Another post of my ceramic pieces - mainly to stall until I get more done on the current crazy quilt needlepoint projects (two of them and two more "brewing"). Also drawing several new Talavera pieces. Anyway, the plate is one I found at my daughter's house - I was quite touched, as I didn't know she had found it and put it into her "shopping bag" at some point. It was an experiment in the early days of my working with design painting with underglazes - and forming plates and bowls by just laying a slab of rolled out clay onto a china plate or into a bowl and gently working it down into shape. I love this effect, as the appearance is "hand made" and not mold poured or otherwise mechanically generated. I have only recently come to this conclusion, as I thought they were too crude and misshapen to show. The two-color bowl with leaves was a fun thing - I was working on glaze layering and sgraffito. Just formed the bowl by laying the clay into a soup bowl in my kitchen, letting it dry a few days - then firing and subsequently decorating. This was done with the two green glazes - half light green, and half dark green. Then the process was repeated, but putting the dark over light and light over dark. The sgraffito was done by scratching the design down to the color beneath with a semi-sharp instrument (don't remember what, but it was something I dug out of a kitchen drawer, I'm sure) Notice the squiggly line down the center. I was overjoyed with that effect!! The thing was then hustled off to the art museum for firing (after applying a suitable clear satin glaze.) One of the things I love about this sort of ceramic activity is that it is not instant gratification, but a time of anticipation in waiting to see what emerges from the kiln.