I know, a sad story but true. I had a long list of things to do … glazing, cleaning the slop in the studio, getting the slips & underglazes ready for the next step in a recent brain wave … and then I PICKED UP A BOOK! It had nothing to do with pottery, just a romping fast-paced fiction, but once I got started on the darn thing my brain was hi-jacked and I couldn’t do anything else until it was done! I don’t know if it’s a sign of a good book or a sign of a great desire for procrastination …
So yesterday I had to rush to get pieces ready to fire when the temperature is SUPPOSED to break on Monday. It feels like I’m glazing blind. The colorants (chlorides, sulphates, nitrates, etc.) have their own interactions and reactions — which should make for interesting surfaces — but I can’t tell what they are really going to look like until after they are fired. They are still interacting on the shelf!
Waiting for the kiln shed to warm up!
So much fun!
The platters have layers of wax & colorants, so who knows what’s going to happen with those! Who knew glazing could be this much fun! Not crazy about wearing gloves to work in, but a small price to pay for a colorant adventure. I decided not to use the ones that might off-gas. My studio is in my basement just below our bedroom so I think that may be a wise choice! Once the pieces have made it through the first firing I’m hoping to add in some small bits of gold lustre, but I’ll have to see how the whole thing looks first. Wouldn’t want to waste the lustre.
So today I’m mixing slips. I’ve got some cylinders and teapots that I’d like to end up looking like abstract acrylics, so I have this idea of putting slips on seran wrap and maybe rolling the pieces in it (hence the cylinders). Not sure how that’s going to go, but I’m going to give it a try before I pick up another book. Maybe I should forestall any more trips to the library until after my show at the Colborne Art Gallery. If I get hi-jacked one more time I may not have everything ready for March!
Be well,
Susan
