#leather hard pottery

[claypigeonpottery]

not sure if dragon slayer is a good title when my knight here only has a flag, but horseback archery references are hard to translate into sgraffito at that size.

the smoke was done with a watered down underglaze, hopefully the streaks will add the right texture but who knows!

[hellenhighwater]

What type of clay and kiln do you use for your pottery? And how did you sculpt people without them cracking? How did you sculpt them in general??

Very curious about your process (I'm so sorry if someone else asked before)

I use Rovin Temmstone Speckle, cone 6-10, for most of my sculptures. On the rare occasions I work in white clay, it's Rovin You Betcha Mix, also cone 6-10. The kilns I fire in are owned by the shared studio I use--each one is different; if you really want to know what they are I can note it down next time I'm there. They're quite large for a personal use kiln; definitely overkill for the average home potter. Because it's a shared studio, I actually have very little involvment with the firing process. The firing is mostly handled by other people. (I'm going to be going through the apprenticeship process to learn all that in the coming year, so that will change!) My studiomates are gunshy about handling my work, so I often get asked to load them into the kiln myself, but that's it.

I post process videos of my sculptures pretty regularly, but it's not an especially complex thing, just finnicky and time-consuming. I start with a sort of big rhombus torso, and then attach hotdog arms and legs, get them posed vaguely how I want, and add the head last. I refer to this as the gumby stage. (Necks are skinny and heads are wobbly, so I like it when things have dried and firmed up a little.)

From there, I'm mostly just shaving material away until I have the proportions I need. There's no internal armature, just clay the whole way through. I usually sculpt on a banding wheel or other spinning table, because I'm looking at the figure in shilouhette as it rotates to check that the pose is correct and proportional--the ability to easily spin and check different angles is crucial. As I refine the shape and things dry, I continue to tweak form and proportion; I am often unable to make significant pose adjustments after the first sculpting session--the clay gets too dry. This guy, for example, is stuck in this pose even as I'm realizing it's hornier than i want it to be. As it dries to leather hard, I slice the figure apart lengthwise anywhere I feel is too thick to safely fire. I hollow out the insides of that area, then reattach both sides together and smooth the surfaces. Once it's had a little time to firm up, I puncture vent holes into the trapped air pockets, which are sometimes very small; sometimes they serve other purposes, like the slits for Icarus's wings. Nearly all of the sculptures I've shared have these hidden air vents and mostly people don't notice them at all.

Finally, they slowly dry until they're ready for bisque firing! I montior closely for cracks as they dry and mend as needed. I use black iron oxide powder as a stain and weathered bronze to glaze, all typically fired at cone 6.

[reishifts]

HOUSE? — hogwarts scripting guide.

as we‘re all aware there are four different hogwarts houses; in this post i’ll guide you through their traits, weaknesses etc. to help you chose one for your dr ! remember this is based on what i think, not literal facts.

traits ; positive or neutral aspects that describes how sm acts

weaknesses ; areas where a person might struggle

random ; random things that remind me of the houses

songs ; songs that remind me of the houses

GRYFFINDOR.

traits: fearless spirit, passionate, willing to stand up for themselves, adventurous, bold, driven by a strong moral compass, loves challenges, enjoys leadership, doesn’t mind taking risks, loves the idea of protecting others and fighting for themselves, quick to act, often relies on their instincts, brave, strong sense of justice, naturally charismatic, direct

possible weaknesses: acts before thinking, impulsive, can overlook details, recklessness, may struggle to back down in arguments, sometimes overlay idealistic, prone to taking too much to prove themselves

random: campfires. superhero movies. red. lions. espresso. fireworks. rivers. escape rooms. leather jackets. motorcycles. snowball fights. comics.

songs: everybody wants to rule the world - tears for fears. die w a smile - bruno mars. right now - one direction. wide awake - katy perry. pride - kendrick.

HUFFLEPUFF.

traits: heart & soul of hogwarts, compassionate, known for their dedication, approaches everything w patience and perseverance, hard worker, fair, patient, loyal, kind, quick to forgive, willing to give second chances, willing to put in effort, stays consistent till they succeed, good listener, harmonious, grounded

possible weaknesses: puts others‘ needs above theirs, tendency to be underestimated, may seem as naive, struggles w setting boundaries, may avoid the spotlight even when they deserve it

random: bakeries. board games. flower field. yellow. gardening. herbology. dogs. honey. pottery. family albums. road trip playlists. popcorn. stickers.

songs: why i love u - jayz. me myself n i - bebe rexha. wildflower - billie eilish. again - noah cyrus. my blood - ellie goulding.

SLYTHERIN.

traits: stragetic, values success, has clear sense of their goals and how to achieve them, resilient, adaptable, resourceful, doesn‘t shy away from things they want, self-motivated, strong sense of determination, can thrive under pressure, can read people like books, smart

possible weaknesses: selfish, competitive, trust issues, prefers to work alone, secretive, vulnerable, doesn’t ask for help, jealous

random: chess. black cars. green. goth. statues. wine. chocolate. secret diaries. crowns. luxury hotels. rare gemstones. spy novels.

songs: give me everything - pitbull. supermassive black hole - muse. jealousy - tnbh. ultraviolence - ldr. chihiro - billie eilish. heartbeat - cg.

RAVENCLAW.

traits: intelligent, creative, wise, curious, loves exploring, good analyst, can easily solve problems, values personal space, enjoys intellectual pursuits, open minded, observant, often philosophical, quality over quantity, amazing memory, drawn to abstract thinking

possible weaknesses: may seem aloof or emotionally distant, self-critical, burnouts, overly perfectionist, socially withdrawn, too introspective

random: library. ink. blue. night sky. music notes. art. operas. documentaries. fashion shows. poetry. birds. podcasts. mascara. tea.

songs: wicked game - chris isaak. art deco - ldr. glory box - portishead. softcore - tnbh. mind games - sickick. chihiro - billie eilish.

