Mug shot

I am making a series of mugs.  I've made seven so far and they are at various stages of completion.  They have a bulbous shape to it.  Small opening at the neck and the body is wider.  People at the studio that has seen them called them the "duck mug".  I think it is an appropriate name. 

The reason the neck opening is smaller is because I think that since the area (surface area of the liquid)expose to air is smaller, that the liquid in the mug would stay hotter for longer.  Just a theory but it seems to make sense to me.  Don't know if the same applies to cold liquid.  I have yet to test it out.

I am also experimenting with various slips and surface decorating techniques and can't wait to see the result.  Here's the first two!  Five more to come!!!!

 

This is the first soda bowl -- it warped a little in firing but the glaze and flame flashing is quite amazing.  I fired this at an angle so you can see the glaze actually pooling on the lower left.  The picture of the foot ring actually showed how the foot ring retarded the movement of the flame and so one side of the foot ring is actaully the actual color of the clay -- white.  I also applied slip to the outside -- orange and mustard slip -- and then combed through the slip to give the outside texture and interest.

And -- one more bottle.  This one has been carved with slip inlay.

Hope you like this batch -- I have three more vessels and five more mugs to glaze.  Will post pictures when they are done.  As usual, comments, advise, criticism, etc. are always welcomed.

Artist Statement?

I am currently reading "The Encyclopedia of Pottery Techniques" by Peter Cosentino.  What he wrote in the introduction to the chapter on Techniques really spoke to me.  He said, "The technical side of pottery can appear somewhat daunting, even disconcerting, and it is understandable that many students with only limited experience may initially seek to disguise their lack of technical competence by making things which primarily express their "creative" energies."

I really agree with his assessment and it reflects my own sentiment.  It is for the same exact reason that I have continually refused to advance to a upper level class.  I think that I need to master my techniques and ability at the current stage -- throw better, throw thinner, throw taller, higher success rate, etc. etc. -- before I move on to more advance techniques -- alteration, advance forms, etc.  So much can be said for throwing a form well and making exactly what you intended to make as opposed to letting it happen on the wheel.

Peter Cosentino also said that "the best pieces of pottery bring out in most of us an almost overwhelming decide to touch, caress, and hold them."  I also think that this is very true and this is why I have not purchased a single piece of pottery of the Internet (you know I pretty much buy everything else off the Internet -- eBay/Amazon is my middle name!!!!).  Maybe this is the statement I fall back on when I do decide to sell my stuff -- never on the Internet?

Hmmm . . . so many things to consider . . .

Hiatus Apologies

Sorry -- I know I seemed to have disappeared for a while.  Work has been really crazy and I have been travelling almost weekly for work -- going to New York, Orlando, Atlanta, Toronto, etc.  I am still throwing and making pots but haven't had the time to take pictures and post notes.

I finally took some time to take pictures of the finished pieces last night.  Last night was a smothering, sweltering, thick night in Chicago.  The hottest day of the year so far -- official temperature was 88 degrees F for a hight but the thermometer in the car read 95.

Anyway, I've decided to try something new and made a slideshow with the pictures I've taken as opposed to the usual picture with commentaries. This time around, I am taking a Soda class and so there's not so much intricate glaze work on the surface.  Soda firing, for me, is about letting the texture on the surface of the pot interact with the fire in the kiln and the soda vapor that is introduced into the kiln when the kiln temprature hits cone 10.

Let me know what you think -- about the new method of presentation and the pots.



PS -- if you can't see the slideshow in Facebook, go here.

Almost at the end of Winter 2010 session

The Winter session is quickly coming to an end.  As I am writing this, I am collecting my final pieces from bisque firing and getting ready to glaze them.  The new session, Spring 2010, will start the week of March 22, 2010.

The pieces above are a series of three conical bowls (bowls with straight sides) that I threw out of B-Clay.  B-Clay is sort of greyish when it is soft and pliable but will fire to a white that is almost like porcelain.  This si the first time I am using B-Clay and I am liking it quite a bit.  I only had two pieces back at the time I took the photo.  I glazed the three bowls the same way -- using Luster Shino on the inside and then I taped the outside with painter's tape and cut out the pattern.  The lower portion of the bowls are glazed in Coleman Apple Green and the top in the New Celadon.

This is a covered jar made out of Stoneware.  It is part 2 of a sugar bowl and cream pitcher ensemble (refer to earlier post).  I glazed the pieces with Matt Black and Waxy White in a checker-board pattern.  The glazes runs into each other a little so it does not maintain pure coloration but I thought the intermingling is quite cool.

