Colin McGowan raku firing

Colin has been working on a series of pieces developed after a visit to The British Museum. His pieces are based on the concept of archaological discoveries, being interpretations of ancient artefacts.

 Helmets are made using grogged clay and allowed to dry. The pieces above have already been bisque fired.

Colin heats the helmet to approx. 900 degrees in a gas kiln and then moves it to a prepared firing bin. In this case, he is using a metal bin containing a mixture of crumpled newspaper and sawdust.

When the heated helmet comes into contact with the combustible materials, they burst into flames. The resulting heat and fumes react with the glaze on the helmet.

Colin covers the helmet with more sawdust to control the amount of oxygen coming into contact with the pieces. This controls the rate of oxidisation, therefore determining the final colour of the helmet.

 

The finished helmet is displayed on a custom-made copper and stone stand.

If you would like to commission a piece from Colin, he can be contacted on 077140-74741 or via cpm.ceramics@gmail.com

So of the other pieces in the same series are:


The amulet


Helmets and amulet

Found Masks and Helmet

Knitted Nativity Sets

Each year, Susan Hibberd creates several knitted nativity sets. Here are some that have been sold in the past.

The 2011 nativity set features a new addition - Pedro the donkey has his own knitted blanket. I knitted two sets in 2012. They will both be listed on eBay during September and October -keep a look out if you want one !

STOP PRESS - the first 2012 set  has already been sold (£40)

Three caucasion angels in shades of pink with pink lace added to the bottom of their dresses.Their hands are sewn together as if they are praying. The right-hand angel has a darker face and black hair. Her wings are made of punched foil offcuts. Her cream dress is edges with gold braid.

This set has been made from the Alan Dart pattern with the addition of a contrasting band of colour around the base of each figure. Every figure has been knitted from two different colours and a third colour has been used for the head band. Because of the addition of colour, the characters do not have the cloth throw suggested in the original pattern.

This set has been made from the Alan Dart pattern, but this time two bands of colour have been added to the gowns of each character. The shepherds have been knitted from muted shades, while the kings have been made from bright jewel colours.

This Set has been made from the Jean Greenhowe pattern. The shepherds have pipe cleaner crooks.

This set was based on the Alan Dart pattern, with a few moderations. Stiff gold braid has been used for the crown of the kings, and they have jewelled caskets and earrings. Their cloaks are tied with gold crochet thread. The kings' cloaks are edged with gold braid. The sheep are of my own design. The angel's wings are made of wide wired ribbon. The characters have been given cloaks made to the same pattern as their bodies.

In this set, the characters have coloured bands added to their gowns. Some have cloaks and some have throws. The kings have braid crowns.

A very bright Alan Dart set of characters with faces in several shades of brown to make it multicultural.

This Jean Greenhow set has the addition of some bands of colour on the shepherds cloaks, and embellishments on  the gifts and headdresses of the kings. The angel has a halo omde from a gold glitter pipe cleaner.

And finally, a father christmas character made from the clown pattern suggested by The Samaritans for their annual Love in a Box appeal. The black belt has been embellished with a gold buckle sewn on after knitting with gold crochet thread, using the Swiss darning method of following the knitting stitches.