[wintfleur]

𓈒  ୭ৎ   ˖˙  ᰋ  ── ALRIGHTY APHRODITE

aka gwen's profile

au masterlist - everything for the AU is under #📷 ͡ ꒱ GwenCaufield

ᡣ𐭩 BASICS ! 

name: Gwendolyn Caufield 

nicknames:

gwen (everyone)

wendy (luke)

winnie (juraj)

winnie the pooh (cole) 

lyn (parents) 

dolly (jack, trevor and alex) 

birthday and zodiac: october 31st 2004, scorpio 

location:

mosinee, wisconsin (former)

montreal, quebec (currently) 

ᡣ𐭩 ABOUT ! 

personality: gwen is more on the quiet side in general, more reserved and calmer, especially around new people. But when she gets more comfortable, she's a lot like Cole, can be a little loud, playful, silly, teasing and sarcastic. She’s a really sweet girl but she's just not as expressive as others. She’s really good at keeping in her emotions, so it's rare to really see her angry. She has an infectious laugh and is honestly quite the nerd. She enjoys spending time with her friends and family but likes to be alone as well. She's an introvert. 

good traits: hard-working, passionate, trustful and reliable, a good listener, warm-hearted 

bad traits: her determination can turn into stubbornness, brutally honest, scared of commitment in relationships, 

quirks: lip biting, being fidgety, doodling on anything, getting lost in her thoughts, rambling when she's nervous 

likes: photography, horror movies, drawing, thunderstorms, reading, anything autumn, chapstick, jeans, halloween obviously, steve harrington, the canucks, music, the cinema, napping, sweaters, lockets, smiski’s, lollipops, her guitars 

dislikes: hot weather, driving, fireworks, the smell of grapefruit, wearing socks in bed, stand up comedy, doing the dishes, being compared to her brothers, rude fans, sad juraj, 

hobbies: drawing, pottery, journaling, scrapbooking, ballet, singing, playing the guitar and piano 

fears: heights, dying alone, being stuck in tight spaces, loud noises 

strengths: creative, attention to detail, determined, organized 

weaknesses: talking about her feelings, self critical, perfectionism, 

languages spoken: english (fluent) french (70%) slovak (20%) 

occupation/profession: photographer for the montreal canadiens nhl team  

ᡣ𐭩 RELATIONSHIPS ! 

parents:

paul caufield 

kelly caufield 

sibling(s): 

brock caufield 

cole caufield 

best friends: luke hughes, arber xhekaj, lily dao, mark estapa 

friends: kaiden guhle, the rest of the habs team, trevor zegras, jack hughes, quinn hughes, alex turcotte, tate mcrae + more 

love interest: juraj slafkovský

pet(s): none at the moment but she really wants a cat 

ᡣ𐭩 MORE ! 

outfits: gwen’s closet mostly has a lot of darker shades but she will wear any color really. She loves wearing jeans, fishnets/different patterned tights, short skirts, leather jackets, corset/vests, hoodies etc. She loves thrift shopping so she has a large range of different clothes, for shoes she mostly wears boots, sneakers etc. Link to her closet is right here. 

accessories: she mostly accessories with her large collection of sunglasses and bags, With her larger/medium bags she likes adding small addons to them, pins, sonny angel/smiski/ keychains, small plushie keychains, photocard holder keychains ect. With her small bags she likes tying ribbon boys to them and her sonny angel/smiski keychains. She will occasionally wear a fake pair of glasses, just to add something different to her outfit. For headwear she mostly wears earmuffs, headbands and beanies. Will sometimes wear scarfs, but really her accessories really just depend on the outfit she's wearing. 

jewelry: she's a big fan of necklaces and rings. For necklaces she loves lockets, she owns many. But the one she wears the most is the one Juraj got her. For rings she wears multiple at a time, mostly four and she's always changing them out. She’s always changing out her earrings and belly button and nose piercing, she likes having something new every once in a while, she gets bored with the same things. 

makeup: gwen doesn't really use a lot of makeup, mostly just her eyelashes, eyeliner, a little bit of eyeshadow and some blush and her lips. she will sometimes wear some highlighter on her nose, cheeks and in the corner of her eyes but not often. 

scars: has a few scars on her feet from the years of her doing ballet, but none othem are really that noticeable. 

sexuality: bisexual 

height: 5’5 

piercing(s): her bellybutton, two in each ear, nose 

tattoo(s): her chest, lower back (wants more) 

face claim: ugh_liza 

ᡣ𐭩 FAVORITES ! 

food(s): cereal, pasta, muffins, pomegranates, cherries, tomato soup, frozen yogurt, honey 

drink(s): hot chocolate, dr pepper, hot and cold tea, water 

color(s): black, reds, oranges, greens, browns 

animal(s): bears, bunnies, bats 

season(s): autumn, winter 

bands and artist: fleetwood mac, wallows, the smiths, florence + the machine, lana del rey, hozier, the strokes, paramore, avril lavigne 

show(s): supernatural, stranger things, survivor, gilmore girls, american horror story, 

movie(s): hocus pocus, halloweentown series, scream series, halloween series, the fear street series, the amazing spider man series 

person: her boyfriend juraj and her platonic soulmate luke hughes 

ᡣ𐭩 FUN FACTS ! 

Gwen’s Nickname from Cole is WInne the Pooh, she absolutely loves anything honey and bears!

She can play the piano and guitar

She was six when she received her first camera, it was a digital one that she got for her birthday and she never let it out of her sight.

Over the years, her parents noticed that her love for photography only got stronger, and the fact that she was really good helped with them deciding on buying her a canon.

Gwen was part of the newspaper for her school, taking pictures and helping write articles.

Gwen did ballet since she was a little girl, only stopping when she was 17 so she could focus more on photography.

Gwen was always the teachers favorite, something her brothers loved to tease her about

She was going to join luke at umich, but decided against it when she got a job offer in montreal

Her best friend is Luke Hughes, they are inseparable.

Her favorite holiday is Halloween, and it's only right since it's also her birthday!

She's very serious about Halloween, loving to dress up, watching horror movies, eating tons of candy, and pumpkin carving.

She loves watching old horror movies, she's a big nerd about it !!

When she gets overwhelmed she becomes very quiet and a little clingy.

She doesn't go anywhere without her headphones, music is her escape.

Quinn bought her a skateboard for her 16th birthday and she almost cried, she loves it so much!

She has a great relationship with the habs team, they all think of her as a little sister . . . besides Juraj of course.

Cole is her safeplace, she knows that no matter what, her big brother has her back!

Gwen's bisexual awakening was thorn from the hex girls! And taylor momsen

She has such a loud and contagious laugh that you can't help but join in.

