Rooster Mug and Child’s Rabbit Bowl–Quick Sgraffito

To Purchase Bowls, Plates, Cups or Mugs click here.

I made this Rooster mug in an attempt to offer some easily affordable sgraffito pottery. This design was not as time consuming as my other more detailed work, therefore the average person can afford these. It was also fun work so I know I’ll be making a lot more with different designs. This mug was thrown and altered. I manipulated the body after throwing on the potter’s wheel to give it a sort of crumpled look. This one holds a little over 1 1/4 cups.

This children’s bowl with a cute little bunny and sun design is another example of a quick sgraffito design.

Stoneware Pottery–Curved Trays with Slip Trailed Fish Design

These curved tray type dishes have a free form slip trailed fish. This whimsical design would look great in a bathroom, bedroom or kitchen for placing bars of soap, sponges or for placing jewelry or keys. They can also merely be viewed as a decorative piece in the living room. The two above measure about 7 1/2” x 6.

To purchase Medium Curved Fish Tray click here 

The tray below is listed as a platter due to it’s size.
It measures about 10.5" x 5.75.

To purchase Curved Platter click here.

Mixed Stoneware Oil Bottles or Bud Vases

        To purchase these bottles click here.

Here are some new stoneware bottles made using satin glazes. The tall bottles I call "cylinder bottles" since they are tall and straight sided. They are versitile and can be fitted with a spout to be used as an oil bottle. (I include the spout upon request.) They can also be used as a vase and look great holding either a single flower or a few.


The bottle on the far right is an oil bottle that is made with several thrown parts. The cylinder bottles are hand built and made from several parts which are extruded, slabbed and thrown. After I complete each part they are carefully joined together to form the bottle that you see.

I also have a wide assortment of Sgraffito and Botanical Imprinted bottles available on the "Bottles" page of my website that can be fitted with a spout. Included is a swamp scene with egret and two abstract florals. See the link below.

To Purchase Sgraffito & Botanical imprinted bottles click here.
http://www.cnbpottery.com/

White Sgraffito Design on Dark Clay - Example of side view.

I started making sgraffito pottery using white over dark clay. I only show one frontal view on my website of each piece to save time and space but each piece really has a diminsion that can't be reveiled in one photo. Therefore I am showcasing one of my pots and giving two side views to give an idea of the artwork that can wrap around the side of the piece. I do offer to send more photos of any pottery to whoever is interested in purchasing a certain piece from my website. You only need to email a request with the item number.

After testing several glazes I came upon this one and I'm very pleased with the results. I have several new pieces listed on my website now. This glaze gives a nice toasty appearance across the whole piece and really brings out the darker clay with sort of a reddish tint. I also have listed some that have a clear glossy glaze and those are more of a pure white.

To Purchase click here.

Two Pottery Angels Now Available

These are two pottery angels that I recently completed. One is a Powder Blue glaze with a patina and the other is made with a dark clay and glaze also with a patina. The process in which I make them is described on my website.

To Purchase Angels Click Here.

Drive Down Bayou Dularge

During the time when the Gulf was closed due to the BP oil spill, I went for a ride down the bayou to get some photos of trawl boats for my artwork. Since the Gulf was shut down, these shrimpers decided to take that time to repair their nets. I had the opportunity to take some great photos that day. From those photos I was able to work up some drawings and have quite a few designs worked up. Here is my trial run of a couple of them. The top one shows what happens when you drop a tile before it's fired. Oops. It cracked but I decided to break it up more and fire it anyway. It just might be part of a mosaic some day.

I had a great time talking with some very nice and interesting people that day and also had the opportunity to watch them make stitches in their nets. That's something I hadn't seen since I was a small child watching my great grandmother make a net by hand. I remember her reluctance in allowing me to make a couple stitches in her precious net. She took great pride in what she was doing and was known for her work. This was a source of their income, so I imagine letting go of it was hard. She did show me but unfortunately this knowledge had been long forgotten. It was nice to see it done again and to reflect so far back into the past.

Latest Platters from the Kiln.

SOLD Alligator Platter

These are probably the last of the sgraffito platters that I'll fire before Christmas and the holidays. One shrimp design and one alligator design. These are listed for purchase along with previus platters on my website. My platters have scenes made using my own drawings and photos. I always use a basic design for the outline of an element or two and then carve the rest free hand. It's a slow and laborious process but I love the results.

Go to: http://www.cnbpottery.com/

Two Sgraffito Pots - Bayou Scenes

SOLD

To purchase this container click here.

With these two pieces of pottery I made each using a similar design. One has white coating over dark clay and the other has a black coating over an ivory white clay. Both are glazed with a clear glaze. Although the design is similar they are all different in some way. I use a basic design but carve by hand as I go on most of it.

