Catherine "Kater" Cheek is a writer and artist.
Catherine Cheek
Author's posts
Dec 20
Blue Bowl Set
Last session, I tried to make a set of bowls as a belated wedding gift for my brother and his wife, and it didn’t work out. One got broken, one exploded, and one had glaze flaws. This time, I decided to not think too hard about the end result, and just do the best I …
Dec 18
Poppy Plate 4
I’ve made numerous plates like this. They are a great size and shape for pie and small sandwiches. You have to really take your time to keep them from getting warped or cracked, but when they work, you have a set of matched almost-stacking plates. To start with, you need a half dozen blemish-free styrofoam …
Dec 16
Glass Pumpkin 1
I took a short one-day workshop at the Mesa Art Center to make these glass pumpkins. They are basically just like ornaments, except we used an optics mold for both the bit and the base. I didn’t really have a pressing need for pumpkin ornaments, but I had really missed hotshop. I hope I can …
Dec 14
Poppy Plate 3
I think I may not use this technique again, even though I enjoyed this project. I found the lack of color palette frustrating, however. I really wanted a bright poppy red for the flowers, and one was unavailable. Red often is unpredictable, no matter what medium. The main reason, however, is that it needs a …
Dec 12
Poppy Plate 2
To get a decent line for the slip, we needed a dark colored clay. I already knew that slips didn’t turn out well if you fired them to cone ten, so I bought a bag of cone 06 terracotta clay called “Ward’s Red.” I’ve never used this clay before, but I was assured that it …