She's very popular amongst the fans, and she has no clue why, she likes to keep to herself.

She has 3 million followers on TikTok, and Jack and Trevor like to tease her about her being a content creator, she refuses to call herself that.

Poor girl gets teased by Trevor and Jack a lot, but they do love her! She's their little sister they never asked for.

Out of all of Cole's teammates, she would say she's the closest to arber (besides juraj) they have a great friendship! If she's not sitting next to juraj on the plaine she's sitting next to him.

The love of her life is Steve Harrington . . .

Will forever be upset that she couldn't have her teenage years in the 2000’s

She has a wonderful voice but she's only comfortable singing in front of a few people!

She writes her own songs, but they are hidden in one of her journals.

She wants to get more tattoos but she's scared to give cole and brock another heart attack

a big resident evil girly

Has an internal debate everyday in her head if she should dye her hair, she's never done it!

As the youngest sibling, she's overly protected, by like everyone . . .

She's very soft tempered

She lives with Cole, and her room is her favorite place to be!

She loves going on walks

Gwen has trouble making friends, that's why she's so grateful to have luke in her life, he's really helped her get out of her shell and introduce her to his friends.

She loves art, she's excellent at drawing and painting, mostly with watercolors.

Her favorite flowers are tulips.

Juraj is her first boyfriend, she's only dated one other person besides him and that was her first girlfriend luna.

They dated for 2 years, but Gwen broke up with her in Their senior year when she found out that luna was cheating on her,

Poor Gwen was heartbroken after that, and became very distant from the thought of loving another.

Her baby is her record player, and every year Luke and Cole buy her a new record for her birthday.

Her favorite band is Paramore and she's been to 6 concerts!

She has a collection of a ton of different cameras she's gotten over the years!

She can be very sarcastic when she wants to, mostly when she's really tired or when Jack talks too much . . . so always.

Had the biggest and i mean biggest crush on quinn hughes, the only one who knows about it is luke and he loves to tease her about it.

She's the passenger princess . . . she cried during her drivers test, she hates driving.

Always has a book in her bag.

When she gets shy, her face and ears get all red

she’s secretly such a romantic

She’s a big cuddler

Secretly such a yapper omg

Gwen has two instagrams, her public one is @/Gwendolyn_Caudield and her private one is @/winnethepoohbear

Gwen is a sweet girl who's just more on the quiet side, she's fiercely loyal to the people she loves, and is just a great person to be around!

ᡣ𐭩 HER ROOM AESTHETIC ! 

ᡣ𐭩 HER CLOTHES AESTHETIC ! 

˖ ་ 💭 roro’s notes ( Gwen my love 🫶🏻 I’m actually in love with her , and I really hope you guys grow to love her as well !! Please feel free to send in as many asks as you want , and please let me know if you would like to be added to the taglist )

°. — taglist ( @lovings4turn @toasttt11 @cixrosie )

©️WINTFLEUR

[hogwartslegacyreactions2]

Hi there! First, I wanna say I absolutely love your works; they are all great, and I enjoy reading every one of their reactions!

Can I request to see HLC (including professors) react to MC sniffing them (out for many reasons, but mainly they want to remember their smell)? Just genuinely curious about what they would usually smell like :) Thank you! And wish to see more works of yours!

A/N: laughing so hard the whole time writing this 🤣

HLC REACT TO MC SNIFFING THEM

SEBASTIAN SALLOW: Old books and smoke. He smells like a stack of forgotten tomes that were set on fire. He raises an eyebrow and laughs. "You're not going to lick me next, are you?"

OMINIS GAUNT: Clean linens and a touch of mint. "...did you just sniff me?" One would think he'd be used to MC's weird behavior by now. Alas, he is not.

ANNE SALLOW: Wild flowers. She smells like she's been laying out in a meadow in spring. She smells her own robes. "What? Do I smell bad?"

IMELDA REYES: Broom polish and various wood scents. She gives MC a strong side-eye glare. "What are you doing?"

NATSAI ONAI: Incense and fresh cut grass. She gives MC an unsure look but smiles anyway. "You're acting strange. Even by your standards."

GARRETH WEASLEY: He smells like an apothecary shop threw up on him, that also exploded. "What? Do I still smell like burnt rat hair? I thought I got that out."

LEANDER PREWETT: Cheap cologne that screams "try hard", but at the same time isn't overly offensive. He side steps away from MC. "Please, stop that."

AMIT THAKKAR: Parchment and spilled ink. He startles when MC sniffs him and he jumps away like a startled cat. "What was that about?"

EVERETT CLOPTON: Depends on the day. There is no consistency with him. Some days he smells like a pack of dung bombs, others he smells like a summer breeze. He sweats nervously, hoping that MC doesn't smell dung bombs.

