New work

I have had a couple of heads sitting waiting for some attention . I modelled them  after reading how Tom Bartel makes hollow sculptures by coiling the head instead of working and modelling a solid head and later hollowing the head at the  leather hard stage.
At the time I was waiting for the Mary MacKillop commission to be agreed upon, so I made these two heads to try out the coiling idea.
The first was trying to make a head that was pleasant.
The second one I had been playing around with the thoughts of portraying ecstasy as portrayed in "Bernini's St Cecilia", so I had eyes closed and mouth slightly open.

I always wanted to glaze them with colour and so I finally decided to give each one a theme. 

Test plate trying out underglazes

The first I called it "Spring" and I intended to paint spring flowers all over the head with underglazes. The second one, because of the expression, I thought it would be good as "Autumn". I had collected a whole lot of  beautifully shaped fallen yellow leaves from some Gincko trees outside UNISA in the city and they had appealed to me so I drew them all over the second head, painted with underglazes and fired it with a clear glaze at 1100c oxidation. I forgot to photograph it before I glazed it.


I was disappointed with the results as I used a painterly approach and the underglazes really did not blend.
I have painted the second head and need to use the club glaze as I haven't enough glaze left in the bucket.
So I haven't fired it yet.
What do you think of the result? I would like to put them in an upcoming Art Show but "Autumn " is a little confronting.