Christmas — silky smooth and colorants came out as imagined.
First — Christmas. Came out silky smooth and the colorants are somewhat as I pictured them. The white is bright and I love the turquoise (which doesn’t show up really well in this picture) which is underlying the iron. I might have gotten even more distinct colors if I’d had some more patience (a sad story but true!) …
Scarred, pitted and underfired — oh my!
Then there’s Hallowe’en — the piece is scarred, pitted, and underfired. It seems that if you fire in a shed outdoors in the middle of winter the kiln does not stay at temperature long enough to properly melt the glaze. Geez! At my other studio the problem was getting the kiln to cool at all, as it was in a building insulated to the degree that it could be heated with a candle. Big difference if your kiln is outside! This poor piece will have to go back into the kiln and will need a proper soak, even though it is a refire. I have four of these that didn’t fire properly. What a waste of hydro, eh? Everything at the bottom of the kiln was fine but these fussy pieces didn’t like it at all.
Funky handle with no cracks, I hope!
Today I am going to over glaze the rest of the whites … and do my slip
Mugs with lugs attached for pulling.
technique on a pile of mugs. They were trimmed yesterday and handles pulled. I do up a pile of lugs, get them on the pots and let them set up, and then pull them. (Not always what I do, but if they’re big mugs I like a pulled handle. It’s stronger and looks more sturdy). Always fun when they turn into something cool … and I want these to match some funky teapots I did a couple of weeks ago.
Can’t believe how fast the time is going! All of this work has to be ready to rock and roll by February 29th, when the best of it will go into the ‘Three Degrees of Separation” Show at the Colborne Art Gallery. My son is getting married the same week as the show opens (March 5th) … so the GRAND OPENING is on the 12th (I hope it’s grand!). Hope I’m still sane by then …
Be well,
Susan