POPPY SWEETING: Ever smelled a horse with feathers? That's her. She watches MC curiously. "What are you sniffing around like a niffler for?"

~~~

ELEAZAR FIG: A well kept library. Old leather and parchment. He sniffs MC back. "I'd say we're both due for a wash after all the running around we've been doing."

MATILDA WEASLEY: Orchids, her favorite floral scent. She gives MC an unsure glance. "You could just ask what perfume I use."

CHIYO KOGAWA: Leather and sweat. Even with quidditch canceled, she's always out and about the grounds. "Don't sniff. That's rather rude."

AESOP SHARP: The wizard equivalent of Old Spice and a hint of fire whiskey. He just rolls his eyes. He doesn't get paid enough for this.

ABRAHAM RONEN: Sugar and cinnamon. Always smells like he just came back from Honeydukes. "Oh my, do I smell bad?" He's genuinely concerned and smells his own robes.

MIRABEL GARLICK: A garden. Flowers, soil, pottery; the whole shabang. "I was repotting mandrakes with the third years today. Sorry if I smell a bit ripe." She laughs.

MUDIWA ONAI: Incense and palm oil. She offers MC some incense. "Would you like to burn some for your dorm? You smell like you could use it."

BAI HOWIN: She works in beast pens all day. Enough said. MC doesn't even need to get close to smell her on some days.

DINAH HECAT: Amazingly. Nothing. Her time as an unspeakable has taught her to be undetectable, even by smell. Old habits die hard.

CUTHBERT BINNS: He doesn't so much give off a scent, as he does a cold chill if MC gets too close.

SATYAVATI SHAH: VERY faint smell of cherry blossom. She's very guarded of her personal space, so MC will have a hard time catching it.

PHINEAS NIGELLUS BLACK: Expensive cologne and hair tonic. He steps away from MC. Ew. Students.

[contentloadingandstuff]

Yae Miko, Ningguang and Yelan comforting Male!Reader after a nightmare!

A/N: That's right - you lived to see me post something. Enjoy!

CW: Description of the nightmare - images of destruction and raiding, non-canon monsters.

The scent of smoke reaches your nose. It's dark all around you. And hot, so hot. You feel around, trying to map out your surroundings. You touch a table, and soon move deeper towards the familiar wall of your house, and soon reach the front door. Though the door is stuck, a strong bash is enough to swing it open. Darkness greets you, but you run out into void regardless.

You turn, and witness your house, your home, your livelihood burning.

Fire already settled comfortably across the entire roof, the beautiful woodwork now a blazing ruin. The heat drips from the top, having long set fire to the walls and foundations as well. The facade of your house, once clean and pristine, is now covered in dark, oily soot. Even the flowers weren't spared - now, the only proof of their existence being a pile of dirt and pottery, broken by the hellish temperatures.

This isn't happening. This isn't…

Just then you turn around to face the inferno behind you.

The city is burning. Not a single building isn't damaged or alight with roaring fire. Debris litters the streets - scattered fruits, burning wood, torn lanterns and broken vessels add to the chaos. The figures you spot on the orange backdrop both make your blood boil and send shivers down your spine. Hulking figures drag themselves through the cobbled alleys, crude two handed axes in the iron grip of their rotting hands. The shoulder guards shine a blue hue upon your eyes, their faces blurred and unfocused. They go door to door, breaking in those yet unharmed. The cut off screams sounding out from the homes they enter make your fists clench.

You turn your head and see them. They stand across the street on the widest point in a line formation, overlooking all exits and entrances of the area. Soundlessly they float above the rubble, the purple smoke filling their legless torsos casting ominous shadows on the cobblestone below. They clutch the black javelins in their skeletal hands, ready to strike at the slightest que.

It's unreal. The bodies. The screams. The monsters, crawling across the city. They walk on all fours, both dog and humanlike in appearance. Filled with crooked teeth, their elongated mouths drool repulsively as they move from body to body, looking for loot with their clawed, malformed hands.

Your eyes dart across the image in front of you. Dead, dead, so many dead. Mauled corpses litter the street, not one recognisable in the dim light of the fire. Your head boils with fear and rage, and on instinct you run forward. The heaviness of the shield on your left arm and feeling of rough leather of your sword hilt give you a sense of comfort.

A swing approaches you from behind. You turn and block the axe, retaliating with a chop to the side of your attacker's midsection. Whatever is attacking you, you can't tell. All you know, all you feel is you have to fight. Fight this. Protect your home. Protect her. You can't let them do any more evil.

You swing wildly, hitting at most blurry silhouettes of threats. They retaliate with swords, spears, axes, cleavers. They maul your body, but you don't feel pain. You feel nothing, yet you can tell your body is shutting down. You strike, again and again, despite your limbs losing strength, one by one. You fall.

For a brief moment, you see clearly.

You see her face, pale, bloodied, lifeless.

Opening your eyes, blurry with tears, you feel not the hard stone below you, but a soft mattress instead.

Yae Miko

It's not the first time. Miko knows what to do. As soon as she comes to her senses from the sudden awakening, she will take charge and calm you down.

"Shh. I'm here. You're okay. Here, hold my hand. It's warm, isn't it? Nice, soft and real. Breathe, my dear. You're safe."

Miko will pull you into herself tightly so you can feel her presence. She'll speak to you slowly and gently, keeping her voice calm and steady.

As much as she hates seeing you in pain Miko can't help but admit that it's heartwarming. Seeing how much genuine distress the vision of her getting hurt brings you makes her feel like the most loved being in Teyvat.

She has a habit of teasing, true, but your own struggles will never be treated lightheartedly. As your wife, she is there to support, not ridicule.

Yae Miko will be there to bring you back to reality and straight into her arms no matter when it occurs, nor what you saw. She will do it once, twice, thrice and how many more times you need it.

Ningguang

At first, she was quite surprised, woken up to you clutching her tightly, thanking the Archons she's alright. 

Ningguang was fairly concerned at first - she doesn't usually see you this disturbed. Upon catching the fact that it's a nightmare, she immediately focused her attention on calming you down.

"Breathe in, breathe out. Just like that. You're doing great. I'm alright. There's no need to worry, darling. I'm not going anywhere. Not now, not ever."

Even the greatest of the greatest have moments of weakness. And the courage to show vulnerability? It's a value on its own, Ningguang thinks. 

Being able to comfort you in such a vulnerable moment is a true privilege, and she will show only the utmost care towards you. 

Yelan

Her vigilant ears picked up your muttering quite a while before the nightmare woke you up. When it did, you found your hand in hers, Yelan's eyes resting kindly on yours.

"Don't worry. I'm here, and I've never been better. What you saw wasn't real. It was just a dream, sweetheart."

She held you as you cried into her shoulder, your head hidden in her gentle arms. With her assurances, you soon fell back into a comforting slumber.

