Handbuilt tableware set, Part 2 of 3

So far I have three large plates and two small ones. It will be a service for four when I am finished. The fourth large plate is already made and glazepainted, but there was no room for it in the kiln.

Once I had decided that it was the terracotta over the low-fire white, I began my tulip drawings. As I have previously mentioned, yellow tulips are my favourite flower and I have oodles of sketches, so it was a simple matter of looking at my sketches and enlarging them (by eye) on the plates. I used a regular pencil knowing that the lines would burn off in the kiln. I started with the main yellow glaze.

I also used a second, deeper yellow in some areas and some purple and green for the stamens. I glaze-painted with the intention that the glazes would not touch, leaving terracotta lines between areas of colour.

The leaves and the stems shared a speckly-green glaze, and then I added a layer of a lighter green over the stems, which would be apparent after the plates were fired.

There is a lovely speckle turquoise glaze that I used as a background.

Here it is apparent how much space the plates take up in the kiln.