Another bowl with stamp work around the rim.  Was going to get this to empty bowl but it did not get fired in time.  The glaze is Celadon over the whole piece and Josh Green around the rim.  It ran quite a bit and turned RED!!!!!

Another B-Clay bowl for Empty Bowls that did not make it.  Yellow Salt with Cohen Red around the rim (other secret stuff that cannot be disclosed at this time).  Message me if you really want to know.

One of the biggest plates I've made so far -- about 11" in diameter.  I used paper resists that I cut into a snowflake pattern then lay the resist into the plate and the back of the plate as well.  I had decided that I was going to glaze this in Celadon and so selected slips that would give me shades of green when glazed in Celadon and painted over the paper resists. I sort of like the outcome and will probably give this a try at a later time when I decide to make plates again.

One of the biggest plates I've made so far -- about 11" in diameter. I used paper resists that I cut into a snowflake pattern then lay the resist into the plate and the back of the plate as well. I had decided that I was going to glaze this in Celadon and so selected slips that would give me shades of green when glazed in Celadon and painted over the paper resists.  I like this pattern bette and will probably explore more of this type of pattern.  Reminds me of a chrysthemum bloom.

Probably my favorite plate so far.  Three shades of white -- Shaner, Waxy and Antique -- and a red square in Cohen Red.  Where the Waxy and the Shaner met, the glaze crawled.  I thought it really gave the plate a very interesting and unique appeal.

That's it for now.  The next posts will probably be the last pieces of the Winter 2010 session.  Really looking forward to the Spring 2010 offereings.

More New Work

This term, the firing schedule is a little off.  Maybe it is me?  I don't know.  I had five bowls that were made in January that I just got back last week and are waiting to be glaze fired now.  In any case, the pieces are not coming back as quickly as in the past.  These are the most recent three pieces that I got back.

This little vase (about 3.5 inches tall) is part of a series of littel vases that I am trying to make this term.  They are all glazed in Yellow Salt over Temoku.

This is essentially a blown-out cyclinder.  Throw a cycliner, blow out the belly and then dimple in the side and attach a spot.  I glazed the spout in Cohen Red and the body was galzed in Celadon.  Love the crackling effect of Celadon.

This was done in pretty much the same way as the piece above but the spout was actually pulled from the body and not attached.  Also, where the wall was pushed in, I actually cut a hole in it.  Same glaze combination as above but I added Yellow Salt to the rim of the pitcher but see how it ran down almost the entire side of the piece.  Love it!  I really want to call this piece "Bloody Rooster".

In the words of Simon Leach -- Keep Practicing!

First Batch of Winter 2010

All pieces are made from Stoneware with Red Iron Oxide. Click on the image if you want to see a bigger image.


This is a slightly altered piece -- squished in the sides and dimpled it. Glazed in Shaner White with Lavendar around the rim on a bias.


5" covered jar that was soda fired. The soda deposited quite nicely on the lid but not so much on the body. The body was not glazed on the outside but the flashing from the fire in the soda kiln provided the nice brown/orangy coloring. Some places are more shiny and others are more matt on the body. The inside was glazed in Rutile Blue.


3.25" Tea Bowl. I have to double check the glaze combination but I think it is Shaner White with Lavendar around the rim. Again, I sprinkled some charcoal ash to create the runny effect. I checked -- it was Shaner White and Lavendar on the inside and the outside around the rim. Notice how the ash makes it look different than the first piece above even though the combination is similar.



4" Covered Jar. Applied Golden Ambrosia slip on the outside and then scored through the slip to the clay in the greenware stage. After bisque firing, the inside is glazed in Temoku and outside rim glazed in Gustin Shino. Some of the Temoku "spilled" on the outside to create the drip effect.


3 inch Bud Vase glazed in Temoku with Yellow Salt Rim. Inside is done in Shaner White.




This is my favorite piece from the batch. It is a 3.75" tea bowl and is glazed with Cohen Red on the inside and around the rim on the outside. The bottom half of the piece is Yellow Salt on the outside and then I sprinkled some charcoal ash on the outside. Really like this piece.

Absent

Sorry I have been absent. I took the holiday off from pottery to visit my family in Singapore. I did make one piece -- handbuilt, if you can believe that. Had it glazed and ready for firing but it kamikaze dived off the cart while the cart was making its journey to the kiln. I salvaged the broken pieces and made it an "artistic" piece. Hope to get it back this week and see how it looks. I am back at LillStreet and signed up again for the Beginner Wheel class with Catherine Tweedie. This time around, I am focusing on making bowls and bottles. All different shapes and sizes. I will probably be making a few plates (special requests) as well and have come up with new ways to glaze my pieces. Looking forward to showing you the results. The first batch should be coming out pretty soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to post pictures next week. Have a great one!