When you wake up in the morning, and if you agree, Yelan will gladly hear more about the dream. It might uncover some problems she could help you with. The last thing she wants to see is you struggling.

In her line of work, death or abduction is a constant risk. It's no wonder the thoughts of something happening to her are there. Although she can't guarantee that something like that won't ever happen, she will promise to be careful.

She's certainly going to make up all the anxiety she caused with gentle kisses and comforting touches.

Thanks for reading!

[jbbartram-illu]

hey!! i'm running a slips and sgrafitto workshop at my job this weekend and i'm wondering if I could use the pics you shared of the fish mugs in my examples slideshow. (and if so, an online shop or social media list that I could link to!) Found you through the marinebiologyshitposts account and am super in love with your work!!!

Hi @weirdshrimphours -- I would be 500% honoured to be included in your workshop, though I have to also note that my fish mugs don't involve any slip or sgraffito (it's more of a mishima technique, but the pieces are engraved while leather hard & bisque-fired, then I slop on watery underglaze & wipe back with a sponge before adding more underglaze details to the design).

If you're just using them as visual inspiration, that's super cool and thrilling (I'm simply the sort of pottery nerd who wants to be specific about technique all the dang time ✧⁠◝⁠(⁠⁰⁠▿⁠⁰⁠)⁠◜⁠✧ )

I do have some actual sgraffito pieces in my past as seen in my sgraffito tag & I want to do way more, but it requires more time & planning than I've been capable of the last few batches :(

Either way, super happy to have my work used as examples/inspiration & I appreciate you sharing my info with the workshop as well (my most active social media other than here is definitely insta, which I think I have linked)!

[chiki-chiki-ahh]

April 8th Reita & Ruki Interview snippets

(keep in mind that the pottery class was held last year (most likely around late autumn-winter time, considering how much ruki complained that it was cold in the workshop))

[about why Reita chose this particular piece of pottery as a winning prize in the contest]

REITA: Actually, this is the one I wanted the most to use at home (laughs). But I thought it would be better to give away the thing I wanted the most.

[regarding their working clothes and ruki chucking out leather pants like it was nothing and reita going full countryboy and accepting the dirt(tm)]

RUKI: Also, we were told to come dressed in something you don't mind getting dirty. So when we got there, the FC staff had prepared something like work clothes for us (*i'm guessing it was an apron). But we couldn't have our pictures taken while wearing those, right? [...] I put it on and thought, "This isn't right".

ー That's a visual kei thing to do (laughs). So you worked in your own clothes without any protective clothing.

RUKI: Yeah, it got pretty dirty so… I threw it away.

REITA: You threw it away!

RUKI: I threw it away! The dirt didn't come off at all! I was wearing leather pants and I thought the smooth material would help get the stains off easily.

ーSo what about REITA, who was conditioning his jeans? Did the stains come off safely?

REITA: Well, it didn't come off, but rather it disappeared when you left it alone. If you continued wearing them without worrying about the dirt, it was gone.

ーMaybe it dried and fell off naturally.

REITA: I think so.

[about ruki being too ambitious once again]

ーBut I suppose there may have been some fans who were hoping for an avant-garde piece.

RUKI: Avant-garde... Of course we wanted to make an avant-garde piece too! To be honest, the first thing I asked the teacher was "Can I make anything I want?". Then I was like "I just need give it a try first". But [eventually] it turned to "I'll have to do it for three years [to be able to make anything I want]"

[lastly, about the music making as of April 8th...]

ーFinally… while we're here, can you tell us about the progress of the new songs…? I think the fans are curious too. Isn't it about time for a song selection meeting?

REITA: It feels like we're getting to that stage soon… [...] Right now I'm writing songs. I'm sure I'm working on them properly!

ーIt seems like you're just creating every day. By the way, REITA, what is your favorite form of training [as of recently]?

REITA: No, no, I haven't been moving at all lately.

ーThat's crazy!

REITA: It is crazy indeed. So, once filming and such is decided, I feel like I'll start working hard from there.

[claypigeonpottery]

this damn piece has a pretty severe crack - you can see it in the last ten seconds of the video when I spin the piece around. I'm praying it survives the bisque kiln but ... I'm not really expecting it to.

[mothgodofchaos]

Pottery

You cannot convince me that Actor isn't a prissy bitch who hates getting his hands dirty. So I'm making him get them covered in clay.

Actor Mark x GN!Reader, TW: snake imagery Words: 780

“But darling! I don’t want to get my hands dirty!”

Mark whines at you as you lead him into the pottery studio, pouting and dragging his feet. You simply roll your eyes, used to his shenanigans and half-hearted tantrums as part of his diva nature. At least you convinced him to wear something he doesn’t mind getting dirty, although that was an ordeal in and of itself. It’s a bit obvious he doesn’t feel entirely himself without all of the sparkles and furs, but he’ll live for a few hours. At least you didn’t tell him he can’t go full glam with his makeup. He’s head to toe in custom dyed red coveralls, with sparse bejeweling detailing on the legs and back pockets. It was yesterday’s crafting project in preparation for this, paired with a bandana keeping his curled hair protected.

“Oh hush, you’re fine. You are not too delicate to touch some fucking wet clay.”

“But my manicure!”

“You can wash your hands! Washing your hands is not illegal!”

He juts out his bottom lip at you, protesting by pulling you into a hug. It’s only now you realize he’s wearing heels, because of course he is. You turn around, letting him hold you to his chest as you listen to the instructor, who gives Mark a particular look. Perhaps not expecting to see such a famous face in her studio. She doesn’t draw attention to it, and brings you all over to a wheel for a demo. You’re shown several kinds of pottery making: slabs, coils, thrown, and you deliberate over which one you may try. Mark relaxes a bit, and you can tell he’s starting to get intrigued when he leans more over your shoulder. You pat his cheek, which he returns with a small kiss to your cheek. It takes a moment to realize that you most certainly have a lipstick print on you now, but you choose not to draw attention to it. 

When you’re all released to various stations with your wedges of clay, you try and get one next to Mark. You remove your ring, adding it to your necklace so it doesn’t get clay on it.

“Darling, could you take mine as well?”

He holds out his ring to you, a golden ring with scaly detailing. You take it, kissing it before adding it on the chain. He can’t help but look as it rests around your neck next to yours, and he melts a little bit. You remind him of the piece of clay in front of him, and his focus shifts back to creating. 

