The joy of working with this natural material.

I am so often astounded by nature. This tiny seedling is growing on the side of my work, where it has been wrapped in plastic for a couple of days in a warm humid environment. I feel terrible taking it off!

I have been making the slip for the surface of the piece today. You can buy ready made slips but I prefer to make my own out of the clay that is used for the body of the piece, that way it is completely compatible and fuses to the surface beautifully. I sieve the grog out and then I will mix in oxides to create the colour that I want.

Smoothing the surface with a steel kidney.