Yarn bowls – CraftilyKori

The yarn bowls are continuing to be popular but I wanted to put more of my artistic spin on them. Yes, the horse hair and saggar ones are beautiful but they are also left to complete chance of the kiln and art mediums for their decoration. The glazed ones are a joy when seeing the transformation from dull colors in a jar to bright glossy ceramics once fired, but I’ve gone through almost all the available crystal and elements colors at the local ceramics store. Now that I’m nearing the 75th CraftilyKori bowl, it was time for a new technique and one that made the bisque yarn bowl a true “blank canvas.”

Arizona Inspired

Oh the Arizona sunsets. Sooo pretty. My husband and I have been in the Valley on and off for 10 years and I have spent my whole life in Arizona and let me say – we never get tired of the sunsets here. I found an article in the local newspaper, AZ Central, and they mention “Arizona also experiences some of the best sunsets, Zarzynski says, ‘because we have such an expansive and open sky. With all of the gorgeous mountains in the Valley and nearby opportunities to get into nature, Phoenix really has the perfect sunsets,’ she says.” She is not wrong!

What else do you think of when you think of Phoenix and Arizona? Cactus of course! It just wouldn’t be an Arizona Sunset if you didn’t also have a silhouette of cactus, specifically the Saguaro.

Prescott Inspired

I was born and raised in Prescott, Arizona – a small mountain town in Northern Arizona. It’s home to Whiskey Row, The World’s Oldest Rodeo, and my family’s business, Morgan Sign. One of the things that always surprises people when they visit Northern Arizona is the scenery and weather – mountains…large pine trees…and even snow! Growing up in Prescott meant beautiful fall hikes with changing leaves; snowball fights and sledding competitions, and not always needing to rely on AC in the Summer.

Two of the most notable landscape items of Prescott are Thumb Butte and Granite Mountain. Basically anywhere you drive around town you’ll see these items (even if you don’t see them on the horizon line, you’ll likely see it on a logo somewhere!) For the Prescott yarn bowls, I ditched the Saguaro cactus and opted for the prickly pear type – I have definitely had a few of these cactus barbs stuck in my ankles as a kid!

Painted Deserts Series…Roll-Out!

My husband went up to Parker, AZ to visit friends and play on the lake a few weekends ago. I had the whole house to myself! What to do, what to do? Ah, yes! Play with my yarn bowls. I had been wanted to do the painted desert series since I began making yarn bowls back in Sept 2020 but just never had the time to sit down and figure it out.

To begin, I wanted to make sure my supplies would work out. I had picked up some sample bisque tiles when I first started making the yarn bowls so I would have an opportunity to play around before diving into decorating a yarn bowl. I wanted to make sure that if I drew out my design with pencil first, the graphite wouldn’t show through when I stained the bisque since its a no-fire technique. It worked out! No “drafting” lines were present.

Now, was the fun part. I pulled up a bunch of photos for inspiration and started drawing out the sunsets. Thank goodness erasing on bisque also works! Once the idea was on the bowl, I used Duncan’s Bisq-Stain to create the silhouetted bottom portion. The inside looked a bit drab, so I opted to paint that as well. Next, was the painted dessert. Using pastels and an old paint brush, I layered color after color creating the sunset. The bisque piece can only “hold” so much chalk at a time, so in-between rounds, I had to spray a matte sealer and wait for it to dry. Four to five layers later….and it was done!!

After the first yarn bowl, I experimented with other options for the silhouettes to added a bit more depth and maybe expand to other Arizona areas like Sedona or Monument Valley. I decided to go with blue mountains to show perspective and break up the colors. I can’t decide which is my favorite!

These bowls are so fun to photograph because the colors just pop. They look equally as beautiful in person – next to the couch, holding your WIPs yarn.

They are now available on my Etsy store if you’d like to have one of your own!

Happy Crafting!

~Kori

What a fun adventure the last six weeks have been. What started as a simple crafting activity for my husband and I to do for our anniversary has turned into a fun side gig and newly launched Esty store. We are on a first name basis at the local ceramics store, Bit & Pieces Ceramics, and my husband has been such a trooper and side-kick helping build photo booths, researching best shipping/packaging tips, and of course – helping make more yarn bowls!

With COVID-19 putting the kibosh on Thanksgiving travel plans, my husband I stayed in the Valley for the first time ever. Typically, we go up North to visit my family, but this year it was just the two of us. We decided to make the most of it and signed up for a special class taught by Wendy at Bits & Pieces Ceramics – learning how to make Horse-Hair and Saggar ceramics!

Saggar

This is a fun technique that uses a chemical compound as a base, wire wrap, a layer of food items (food paste, egg shells, etc), then a foil wrap to contain all the items as they burn in the propane kiln. I don’t quite understand all the magic of it, but this article goes into a bit more detail: Aluminum Foil Saggars: An Easy Alternative to Traditional Clay Saggars

When we first walked into Bits & Pieces, I was surprised to see the chemical compound was a bright yellow. Hmm…I think I’ll make a glazed yellow piece next 😉 …

Wendy, the instructor, explained how to layer each item and then we got to get our hands dirty. My husband and I each decorated two yarn pots. One with a lighter food paste and one with a darker one.

Next, it was out to the propane kiln. The smell, at first, was wonderful. Mmm…hazelnut and chocolate…Once it got to the chemical part, not so much. Wendy explained that once the foil was burnt off they were done. As we waited for these pieces, we went back inside to do the horse hair class.

Horse Hair

This technique is so awesome because you can never replicate the same piece twice. Once they take the piece out of the electric kiln, you only have about 40 working seconds before it is too cool for the hair to burn. Talk about pressure! The hair “dances” around the piece as it burns. You can also use feathers and different thicknesses of hair. I tried wool once just for fun, it had a very soft-lofty type line.

Alright, time to go — We “pre-loaded” our hair strands on the shelf next to the kiln and waited for the piece to be pulled out of the kiln.

Oh-my, what fun! We got to get our hands dirty (I kept my outfit clean thanks to my sewn apron) and while waiting for the saggar pieces to fire in the kiln and the horse hair finish to dry, we enjoyed lunch – turkey soup made from leftovers!

Bits & Pieces Ceramics does horse hair every Wednesday afternoon so it’s easy to get on their roster to try it yourself. It’s funny because when the regulars walk in and smell burnt hair they immediately mention, “Oh, you are doing horse hair today?” Yes, yes we are.

Next, we cleaned up both the pieces and sprayed them with a clear finish. The saggar ones all have their own “birthmarks” where the piece had extra debris that burned off. Sooo pretty!

Once home, it was time to photograph these new beauties so I can share them with you! My husband helped me set up the shed so I could keep them all out there and not have to keep moving them out of my “home-office” during client calls.

They are now posted on my Etsy store if you want to own your own. Bits & Pieces Ceramics is located in Mesa, Arizona and they offer classes each weekend. I encourage you to check them out!