You decide you’re going to make a couple espresso mugs for the two of you to drink out of in the morning, making them with the slab method demonstrated. To get handle specifics, you take Mark’s hand when he’s not paying much attention, holding his fingers up to the strip of clay to make sure it’s big enough for him to hold comfortably. He freezes, a bit baffled as to what you’re doing.

When you look over at his project, you see several ropes rolled out, covered in score marks.

“What are you making, sweetheart?”

“I’m not sure yet, I got stuck in the loop of making snakes…”

“What about, a jewelry tray? Maybe one that we can put our rings into in the bathroom for bath time?”

“Oh, I like that idea. Do I have to get rid of the snakes?”

“I don’t think so. Maybe make them all squiggly together so it looks like a bunch of snakes. It’ll look cool once it’s glazed.”

Mark nods, squeezing your hand before taking it back, starting to curl the coils together to create his tray. Once your espresso mugs are to your desired measurements, you place them on the shelves to dry out to leather hard. After washing your hands, you go back to your shared bench and watch Mark, leaning into his space with dramatized intrigue.

“How’s the tray coming along?”

“I like it! And I made a spot where our rings should rest, like they’re the eggs being protected.”

Your heart warms at his sweetness, looking at the detailing he’s put into it. You help him get it over to the shelves, and slip his ring back on his finger when his hands are washed again. 

“Trying to marry me again, mi amor?”

“Maybe. We’ll have to come back tomorrow so I can do it again.”

The two of you walk out to his car, happily putting the top down for the ride back.

“So was pottery class the hell you thought it’d be?”

“No, but tomorrow I’m bringing moisturizer.”

Of course he is.

[palushiemalis-fr]

dergtober -- day 15 -- Nest

Marmaroth paced nervously on the worn garden path; her hatchlings were all in their nests or tucked under their parents wings, and this was her last duty of the day. He insisted she needn't meet him at dusk each night, that if he had need of her, he would wake her in her own den. But she couldn't sleep. She had tried. Every night she needed the reassurance that he was returning 'empty-clawed'. Marmaroth watched him flutter down, clinking and rustling with his findings. As Lead Scavenger, he spent much of his days away from Black Glass until he brought back precious resources and artefacts for the clan. Others often joined him on his long flights across Sornieth, Sabrathan particularly enjoyed swooping over the continents and landing in distant grounds to search for treasures, yet mostly he preferred to spend his hours alone. "Anything?" Sundew landed with a slight smile, he hadn't had the chance to let his claws touch the floor before Marmaroth was inspecting him. He began to shrug off his bags and tools until he removed a small pouch from under his shawl. "Here."

She gasped to herself, as she always did, scooping up the still-warm egg in her paws. The pouch had been made by cluster with crushed cinder mint between the leather and the fluffy woollen lining, and thereby perfect for warming anything that it contained. "Where--?" "Just South of Singer's Brook, I found it nestled in the reeds. No scratches. I saw no one nearby for miles." Sundew sighed, rifling through his petty belongings, "I promise, I always call out to anyone from above, I must have called for an hour." He had found fossils, sea glass, carved tusks and ancient idols; nothing was more gorgeous than an egg. The egg was ingrained with whorls like that of a sea shell. Marmaroth held it close to her ruff of Winter down and chirruped.

"You'll be safe here. Thank you, Sundew." "No need, you do all the hard work--" "You're always welcome to the Nursery, you know, I know how you worry..." Sundew smiled again, his forked tongue tripping over his words, "I suppose, if y-you wouldn't mind me getting in the way." She snorted as she tucked the egg in her paws, "Of course not, you must be the big brother of every other egg that comes through here. You have every right to visit them." Sundew gave her another half-smile, fiddling with something small in his claws. It was thin and pale, it chinked like broken pottery and had a trace of swirling texture on its surface. "I shall." Marmaroth took the piece gently from his hand and placed it close to the egg, "It would be good for the both of you."

[thewritetofreespeech]

Hello, dear author-san! Could I request Mammon, Satan and Lucifer with an s/o that has a bunch of unrelated skills and talents? Botany, cooking, ice sculpting, pottery, textile work, painting, jewellery making, gambling, etc. This is prolly really weird, sorry.

Lucifer, Mammon, Satan + multi-hobby reader

Lucifer

“Hello darling.” Lucifer greeted as he came into the den. “How is the crochet coming?”

“Oh I gave up on that.” [Y/N] replied cheerfully. “I’m taking up needle point now.”

Lucifer sighed and sat down across from them. He never questioned [Y/N]’s invested interest in new hobbies. Whatever constructively helped them pass the time. Sometimes they were good, like when they took up new cooking techniques or gardening. Some where less good, like when they took up axe throwing and put a big gaping hole in the wall. His only complaint was that they perhaps had too many hobbies. Constantly changing them and never seeing one through.

“You know, if you stuck with your hobbies for a while, you might find that you improve on them. You don’t have to be instantly good at every new thing you try.”

“I know that.” Their tone did not sound convincing, however. “I just like to try new things.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that.” Lucifer agreed. “And there’s nothing wrong with giving up on things you don’t actually interest you in the end. However, if you don’t give these hobbies of yours a proper chance you’ll never know. Sometimes the things that are the most challenging offer the greater reward when we accomplish them.”

[Y/N] sat their needlepoint down and looked at Lucifer. “Maybe you’re right. I guess I could give it another shot. I did buy all that new yarn.”

Lucifer smile. “Whatever makes you happy darling.”

Mammon

“Ow! What the--! Who’s Akuzon order is all over the damn lobby?!”

“Sorry! It’s mine!” [Y/N] apologized. Jogging up to Mammon to get their boxes.

“Oh…ok.” He knelt down to pick up one of the boxes. Suddenly pain & anger free from almost tripping over them a moment ago. “What is all this?”

“My new leather press.” Mammon gave them a confused look, which made [Y/N] chuckle. “It’s for making leather belts or jewelry. Stuff like that.”

“Belts hn?” Mammon replied as he helped carry the boxes upstairs now. “Well, if ya ever need a model for ‘em. Look no further than right here!”

[Y/N] chuckled again. “A model? Why would I need that?”

“For when ya take the pictures to try and help sell ‘em.”

“I’m not going to sell them.”

“Then why bother?” Clearly this made no sense to him.

“I don’t know. It just seemed like a fun thing to try. Besides, I don’t even know if I’ll be good at it.”

“I’m sure ya will be. You’re good at everything.” Mammon seemed to realize that he had said that out loud, and his ears turned red. “I mean, I’m sure it can’t be that hard. You just pull this handle thingy down over the leather and it works like that, right? Any idiot can do that.”

“Well, this ‘idiot’ is gonna try.” [Y/N] teased. Making Mammon pout. “But, I tell you what, I may not need to model but I can make you a belt once I get the hang of it. How about that?”

Mammon’s face lit up for a moment, but then he tried to tamper it down. “I mean…yeah, sure. If you want to. I guess that would be cool.”

