This is a section of a 'Hare and Daffodils' sketch which was used to create a relief print with Lino. The sketch was transferred from the tracing paper onto the Lino in reverse so that when it's pressed into the slab of clay it's the right way round. I build up these imagined scenes using sketches and photographs from life so each tree, river, building, landscape and animal exist but not in the same place at the same time.

 Each relief printing block is carved by hand, imagining where the slip will sit in the hollows, deeply carved sections stand proud in the clay and are white after the glaze firing to cone 04, 1060°C. I add the copper slip onto the bisque ware which helps to preserve the fine, detailed lines when the excess slip is wiped away from the surface and sits in the recesses with a dark bronze surface which has a metallic feel and blends with the metal oxide washes that add some colour.

Although I mainly work with a Valentine's white grogged earthenware clay which has low shrinkage and is resistant to warping, these white rose designs were created in porcelain for an exhibition at Ripon Cathedral. They were decorated with porcelain slip made from dried scraps of the clay body mixed with stains or oxides, I use them almost like watercolours. The three dimensional flowers are finely textured and  built up over a low relief tile base . They were bisque fired to cone 06 1000 °C and then painted with a celadon glaze and fired  to cone 8, around 1260°C.