focaccia

today I made black olive and rosemary focaccia to go with some italian food for lunch ... it is very easy! here is the recipe :)

500g. flour
1 small packet (11 g.) dried yeast - I used this one
sea salt
enough tepid water
pitted black olives
dried rosemary springs
good quality olive oil

* put the flour, yeast and sea salt in a bowl and add the tepid water a little at the time
* mix very well (if you find it has too much water just add a bit more flour)
* transfer into a floured working surface and knead until the dough is elastic and smooth, usually for about 10 minutes
* put the dough back into the bowl, dust with a bit of flour, cover with a clean cloth and let it prove in a warm place until it has doubled the size
* when the dough is double in size knock it down and place on a dusted working surface
* roll or push it out freely into an oval shape roughly 1 1/2 cm / 1/2 in thick
* place on a baking tray liberally dusted with flour or semolina and spread some pitted black olives in pieces, sea salt and dried rosemary (if you have fresh it is even better) on top
* finally push all with your fingers deep into the dough many times to make those characteristic holes and spread a generous quantity of good olive oil
* let it prove for another 30 minutes
* meanwhile preheat the oven 200 ºC /400 ºF
* when ready bake the focaccia for about 15 minutes and serve still warm

I have used this simple black olives and rosemary topping but you can create your own ... garlic, basil, onions, sun dried tomatoes are all delicious toppings to go on a focaccia.

image: homemade focaccia made by F. and me

tiny tests

in ceramics we have to do a lot of tests ... experimenting with types of clay, shapes, textures and colour and how they perform when in the kiln to find out the most appropriate temperature for the specific piece we have in mind.

these are some tiny tests (about 3 cm each) I made for a piece that will be part of a project related with camouflage and were made in porcelain using small balls of paper for support.
the end piece should be finished by next month and it will be composed of several larger and flatter elements as they will "live in disguised" on a white wall where the texture and colour of the piece will have to resemble that one of the wall.
the bits of green colour found in these tiny tests are celadon glaze, a pale, transparent glaze often used in porcelain and it will not be used in the final work.

images: some porcelain tests I made for a work in progress

wind

(click for a better view)

this weekend I felt the light spring breeze flowing softly amidst the high green grasses that now cover the fields ...

image: an idea about the lightness of the wind

naked raku

yesterday we did a "naked raku" session in school. what follows is a sequence of the process:

make pieces, smooth and polish them

apply layers of coloured slip (liquid clay) on leather hard clay, clay that has dried enough to be handled without becoming distorted

burnish (polish with a smooth stone or tool) between each slip application. let dry and bisque fire (the first firing on a conventional kiln) ... this is me polishing a piece using a smooth pebble :)

after the bisque firing there is another application made with a mixture of silica and kaolin and finally a transparent glaze to fix. on the image above I'm applying these on a yellow coloured plate which has been bisque fired already. both mixture and glaze will come off after the raku firing and they serve to protect the coloured slip, preventing it to get black from smoke.

during this stage one can create "drawings" on the piece by removing certain areas of the kaolin/silica mixture and glaze as seen on the pieces above (you can see the yellow slip underneath where the top layers were removed) ... these "drawn" areas will become black. the pieces are now ready to go on a raku firing.

fill the raku kiln with enough pieces

and cover the kiln

after about 30 minutes to 1 hour (depending on the efficiency of the kiln, the exterior temperature among other factors) stop the firing process and remove the kiln cover

using protective clothing, special gloves, mask and tongs, carefully remove the pieces

and place them on sawdust. totally cover with a metallic lid for about 15 to 30 minutes

when the pieces have cooled down and it is possible to handle them, remove all the surface layer of the kaolin/silica mixture and glaze, this is rather easy to do as it "peels off" very well

finally wash and clean the naked raku piece and it is then possible to see all the details caused by the smoke during the firing process.

images: top - detail of a finished naked raku fired piece in white slip
the remaining - the naked raku firing process
the finished pieces shown here are not mine but from my colleagues Isabel (top image) and Emmy (the blue/green piece)

shop update

april has arrived and with it a wonderful sunshine and warm day. to celebrate new things have been added to the shop.

I wish you all a beautiful april full of warmth and colourful days ...

image: joana simão as the new model for otchipotchi

silvermoon

something to say hello ...
during the weekend there was a magical full moon. the soft light defining the contours of the roof tops and drawing dense tree shadows on low whitewashed walls. the nights were clear, crisp and silent ...

after preparing this diptych the name nocturne came to mind and while searching for some "nocturnes" in music I (re)discovered Gilbert Garcin, a fantastic surrealistic photographer whose work is at the same time funny, intriguing, disturbing and aesthetically pleasing to me. besides he works with concepts that are very inspiring ... time, existence, relationships, human condition, loneliness ...
I had to smile when I looked at this poetic image and here is another one ...

images: the moon and the moonlight

easter and spring

today the moon has a round face and I have been thinking of pure forms, simple, uncomplicated forms. those that let you pause and breath. I'm still searching for lightness and delicacy in my work and in my daily life ...

... like the simplicity and purity you can find in this or this or this by this fabulous ceramist.

I'm off for a long weekend but should be back on monday. wishing you all a sweet easter and a lovely spring ... or autumn depending where you are! thank you for all your visits and comments and for your continuing support about my work. thank you!

images: sugar covered pin nuts. one of the many easter sweets we have around here.

wall containers

(click on images for a better view)

Ar.Co ceramics coursework level 2 (2007 - 2008) - january/february 2008

I was asked to create some functional pieces using one or several construction methods, including the use of the wheel if I wanted.
I built 3 wall containers measuring 35 cm diameter each. they can hold water and be placed on a wall for putting cut flowers. each one of these containers was built using a different method, coils, slabs and block modulation.

stoneware, fired, glazed

images: 3 wall containers I made as part of coursework

porcelain piece

(click on images for a better view)

Ar.Co ceramics coursework level 2 (2007 - 2008) - january 2008

this piece is the result of an assignment for a short module on porcelain where after learning several techniques and firing processes I had to create a simple piece in porcelain.
I created a layered piece of 2 combined porcelain elements the largest one measuring about 28 cm diameter.

porcelain, reduction firing, glazed only on the edges

images: a porcelain piece I made as part of coursework

my old camera

click on images for a (much) larger view

after many years I picked up my old Olympus OM1 yesterday and spent sometime in the morning taking pictures in the park ... of flowers, of course! :)

it was such a pleasant experience ... it is amazing how we forget the pleasures of simple things like the waiting, the expectation, the sound of the shutter ... and there is a completely different feeling to it, more human somehow. I will have to do it more often ...

images: in the park with my old camera yesterday morning

porcelain braille pages

(click on images for a better view)

my new personal project ...
the images show a model for an idea in development involving braille (and eventually other tactile words), book pages and porcelain.
these pages are handmade in porcelain, fired and unglazed.

images: porcelain braille pages

a simple flower

I'm going to be away for a few days but should be back mid/end next week. I wish you all a wonderful weekend and a great beginning of March. meanwhile I leave a couple of artists for you to explore:

joseph shuldiner
valéria nascimento

see you soon ...

image: a simple flower to celebrate the beginning of March