He then proceeded to wear it every day once he got it.

Satan

“What are you reading?” Satan asked as he came up to [Y/N] with their nose buried in a book.

“It’s a book on gardening.” They replied. “I was really interested in the herbology lesson the other day, so I wanted to see about maybe growing some of the plants to keep around here.”

“That’s very ambitious.” He told them. “Devildom plants are notoriously tricky to grow in a control environment. They like to be wild.”

“Like the people?” [Y/N] asked. Giving Satan a cheeky look. To which he smiled.

“I suppose. Which one are you going to try first?”

“I was thinking this one.” They showed him a picture of some flowers, commonly now as Magpie Blooms. “They look really pretty and I thought that they would brighten up the house.”

“They will up until the point they try to kill us.” Satan interjected. “Magpies are aromatically poisonous.”

[Y/N] quickly turned the book around with a startled, “what??” and re-read the passage. “Geez. You’d think they’d mention it in here.”

“It’s sort of common knowledge to us.

[Y/N] sighed and sat the book down. “Don’t get discouraged [Y/N]. There are a lot of other, perfectly lovely plants that aren’t nearly as dangerous. Tell you what, why don’t we try this new hobby together? I’ve always liked plants. Maybe not as much as Asmo, but enough. And learning a new topic is always interesting. Why do you say?”

[Y/N] beamed and said, “ok!” Before opening the book again and sitting next to Satan to go over it.

Satan, of course, thought that their first attempt should be for catnip. They settled on a lavender bush instead, but there may have been a small pot of catnip secretly growing in Satan’s room later.

[bonefall]

Could a more advanced clan use tar as a glue replacement? It's made using wood from what I heard.

It's possible, but only for an advanced Clan. It might even be a little beyond what BB cats are capable of.

What you're thinking of is probably birch pitch, though pine can be used as well. Birch is better though, it makes a finer tar, but if you have English Clans they may want to use pine pitch because it's one of the few uses for the detested sitka.

(Also "pitch" tends to refer to more viscous material, where "tar" refers to thinner, more watery liquids.)

There's two things that makes it hard to collect. First, and most importantly,

TREE OIL IS FULL OF PHENOL. Your cats CANNOT breathe in the smoke or aroma that's going to be produced by making this. It is a deadly, toxic gas to cats. In humans, we're so resistant to this that we've used it as an antiseptic, dumped it right into our wounds. Cats CANNOT ingest or smell this without getting sick. Phenol causes a LOT of poisonings because of the popularity of essential oil.

Think of it as the kitty equivalent of lead paint. We used it for years because it's cheap, easy, and works good... and never realized that it was lead in the water and walls giving people brain damage.

And, secondly, what also keeps it hard to get is that it needs to undergo dry distillation. Basically, it needs to be sweated out of the wood, drained, and then processed a second time..

So only a Clan that has FIRE and POTTERY SKILLS will be able to do this. At bare minimum, you will need THREE POTS and CONTINUOUSLY BURNING KINDLE. Here's a basic diagram for you;

[ID: 3 pots, labelled and color coded. Pot 1, the green pot on top, has a lid. It rests inside of Pot 2, which is the largest one and has fire burning inside it. Pot 3 is purple and underground, below the others.]

Pot 1 and Pot 2 have holes cut in the bottom, for the liquid to leak out. This could work with just flowerpots, but historically, special structures are made for this purpose so you collect all the oil.

Also protip stand the bark upright and against the sides of the pot, not laying flat down. This isn't a sauna, stand up birch.

ONCE YOU'VE DONE THIS, YOU HAVE OIL. You do NOT have tar or pitch yet. The liquid you have collected is OIL.

Oil can be used as a water-repellant when applied to leather and wood, a heavy-duty cleaning agent (but watch out), and birch oil specifically can repel gastropods.

So now we need to turn that oil into pitch. This is the most dangerous part for a Clan cat, as it involves a LOT of smoke. If your Clan could make a gas mask, it would be helpful here

[ID: A cat with a gas mask sits next to a burning pit with toxic smoke rising out of it. Like the diagram above, Pot 1 is green and nestled within Pot 2, which is red and contains fire.]

Oil is reduced to pitch through evaporating the moisture out. Toxic fumes are BILLOWING out during this entire process, and there is a point in this process where you've gone too far and just burnt it into useless carbon.

So if your cats can create a gas mask then that's very helpful. Otherwise... you'd better do this on a windy day.

(I made this mask based on the P-helm of WW1 and Plague Doctor masks, feel free to run with it... but you will need Glassworking Skills unlocked for it, something BB cats don't have.)

Once you've done this, you have pitch or tar, depending on the thickness you reduced it to. This can be used for MANY things, and is the best adhesive that Clan cats could naturally access. It's especially useful for weaponry, keeping blades on shafts or sticking extenders to claws, but it's also VERY useful for preserving leather and wood as well.

So as you can see, this is a pretty high-tier process! BB Cats will very, very rarely do this. I imagine it was briefly popular while they were trading with BloodClan, but fell back into disuse. As a water-repellent, they prefer beeswax.

[archaeologyprehistoricstones]

(ETA: Some followers have taken offense at the word 'elderly' being used in context of a 50-60 year old and demanded it be removed from the post. Firstly this is how the researchers at the National Museum of Denmark describe the woman, secondly at the time where people on average lived until about 40 anything older was considered 'elderly' however I will remove the word so as not to offend the delicate sensibilities of a few people.

Secondly, while the museum does not go into details as to why the body was disassembled for travel and several of you have expressed outrage at this, I can only assume that in the mid 1870s a 300 km journey over rough terrain and a couple of water crossings must have been quite the ordeal, perhaps the body was dismembered for easy travelling in fear of it being irreparably damaged. I do not condone digging up bodies I am merely bringing to you the history.

And lastly to the lady who was angry because she claimed she and her fellow Americans were too dense to Google places for themselves - I do not believe this to be true it has been my experience that our American followers are very astute and interested in all kinds of history and very capable of being able to c&p a place name and Google it , you do yourself and your country men and women a disservice with your comment, however I will add the word "Denmark" to the post.)

Borum Eshøj barrow near Århus, Denmark is located on a hill with a wide view. In 1871 during excavations of the mound the first grave, of a woman, was found. Her remains tell us that she was between 50 - 60 years old when she died. She was relatively short and stocky; traces of muscles on her bones reveal that she did hard physical work.

