Things in the Rijks Museum

Dragon Jug featuring plumed pidgeon.

 

Plates!

Painted glass jug

Project 34 - Krae Glas baronial birthday platter PT 4

Step 4 - Apply shading.

In step three I tried two different methods of shading. Method one mixed 50/50 yellow and black (lower belly) and method 2 diluted the black (one drop black to three drops water) and used it as a wash. Pre-firing they both looked a bit sketchy but the black wash went on smoother. Post-firing, the black wash is chunkier and doesn't present the smooth grading I need for this project.

For the final piece I decided to go with the black wash but this time I diluted it 1:5 and mixed it extremely well to ensure there were no chunks of pigment. The wash went on nicely. The shading turned out pretty well. The only thing I'd change next time would be the shading on the back of the sea-dragons. It should be horizontal not vertical allowing it to conform to the shape of the beast better.

I picked up the plate the morning of the event, and as usual, forgot to get a photo.

Project 34 - Krae Glas serving plate for Day of Honour 2014 - Picture by Baron Cormac.

Project 34 - Krae Glas baronial birthday platter PT 3

Step 3 (should have been step 2): Determine the colour pallet. Experiment on a piece of scrap ceramic with blends and shades of glaze. The fired piece gives a good approximation of how the finished glazes will look and will guide my technique. One thing is for sure, I'm going to need a finer brush or more steady hand.

 

Ceramic treasures

During our recent trip to Europe, we took a side trip to Italy. To be specific: Sicily to see volcanos. While in Sicily I had the opportunity to pick up some lovely ceramics. These are the lovely things I couldn't help but bring home. I'll post picks of some of the items that stayed behind later.

 

First up is what we've taken to calling the wine fish. This thing was a challenge to bring home with all it's knobbly bits. I was so worried something would get knocked off during the day and a half of plane flights. The winefish has three candle holders as his crest and a mouth wide enough to hold a bottle of wine, or salt or sliced bread. Under the blue glaze he also has scales carved into his body.  I've never seen anything like him in my research but I tend to look at plates and cups so I'll have to do some more digging to document him.

 

This is the wine fish in his new home next to the plate and dish I also acquired. The shop-keeper called these "pre-majolica". I'm going to spend some time soon looking for the museum pieces that inspired these designs.  I am so glad these made it back to Australia with me. Soon I'll have an update on what I've found out about the artist, the inspiration pieces and the items I had to leave behind.

Project 34 - Krae Glas baronial birthday platter PT 2

Step 2: Determine your colour layout. I spent some time with a basic sketch of the elements trying to decide which colours would go where. I've determined that the four main seabeasts will be gold, while the rest of the design will be blue. I may skip the red of the original images to retain the balance, and the Krae Glas colour scheme.

 

The yellow elements were painted first, then the octopus and the Krae Glas populous devices. Finally the wave motif was painted in and the whole background was given a simple blue wash. I contemplated using a different blue for the background but decided that if I was careful enough the depth of glaze would be apparent. I haven't used a wash since trying to duplicate patina on my first plate. I hope this works out well.