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Carragh Amos

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Gal pal @lauren_gracie_design recently shared with me the direction my new logo is taking, and I am suuuuper excited about eventually seeing it as a stamp.⁠ .⁠ .⁠ It's a sight seen all over the world - potters and creatives lifting their plates in cafes to see the belly of the beast. Looking for potter's marks, looking for glaze drips, looking for a sample of the raw clay.⁠ .⁠ .⁠ Today, in your home, I challenge you to join me in turning over your functional ware. I'll be sharing a few pieces from my personal collection in my stories. ✌️

Holy moly. So, apparently I battled my way through March Meet The Maker and by some miracle have made it out the other side - no days missed!! No-one is more shocked than me 😅. . . I have to admit it has given me confidence in sharing more of myself & 'behind the scenes' with you guys. So I guess get used to these long rambling posts 💁. . . Some of you may remember the carved teapot I made for one of my brothers in December. This week is his birthday, so I posted him two teacups to accompany it. Cup 1/2.⁠ ⁠

F . A . Q . S ▫️ 31⁠ .⁠ 10 frequently asked questions, answered. .⁠ .⁠ ▫️ What clay do you use? - I often use a grogged stoneware or raku clay, and I've also begun processing my own wild clays. I occasionally use porcelain. Alot of my woodfire work is high-fire fine white stoneware, which I sometimes add oxides or other materials to.⁠ .⁠ ▫️ Do you teach classes? - Not at the moment, I have pretty bad general anxiety and this isn't something I can manage right now. I am considering releasing some kind of E book or something.⁠ .⁠ ▫️ Where can I shop? - www.carraghamos.etsy.com or link in bio > shop tab.⁠ .⁠ ▫️ Do you ship internationally? - Sure do! ⁠ .⁠ ▫️ Do you take commissions? - I consider all commissions, since I'm small scale it's on a case by case basis. If accepted it's around a 4 week turnaround from payment to product, so plan ahead!⁠ .⁠ ▫️ We'd like to stock your work, how can we make that happen? - Send me in an email at contact@carraghamos.com.⁠ .⁠ ▫️ How do you smooth the inside of your carved cups? - First with a simple flat wooden tool, and then my hands. You can still see the work has been carved, it's not perfectly smooth. Sometimes I leave them raw with the finer scrape marks or apply slips. ⁠ .⁠ ▫️ I've never done ceramics before, but I'd like to! How can I start? - I recommend joining a local beginner class. This will teach you the basics, like the different making techniques and how to avoid cracks or explosions in the kiln.⁠ .⁠ ▫️ How did you get involved in woodfiring? How can I?? - Follow my woodfiring teacher @01010earth, Abraham posts whenever there's an upcoming firing with space free. Instagram is actually how I found him last year! If you're in Singapore, stop by @claystreetfun in Commonwealth and chat to Mr Chew. You can often see open firings internationally by looking through IG under the #woodfiring tag. Alternatively, get in touch with your local woodfirer directly.⁠ .⁠ ▫️ Your work is really different from what I've seen, can you recommend other artists? - Some ceramists whose work I love include: @elea.lelimouzin @sherna_ceramica @akirasatake @mitchiburgceramics @earth.craft⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #MarchMeetTheMaker #MarchMeetTheMaker2020⁠

W O R K / L I F E B A L A N C E ▫️30 . . Yeesh. This is a hard thing to juggle. Recently my other half was overseas and I was alone for a bit, which - let me tell you - is a quick way to learn you're a workaholic. Hello late nights and 7 day weeks 😬 I definitely benefit from having someone to tell me to take a break. . I try to keep in mind that my relationship/s are more important than my work. For a healthy home life I want to be fully present. . Some strategies that I use to *try* and manage this: . ▫️Treat ceramics like a regular job. That means I clock out at 6pm. ▫️Have a daily lunch break at the same time to help prevent overworking. ▫️Shut the studio door on weekends (I confess, I did ship orders this past Saturday 🙃). ▫️Social media awareness. This is a hard one and I'm still figuring it out. I try not to reply to messages and comments while in "home mode". In this fast world we've adapted to, so many people need answers / responses / contact NOW. I'm learning to be okay with leaving things a day or two, and prioritise my fam and mental health. . . This whole subject is something that I need to work on, and I'm keen to hear what management techniques have worked for you! . #MarchMeetTheMaker #MarchMeetTheMaker2020

Some kind of rugged fly ash / shino glaze muddle. Yes you can drink out of this one (but probably put it up the right way first..). . . Chalice detail, Aquagama woodfired 80hrs to cone 12. Available via link in bio > shop.

S E L F P R O M O T I O N ▫️ 29⁠ .⁠ .⁠ Are you inspired by my work? Do you find my videos useful? Did I give you a tip that really helped you out, or introduce you to a new technique?⁠ .⁠ .⁠ One way to support artists in making more items (and useful content!) is by purchasing their work. I massively appreciate each of you that has bought from me over the past year - thank you!! Each order pays for my next bag of clay or firing fees.⁠ 🙏💕 . . If your finances are a bit dicey right now, you can support us creatives in other ways. Follow artists across social media, like and comment on our posts, or share our work with a friend. .⁠ .⁠ Shop at www.carraghamos.etsy.com⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #MarchMeetTheMaker #MarchMeetTheMaker2020

Waiting for tea 🍵

P L A N N I N G ▫️ 28⁠ .⁠ .⁠ Going into this gas-firing (high temp) with some solid clay notes. Literally penciled in some glaze plans - we'll see how that goes once faced with the allure of the glaze buckets 😅 ⁠ .⁠ .⁠ One of my current goals is to be better with recording specs. I'm trying to remind myself that the paperwork and notations now will pay off in the making later. I have so many clays and wild clays on the go it's getting hard to remember what I'm using... which isn't ideal, cause then you can't recreate a great result!⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #MarchMeetTheMaker #MarchMeetTheMaker2020

Pottery play. ⁠ .⁠ .⁠ #Aquagama fired cup, black clay, unglazed. 1300C+, stoked for 80 hrs.