The woman’s clothes were well preserved and consisted of various items: a rectangular piece of cloth made of several pieces sewn together, a blouse, hairnet, cap and two belts, all made from wool. Her wealth is reflected in the numerous pieces of bronze jewellery, which include a belt plate, two ornamental bronze plates, a neck ring, arm rings, spiral finger rings and a clothes pin. The grave also contained a pottery vessel, a wooden box, a bronze dagger and a horn comb.

Four years later two more coffins were found containing the remains of two men. The older man was also between 50 - 60 years old. The body was so well preserved that it had to be dismembered during transport to Copenhagen – the muscles still held the skeleton together. He had manicured nails and a freshly shaved face. The man was lying on a cowhide and was covered by a woolen blanket. He was wearing a round-padded cap, a cloak, a kilt, two foot-paddles and a belt. All the textiles were made of wool. The only object in the grave besides his clothing was a wooden stick attached to the collar of the cloak.

The younger man was around 20 years old.His body too was very well preserved with muscles and other soft tissues still connected the bones to each other, he also had a full head of hair. He was buried wearing a cloak and kilt made of woven wool and a leather belt. It is possible that the man also wore a pair of leather shoes. His grave goods included a bronze dagger in a wooden scabbard, a horn comb, a bark box, a bone pin and a wooden double button.

Researchers believe that the older man was buried first, in the centre, and the mound was raised around him. The second and third bodies were interred later.Wood shavings, found in and around the graves lead historians to believe the coffins were hollowed out on the spot from oak trees which were felled around 1350 BC.

Source:

https://natmus.dk

Source: Facebook

The Tudor Intruders

[jbbartram-illu]

Hey hi hello!

I’m a big fan of your work, I bought a small raven witch from you, which I love and cherish, and I was wondering if I could ask you what kind of tools you’re using for your sgraffito?

I’m getting back into ceramics myself, and I just got a little jackalope cup back from the kiln, where I tried to sgraffito détails in my slip, but the cobalt was meltier than I anticipated and it covered most of them. I think I need to work on my application, but also that a thicker line might help, and I was wondering what you were using?

You can check my stuffs at @unnamedartist-portfolio if you want, and if you have any advice, I would be so honored to hear them!

Hope you have a fantastic day! :)

Hello @iam-adreamwalker! My apologies for taking 500yrs to reply to this - I've only just now found the time to take some better photos of my sgraffito gear.

These are basically all of my sgraffito tools, but you definitely don't need this many (I just have a pottery-tool-buying PROBLEM). My core tools are the ones to the left - the two pointy sticks & the two carve-y guys. Both of the wire loop tools are by Kemper, and I'm not 100% sure the brands of the sticks. The colourful set is from Xiem and is nice if you're doing a ton of sgraffito work, because it offers so many options for carving! I especially like the round-loop tools for carving feathers.

Here are some close-ups of my main tool gang:

I especially like the darker-brown stick tool because its point is slightly rounded, making it easier to scrape the slip off the surface of the clay vs. just making a deeper line that won't be as dramatic (more on technique later!).

Speaking of rounded-tip tools, I just realized I forgot my other favourite, a core tool that could replace the lighter-wood pointy stick in my Most Important Sgraffito Tools ranking - the ball-ended, double-sided stylus! This thing is a tiny powerhouse and, like the more rounded point on the dark-wood stick, it gently draws the slip off the clay rather than gouging:

Next up, slip! I'm not sure what you were using as your colour layer, because you mentioned that it ran/moved on the surface of the clay, which my stained slip doesn't do. Did you mix glaze into the slip? Or were you working with a powered pigment?

When I'm making coloured slip, I use a powdered pigment called Mason Stain, which can be used to dye slip, clay, and clear glaze bases (eg. to make translucent celadon glazes). I use a couple different brands, but it's all called Mason Stain.

If you're a sensible person you can find proper recipes for mixing the slip and the stain, but I honestly go by how it looks - I add it to the slip a few spoonfuls at a time, mix, and see how pigmented the slip looks. If you want to really make sure the pigment is well-mixed you can get a stick blender from a thrift store or attach a mixing head onto an electric drill (something I'd like to upgrade to as the stick blender is SUPER messy & hard to clean out), but I mostly just mix it really well with a stir stick.

Once it's mixed, I keep my slips in these little self-sealing glass containers from IKEA, which stop it from drying out too fast (I tried keeping slip in regular jars & it turned into a rock...you definitely need a container with a rubber seal on it!). You'll still need to add water here & there, but it can sit for weeks without too much concern.

My slip is a little thick & gloopy, so I usually brush two layers of slip onto the leather-hard sculpture, letting each dry before I put on the next coat, and I let it dry until it's no longer at all tacky before I start carving (otherwise things WILL smudge and it WILL be terribly messy.

Finally, technique! I did take a look at your blog & the sgraffito project you mentioned & one thing I noticed was that your scratch marks were very deep and didn't reveal much clay under the scratched-away slip. This is an easy thing to have happen, especially if your slip/clay/both are still too wet or you're putting too much pressure on the carving tool.

My best tips for remedying this are:

Make sure the slip isn't at all tacky to the touch & that the clay underneath is leather hard.

Go very gently at first! It doesn't take much to scratch the slip away and you can always come back and take away more slip/make your carving area deeper if you want to, but you can't put the clay back!

Use the carving tools at an angle to the clay (somewhere around 45º ish, this is not a hard science), not perpendicular to it - this will stop you from stabbing straight down instead of scraping. If you've ever done linocut prints, think of the angle you hold the linocut tool at - sgraffito is generally a pulling-towards motion vs. a pushing away one for lino, but the angle is important either way!

Having even just a small variety of tools (eg. my core 4-5 as shown above) will also help, as you'll have options for line-weight/how much slip a tool takes off.

Phew! I sort of got carried away there, but I hope this was helpful?? If you have any more questions (or if anyone else does), please don't hesitate to ask! I'm still planning on making a proper sgraffito tutorial/series of tutorials, but need to find the time for all the filming/editing that requires.

[niaskotl]

Sigil bowl making, step 1.

My pottery wheel is basically a battery powered toy for kids crafts. It's slow and wobbly, but it does the job.

The bowl is formed from a lump of clay a bit smaller than my fist. I reccomend any clay that is fairly resilient. Still learning about options. This is a Standard Clay Company woodfire clay.

The bowl should be shallow. A deeper bowl will be harder to use to draw a sigil in the bottom.

You can also form a bowl by hand, for example using a coil pinch method.

Once formed, let the bowl sit until "leather hard". Should be about 24 hours.