I made this placemat after I finished the platter and the other piece, so I tried to compliment them while also including similar aspects. The cherry blossoms took the longest amount of time, so after I finished them I decided to shade in the background so that I could finish in time.
For this piece I used 612 clay and molded it into the shape just using my hands. I was going for something you could rest your chopsticks on when you are eating sushi. I chose to used underglaze since I wanted the Japanese flag to come out nice, then I put clear galze over the whole thing. I think I could have made it a bit smoother, but overall it serves its purpose. I also like how the flag turned out.
I used 612 for the clay body. I used the slab roller and cut out the the edges of the platter and slipped and scored them on. I then fired it once and added the cherry blossom design using underglaze in order to get a precise and clean look. This part took me the longest, since I tried to make it as detailed as possible. Once it was sone, I let it dry on the shelf and put clear glaze over the entire piece and fired it a second time to get a glossy finish. I really like the underglaze job on this piece, and I think it is my best underglaze work on a piece all year. I think if I were to make this again though, I would have just put my signature on the bottom.