Cay Denise

The last Find Your Joy (FYJ) course I took with Louise Fletcher was in 2023.  Since that time, her course curriculum and approach have dramatically shifted for the positive.  I'm loving how much more authentic I find her as a human and instructor, and how it has trickled down to her coaching and support teams as well. The Creative Reset was her 10-day taster session this year that took place last month.  I loved it because of the focus on 'mindset' of the artist, whether a beginning or seasoned one.  So, I'm now participating in  FYJ25, and I'm delighted I signed up!   The course is work.  The saying, you get out what you put into something--in this case the class--is so apropos.  Students are encouraged to actively journal about beliefs, self-talk and judgment.  Some of the key points so far include: 1) accepting that failed pieces will occur maybe even more than successful ones; 2) one's art is not our value as human beings; and, 3) make ch...

This is Batch #11 of glazed and fired pieces.   The light one in the back (yellowish) has an inside done with the Mishima technique.  This technique is done before the first kiln firing and involves: painting the area with underglaze;  covering the underglaze with wax (as a resist); carving a design into the area; and, then adding a contrasting underglaze layer to enhance the lines of the carved design.   After all is dry--the last layer has to be removed carefully with a sponge. The final step is covering the area with a layer of clear glaze.   This was a complete experiment because the small bowl was misshapen and would otherwise have been recycled.  I like the technique though it is time intensive and you need the right tools for carving to look consistent.  What I didn't like was the color after the piece was fired.  It went from yellow to a peachy color, even though the photo doesn't read that way.  What I learned is that clear glaze can...