A birthday tradition..almost

This was done again at Claytopia. See my previous post about this. This year, again I had very little time, but I was wiser, and so I picked a small project. Also, working on flat surface was much easier. The designs were transfered on the tile using a transfer paper from my favorite embroidery design book. See more designs from that book here and here.



This year, L. chose to just read paper, rather than paint with me. I guess the magic of first year of a relationship never comes back. We also found out that claytopia doesn't give free painting time on birthdays any more..so I guess this birthday tradition might die prematurely...It was fun while it lasted though..and L. and I did have a great time on my birthday....including free ice cream at Herrells.

Birthday at Claytopia..a gift for myself

This pot was painted last year on my birthday at Claytopia, Northampton, MA.

The first time I walked into the place, I thought it's just another restaurant in the fancy Northampton downtown. It was only when I saw the cups with brushes in place of salt and pepper on the table, that I realized that it's a studio that lets you paint your own clay objects. They sell many things from pots and mugs to tiles and plates. You pick the thing you want to paint, use all their painting supplies, and pay by the hour. They even fire the object, which you can pick up later on. My friend S. and I had always dreamed of a place like this!

This pot was done when they used to give free painting time on your birthday..they don't do it any more..I wasn't very happy overall with the result, as it was my first time, and was done in a hurry. The tricky thing about painting with these colors is that they don't look the same before and after firing, so you have to imagine a lot. I used stencil for the shell shape and free-handed the rest. I also need to work two or three coats for the colors to look bright.

L. did a little red and black clay bowl for me while I did this pot. He even wrote my name on it!! It was a great experience to spend a part of my birthday with him working on this. It's also always exciting to work with different mediums and different surfaces..