Painters in Residence Abigal and Ryan Bell were inspired by Annie’s books to create ‘transparent colour’ with Chalk Paint® to paint these ceramic platters.

After reading Annie’s book Colour Recipes for Painted Furniture and More, Abigail and Ryan were inspired by the technique to create a limed-oak look, using Chalk Paint® to create ‘transparent colour’.

The couple bought white air-drying clay and began experimenting – rolling the clay out with a rolling pin and then imprinting their signature Irish linen into the clay, creating texture from the weave of the fabric. Some of the platters were left to dry on plates with slightly curved surfaces and others were roughly cut out in platter shapes with craft knives. Once the clay had dried, they mixed a teaspoon of Chalk Paint® with roughly 3 teaspoons of Clear Chalk Paint® Wax to create coloured waxes in Old Violet, Antoinette and Emperor’s Silk, which were all applied – rubbed, scrubbed and painted – on to the ceramics to highlight the texture that had been imprinted by the linen. A few days later, they buffed the surfaces to create a sheen.