Fabulous Fish-ees

As I wrap up the last of my ceramic fish, I thought I would share some of my favorites. We spent three 45 min classes to create these and an additional 2 classes to complete the glazing after the bisque firing -

First class: learning about clay, how to manage clay dust, table set-up for clay and the technique used to 'pinch' the fish body & tail

Second class: learning how to 'score, slip & press' essential parts (dorsal & pectoral fins, eyes) to the basic form.

Third class: Elaboration!!! (tongue, teeth, texture, etc.)

I love the pattern on this one - very thoughtful choices.

The flirty wave this fish is giving - What a delight!

Have you ever seen a spoiler on a fish before?

Bows were contagious with some of the girls.

This one I call 'four eyes' for obvious reasons.

Here's Fang:

Great elaboration here!

Note: Fish were built with Laguna buff clay and color was added with Amaco underglazes and clear glaze.

Vaseline is a Good Friend of Mine

As I was frantically trying to complete my glazing on Friday for a weekend firing, I made sure to get out my trusty jar of petroleum jelly!

I learned years ago to coat the inside of any lid that would need to be opened and reopened with a dollop of pj.

I use it on my glaze jars and also my student glue bottles which I have to refill several times a year.

I never got the hang of using Elmer's glue bottles - those orange twist applicators always became clogged or jammed for me. I use refillable 6 oz. clear plastic bottles and teach the kids how to use a push pin to open a clogged nozzle (vs. the scissors or pencil that they prefer to use...).

For my younger kids (K-2), I use a separate set of bottles and replace the nozzle cap with the tap n glue lid.

It's great when only a small amount of glue is needed. You'll need to teach them how to press down while moving the bottle to release the glue because otherwise they will s-q-u-e-e-z-e with all their strength and nothing will come out!! It's a great way to save on glue...