Underglase and glasring experiments:

I used a black paint on underglaze to experiment with drawing different designs onto some of my smaller ceramic pieces including feathers and spider webs. At first I tried to use a paintbrush but I found the result to be too think and uneven, and it looked messy and childish. I also found that with a brush I had to put a lot of effort and attention to try and keep the lines thin which then caused the process to take much longer than it should have. 

I then used a fine line glaring applicator but did not find the helped much, the underglaze still seem to seep and sprawl out on the ceramic to create these thick, uneven lines. 

I chose the imagery of a feather and spider web because I thought that it related nicely to the original painting that I am responding to, the feathers to represent the goldfinch and the spider web to represent the frog as frogs eat spiders. I believe that some of the images are more successful than others as I have managed to create a couple of feathers and one spider web that have thinner, neater lines. 

I also used a clear paint on glass on some one the ceramic pieces, while I glazed over some of the drawings I left some with just the underglaze so that I could compare them once they have been fired and see which ones I like the most. I found that the paint on clear glaze is much easier to use than dunking my whole ceramic piece into a tub of white glaze, I am able to cover the area properly and be more accurate in where I put the glaze. 

I use da silicon carbine powder on some of the pieces to hopefully create a rough, textured and blistered surface once fired. I did this as a way to represent life and death in a different way.  The soil near a volcano is fertile and rich with life, however, nothing can grow from earth that has been burned or charred.