Catherine Daniel Ceramics

Hello and welcome to my blog where I share some of the thought processes and textile/quilting inspirations behind my ceramic art, and occasionally other random topics!
For more details and pictures of my ceramic creations, please see my website -

catherinedanielceramics.com



Wednesday 26 October 2011

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Well, OK, maybe not just yet! But I have been up to my elbows in Snowflakes just lately. There they are above ready to be fired and here they are below after their second firing.

As you can see, no two snowflakes are the same, just like real ones. I did wonder if that were really true though, so I did some research on your behalf (that's ok, it was no trouble) and the answer I liked the best is :

How can you ever be sure no two snowflakes are alike since you cannot possibly check them all to find out!



They've yet to get their little hanging wires attached, but above are this year's and below are last year's. This year I came over all sensible and just stuck to three colours - red, green and gold - which is more traditionally Christmassy, whereas last year I just went a bit mad with them.


The actual scientific answer is of course that some small 'snow crystals' (kind of embryos of your fully grown snowflake) can look the same, but no two 'complex snowflakes', out of all those made over the entire history of the planet have ever looked completely alike. I find that fact staggering!


Anyway, my own 'complex snowflakes' are now featured in the Christmas Catalogue for Norwich's famous independent Department Store, Jarrolds, along with my angels and other decorative bits and pieces.



They are selling at £7.00 each, which is a whole pound less than last Christmas, so they are an absolute giveaway!

And a Giveaway is precisely what they will be, here in Blogsville, in a few weeks' time, when I get back from a little jaunt I'm now off on!


p.s. Sorry for mentioning Christmas in October, let alone SNOW!
Perish the thought - literally!

Bye for now

Cathy x

Sunday 16 October 2011

Textiles and Ceramics


If you're a regular viewer, you'll know that a lot of my pottery is influenced by all kinds of textiles and needlework, particularly patchwork quilting, but this particular piece is based on the gentle art of applique.

I cut out individual patches from the clay slab, applied motifs to each one and impressed some stitching around the edges. Then into the kiln they all went.


And out of the kiln they all came. Here they are put together roughly on a black background, but eventually they will be mounted properly onto white board ready to be hung on a wall.

And speaking of wall-hangings, I was absolutely thrilled last week to win this wonderful creation from Sue's blog, @Home. My second win in as many weeks! How lucky is that? What a wonderful world blogdom is!



This is one of Sue's lovely textile paintings, quilted with machine embroidery. This kind of cleverness always makes me wish I could sew! This came in the post along with the little home-made card below which (from what I can tell !) is also a textile painting, sewn onto card and highlighted with gold. It is quite exquisite. Thank you Sue!


Quite what I have done to deserve all these treasures recently, I do not know! But it does remind me that I shall have to get a Giveaway of my own sorted out fairly soon, so watch this space.

Bye for now.

Cathy x