A Pelican Design and an Iris Design on Sgraffito Pottery. White on Dark Clay

This is sgraffito pottery that I made using a dark clay under a white clay coating with a clear glaze. The white clay coating is carved away to make this design. This one is of a pelican sitting on a post overlooking water. I show two views so that you can see the design used on the back and sides.

Here is another sgraffito pottery pot of an Iris flower. This is a flower that grows wild here in Louisiana.

Platters and Two Colander/Berry Bowls

This is a deeper platter with four nice handmade feet. For additional views please send email request.

Textured platter with handles

Here is two colander/berry bowls. The last one is the largest.
To purchase my work go to http://www.cnbpottery.com/

Stoneware Sgraffito Platters with Shrimp Design & Egret in Swamp Design

       SOLD Egret in Swamp Scene

 
Here are some new Sgraffito platters. I only have two left to fire and that will probably be it for the platters till the end of the year. One is my Alligator Design and the other will be another Shrimp Design. Soon I will be firing some work that I’ve made with white on dark clay background.

Stoneware Platters Available with Egret and Pelican Designs

To purchase click here.

SOLD Egret in Swamp Scene

Here are three 12" Sgraffito stoneware platters that I just finished. This is my favorite kind of work and I get such a satisfaction when I am finally able to pull them out of the kiln completed. I've already added these to my website so refer to it for purchases and to see more pottery and paintings available.

CNBpottery.com

 

Stoneware Pottery Jar

This is another item done in a recent firing. It's a stoneware pottery jar with a wood fired look. It has an impression done with a hand made rose stamp. Available for sale on the "Pots with Lids" page on http://www.cnbpottery.com/. Go to my "Online Gallery" page to see everything listed for purchase.

My latest work

I'm taking this time to post an example of my latest work in stoneware clay. This is a wheel thrown and altered piece. It is made using speckled clay which is a clay that I love to use. I've impressed a small design on the lower right side. I have three similar to this that are added to my web site for sale.

My Pottery Website is Up and Running

I'm finally finished my pottery website so take it for a test run. Now I will be able to concentrate on pottery making and painting. I will soon be glazing my latest platters which are sgraffito designs of local pelicans, egrets and alligators in swamp scenes. I also have a cool image of a Gulf Shrimp done before he hit the pot. I also have a couple platters that will be glazed with multicolored glazes.

I plan on having at least a couple angels available for Christmas so I will be getting started on those soon too. I'm hoping to have those ready sometime in October.

As I take everything out of the kiln, images will be posted on my blog, so subscribe to it if you would like to get email updates on kiln openings. You can then refer back to my website for purchases at http://www.cnbpottery.com/.  You also have option to subscribe to RSS feed. Personally I find the email updates are more convienent but it's your choice.

Hope you enjoy my new website and my up and coming art works.

Crystal Nolfo~Brown
http://www.cnbpottery.com/

Updating Pottery Website

I've been working on my pottery website for quite a while. Hopefully it will be ready to publish soon so I can get back to working with clay. Maybe make a painting or two. That would be nice. Till then my old web page is still running. I haven't updated it since it was written with Front Page which is no longer available. I have a new program and I'm writing a site that my customers will be able to purchase directly from it, or contact me for orders.

Crystal Nolfo~Brown
http://www.cnbpottery.com/

Riding through the Reeds in the Marsh

Beautiful scene fishing
Top of the reeds seem to point the heavens.


Riding through the marsh reminds me of walking trails in the woods. We kayaked twisting and turning through marsh that is like tiny islands everywhere.

Birds feed off this seed.

Entrance to the marsh. You can't tell very well from this photo

but you can turn left or right towards the middle.

These are the last photos I'll post from our day in Cocodrie, La. Riding through the reeds was beautiful and exciting. I feel lucky to be able to have the opportunity to do it whenever I want. Hopefully that pleasure isn't taken away due to the negligence and inablity to act quickly to keep BP's oil from our coastal wetlands.

Redfish - A Fish in Abundance

It was fun fishing from the kayaks with my husband. Got so many hits and a wonderful meal of fresh grilled Redfish because of it.

The Oil and Gas Industry has been a part of our economy for decades and has been practiced safely for decades. Shoreside you can see images of it in the works. The wetlands and industry are intermingled. This is our home and our lives, because of it "Safety First" is a huge statement and practiced thoughout companies here. Safety for human life along with safety for the environment is important. It's my opinion the rig accident of April 20th 2010 was due to a handful of people that did not practice "Safety First". They gambled with lives and our environment. That is criminal and because of what happened, there will be a ripple effect across the U.S. in ways that many are not aware of.

The first photo is of the marina we launched our kayak from. Second is a shot of one of the many bugs. And the last shot is actually of two birds feeding on the grass seeds. See how easily they are camouflaged?