Been trying a new tack on rice by adding cooked rice to the clay before rolling - seen an excellent site on the web..rather than pressing in raw grains. The rice will burn out at bisque revealing holes I hope - this time I have put the underglaze on first pre-firing.
Made these into vessels - bowls that I snipped with scissors and 'folded' randomly at the edges to make shapes with straight sides....felt like paper sculpting - echoes of origami - Far East links again.
Instead of using the laser cut text, I am using the underglaze as a monprint medium and writing direclty onto the 'green' clay. Making connections again with tea: location; tea as a social event; as a passion.....writing the names of all the teas I can recall being used in the house - sometimes laying the words curving round the form.
Will put some images up in an album entitled 'Rice'