Trés Trays

No, wait, that means "very trays," which makes no sense. But "Beaucoup  Trays" doesn't sound as good, and "Many Trays," dumber still. So, let's go with A Whole Bunch of Trays. I like sets. Not necessarily matching sets, as in bowls or mugs, but dissimilar objects that are meant to go together. I've been making olive oil bottles, with handbuilt drip trays, which led to soy-and-wasabi sets, and S & P sets, and oil & vinegar sets, all with trays, of course. 

When I got done with those, I started on a butter dish jag. Not my usual thrown/assembled covered butter dishes; I wasn't in the mood for that much commitment. So I made a few butter trays (for the cat-free home, as they lack covers) inspired by my student Holly Johnson of Hurricane Mountain Pottery. Holly brought a couple of very simple handbuilt trays to class, and I had to try out the design. 

Notice the little cat feet in the third photo. Happy Jack is quite enthralled with my studio work; if he had opposable thumbs, he'd be my apprentice.

Unsurprisingly, to me at least, my results are quite different from Holly's; her trays are slimmer and more elegant, mine more meaty. I am making for the soda firing (please God, someday soon!) and have been working on foregoing much of the wet surface decoration to allow for the the action of the flame. I do find that different artists using the same techniques will nevertheless have markedly different results. 

After a bit, I decided I was after something even simpler: 

This one is just a fat tossed slab with the sides and corners pressed up. I am looking for a good turquoise Oribe glaze for soda, that I can brush into the interior, to make a nice contrast with the peachiness of the soda vapor glaze. Any suggestions?