Home Decor
- December 15, 2021You can see colors, patterns and metal finishes online, but digital images are mere approximations of what the real things look like. Wherever possible, order color chips, fabric swatches and material samples to be sure finished products will meet your expectations.
- December 08, 2021It’s called a bedroom for a reason: the bed is the key piece of furniture. As such, it should be given pride of place in the room, most likely with the headboard positioned against one wall and paths for walking on both sides. Don’t shove a bed in the corner,” if at all possible, said Nick Olsen, a New York City interior designer. “They’re impossible to make, and uncomfortable for two people to use.
- December 08, 2021Changing kitchen counters is no small undertaking, but switching from an inexpensive material, like laminate, to a luxurious one, like marble, granite or quartzite, can significantly change the overall appearance of a kitchen or bathroom. The kitchen backsplash is another area ripe with opportunity. Even if you leave the existing counters in place, you can add or replace an existing backsplash using a favorite tile made from ceramic, glass, metal or cement.
- December 08, 2021Moving into a new home can be one of life’s great joys, but it can also be a time of uncertainty, especially when it comes to decorating. How do you make your space look its best while reflecting your personal sense of style? Do it well and you’ll end up with a comfortable, happy home. Do it poorly and you’ll end up with a hodge-podge of furniture, fabrics and paint colors that never congeal into a pleasing whole. With a little planning, and by following the same steps used by professional interior designers, you’ll have a much greater chance of success.
- April 11, 2021
All clays except terra cotta and sculpture are recommended for wheel.
Sand Clay. A finely grogged clay. This clay is beautiful, it looks like wet beach sand when left unglazed with a grainy, speckled surface. The speckles do not show through glazes and underglazes applied over this clay body but it will bring the color of glazes down.
Cone 6 Shrinkage 13.5% Absorption 3.0%Brooklyn red. Standard 308.
This is one of the most widely used clays in public studios for a reason. It is a brick red stoneware body with fine sand and fine grog. Very resistant to warping and bloating. Yields a beautiful dark reddish brick color and can bring depth and richness to the glazes applied to it.
Cone 6 Shrinkage 12.5% Absorption 2.0%Dark Brown Clay.
People love this clay because it is so dark. This clay creates major depth and richness in color as it greatly affects the glazes applied over it. The clay is smooth and plastic and good for all - April 11, 2021
Mouse Ceramic Studio is currently offering firing services to all. We charge $0.04 per cubic inch to fire in a community firing. (Except for members), each time the work is fired, it must be paid for. Measure your piece with an inch ruler or measuring tape, you will need the length, the width, and the height, the length is the longest dimension of your piece (usually) from side to side, the width is usually front to back, and the height is the measurement from top to bottom or how tall it is. Each measurement needs to multiplied by the next so length x width x height. This will give you the cubic inches of the piece; take that amount and multiply by 0.04 to get your dollar amount. For example, a cup with handle that is 6x4x4 is 96 cubic inches; 96 x 0.04 = 3.84 so the total for this mug would be $3.84 per firing or $7.68 for bisque and glaze firing. Members only pay for bisque firings and glaze is included as a courtesy and benefit of membership.
- April 11, 2021
551
Cone 6 White porcelain. Wins most vitrified award. Super smooth and creamy. Glazes are bright and brilliant on this clay. Great if you are staining clay bodies with mason stains or oxides (Nerikomi/Agateware).
Cone 6 Shrinkage 13.0% Absorption 0.3%630
Gray (White) Stoneware. This is the clay we used to provide in the communal buckets. Contains fire clay and mullite which (supposedly) enhances thermal properties. Fires grayish and the fired unglazed clay looks like white stoneware at cone ten. This is a good clay for beginners because the grog in the clay helps prevent cracking during drying. Some people have experienced bloating issues with this clay body.Cone 6 Shrinkage 13.0% Absorption 1.5%
240
Ivory (White) Stoneware.
A very smooth, plastic throwing body. This clay doesn’t have grog so it is more prone to cracking during drying, dry slowly to avoid this, not having grog allows you to sponge smooth - April 11, 2021
Last Friday’s Zoom topic is on for today. Betty Woodman!
Born in Norwalk, Connecticut, Betty Woodman attended the School for American Craftsmen at Alfred University in New York from 1948 to 1950. She has taught in the Fine Arts Department of the University of Colorado.
A leading ceramist whose inventive forms and painterly use of color have won her international renown, Woodman began her career making simple functional pottery. Although her ambitious experiments with clay have wrought great changes in her work, it still refers to some practical function even if her baroque, expressive forms are no longer strictly utilitarian. Woodman's art has been inspired by diverse sources, ranging from Etruscan and Minoa to Tange and majolica ceramics.
The recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1980 and 1986, Woodman has also been a guest artist at the experimental atelier of the Manufacture National de Sevres in France.
- October 25, 2017How are you doing these days? Sorry for not being around as I was supposed to, but I dedicated this week to the duties of my life. I had a very busy times with Le studio, clients starting to coming and it is so exciting… and also I passed my driver’s license test
- October 25, 2017Do you remember the perfect corner for reading? Well, it looks like the hanging chairs become quite popular these days. I personally like it a lot (and based on the comments that I received – so do you) and I think that it will be great to have one in my home office. And usually these hanging chairs are outdoor furniture, but because the summer is ending why not just bring them inside. I’m always happy to browse the new home-ware catalogue by French Connection. I found there some pretty amazing stuff and the style is always so recognizable. Probably none of us is surprised that the popular fashion brand also created a pretty fall home collection, because we all know there is a tight connection between the trends in the fashion and those of the interiors. The new autumn catalogue is different this time. It is much darker, relies on the earth natural