foam. Not very sea foamy, but interesting subtle color. 

I wanted peach fabric for making a blouse. Hm...... I knew I was going for intense peach when I made up the dye bath. I keep thinking of the color of a ripe peach. It's going to be interesting to see how this fades out. 

Jim's Latest Pens

Along with rollerball pens, Jim has been making fountain pens. Above is his favorite.