The Last Batch

These are the last batch from the last class -- well, almost. I still have two more pieces to glaze -- a plate and a cup. I want to try something fancy with those. The pieces below are done with the white stoneware that I was trying out. I still am not quite sure I like white stoneware for throwing but the glaze looks stunning on it. Maybe I have to try white stoneware again but throw my pieces with thicker walls.



This piece above, I played with the from after I threw it -- collared the neck a little, flared out the lip, etc. I brushed the nooks and cranies with temoku and dipped the whole piece in Red Iron.




The two bowls in the back in above picture is what I am referring to. The while bowl was another white stoneware piece. Before bisque firing, I incised a filigree design on a band arond the bowl. At bisque, I filled in the filigree design with temoku and dipped the piece in Shaner White and Waxy White. The filigree design didn't show up too well and the Shaner White/Waxy White combination did not yield the same result as the last bowl so more experimentation is required.




The second larger bowl is dipped in Celadon and then the rim/lip is dipped again in Coleman Apple Green. I really like these tone-on-tone combination. As you can see, the Coleman Apple Green sort of pooled at the bottom of the bowl in the inside. I think this is quite interesting. Of course, I have to experiment more.




The above three pieces are what I like to call my "Nesting Bowls" -- they do fit in each other. I was trying a wax resist glazing method with limited success. I first dipped the whole piece (all three) in Matt Black. When it is dry, I applied wax to the rim/lip and the base. When the wax resist is dry, I removed the unwaxed area with a damp sponge and the dip the piece in Shaner White. The plan was for the wax to prevent the white from getting into the black part. I think it worked out quite well but I think I have to give the wax more time to set up and try and maybe do a better job at resisting. Also, the black might have ran into the white a litte. Of course -- MORE EXPERIMENTATION!!!!




This was a happy surprise for me. Remember how I said that I thought that Aviva Blue was kinda boring since it is so two dimensional -- rich color with no variation? Well -- SURPRISE!!! I dipped the piece in Shaner White and when that was dry, I used a squirt bottle and squirted Aviva Blue in a sort-of diamond shape around the bowl. I really like the "gentler" Aviva Blue. Got the idea from when I was brushing Aviva Blue to the twisted bowl from an earlier class.

In an attempt to use up all the clay (you can't take it out of the school -- policy), I formed the piece below on a mould. Hand building is really not my thing but in a moment of "weakness" and wanting a bigger piece to show, I did it. Yes, I am weak! Anyway, I also wanted to try one of the "RED" glaze combination -- i.e. glazes that run all over the place and should not really be attempted by newbies. When I did this piece, I put tall feet below the bowl so that it would be allevated above the kiln shelf. Then I try the Temoku/Yellow Salt combination. Check out the running -- now you know why it is a "RED" combination. Love the run.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

The kitchen is done . . . need I say more?

More Pottery -- Week 6 Pieces?

I am starting to loose count of what pieces are from which weeks. In any case, I think these are from the same batch and were glazed about two weeks ago. This first one is an attempt at a cyclinder. The cyclindrical shape is there but the base is a little wider than the mouth. Also, I did some intaglio (craving) work on the surface. The piece is glazed with Coleman Apple Green at the bottom, Temoku on top and the lip and the inside is Yellow Salt.



Did another piece in a cup shape that also utilized the intaglio technique. This piece was carved with a lotus pattern. I think I scratched too deep and the piece has a slight crack from the top to the tip of the lotus pattern. Have to experiment some more with this. The piece is glazed with Shaner White in the lotus pattern and on the inside of the vessel and then Temoku on the outside.



The final piece is a bigger version of the bowl I made earlier. The form is the same except it is bigger. I glazed it with Shaner White and . . . no, not Temoku, Waxy White. I really like the effect it has on the piece. See for yourself . . .




I just glazed the Week 7 pieces yesterday. There were 7 pieces in all. 2 more pieces are waiting to be glazed. I could have glazed them last night but it was a quiet night and someone rang the buzzer -- which caused me to jump and dropped the whole piece into the vat of glaze. So, I had to wash it off and let it dry before I can glaze again. You see, when a piece it wet, it doesn't absorb the glaze into the bisque fired body so you have to let the body dry. The Week 8 pieces are waiting to be fired for the first time (bisque firing). Last Sunday was Week 8 so I have two weeks off before the Fall term begins. I'll still be glazing in the interim but no wet work allowed during the break and so, no new pieces. As always -- comments are welcomed.