Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Second Ceramics Course : Vases, Jugs and Bowls

A few of my bigger pieces are starting to come out of the kiln.  I am hoping to collect the remaining ones this weekend.  In the meantime, here are a few I can share (i.e. not Christmas gifts, that I plan to keep secret).

I'm numbering my pieces, continuing from the first and second set of mugs.  Please let me know which, if any, you find appealing - or amusing.

#16 - This jug is pretty fun, even though it didn't turn out how I had hoped.  Since this was a handles course, but I'm a bit of a rebel, I decided to create serpentine handles.  I wish I had a photo of it before it was glazed.  The snakes had a really realistic texture, created by rolling them in a plastic mesh (like the bags used to hold marbles or mini oranges).  I had hoped the glaze would bring out the texture, but instead it hid it entirely.  I realize now that I should have applied a dark glaze or underglaze, removed it with a sponge (so it would remain in the texture lines), then coated with a thin coat of light glaze, or none at all.

I had played with some ideas with adding an underglaze design at the front of Adam and Eve and the original Serpent.  But once it was fired, I realized the surface area was a bit restricted, and I had so many pieces to glaze I didn't want to spend the time.  Now I'm glad I didn't.

The snakes were brushed with Tenmoku (all our glazes are Cone 10), then the whole piece dipped in Bamboo.  I'm quite happy with the Tenmoku and Bamboo, but without the snakeskin texture, the fun of this piece is really lost for me.

 #17 - This pitcher or jug is pretty weighty, even when empty, but I like the result anyhow.  I used White glaze inside, which I am pretty happy with.  Then I waxed the rim & top 1" of the inside when I dipped the outside.  First Khaki on the top, then Deep Blue from the bottom, overlapping the Khaki.  I really like the greenish colour formed by the Deep Blue on Khaki.  Another time I wouldn't leave the Khaki at top, since it is not as glossy as the Deep Blue, and I'm not sure I like this matte effect here.  But it's all good.  I'm learning lots

#18 - This bowl was probably one of my first where I achieved a hollow rim.  I dipped the whole pieces in Ash Yellow.  Then I painted little hearts with latex, dipped the Outside in Deep Blue, and removed the latex to reveal little yellow hearts.  It looked pretty good at the time, but when it was fired, all that is left of the hearts are some funky looking smears.  Oh well, lots of learning again.  I'm guessing the glazes would need to go on thinner (and my hearts larger) to achieve the effect I was aiming for.

No comments:

Post a Comment