Explorations of surface

Its getting down to the end of the semester and things have been busy.  So not as much posting has been happening.  There is still lots going on in the studio, though.    This weekend a new batch of glaze tests came out of the kiln, I'm exited to try them out on actual pieces.   I don't have photos of them yet. 

Here are some cups ready to be bisqued.  I have started putting designs with impressions or slip on the outside of the  pieces.

  

These are the next two big jars. I want to put slip, like on the cups, on the one on the left, I just haven't decided on the design yet.  

Teapots

I am planning to make some tea pots soon, here are some that I like.





 

       

  

Fong Choo makes little tea pots, they are pretty sweet.  You can see how he makes them here.

Also, this is his web site.

More photos

Some stuff from the kiln.

Lanmans fake ash and Copper blue.

Lanmans base with Rutile, a tiny but of cobalt over plane base and Copper.

An overview.

Some new glazes:  Leroi's ash,  Copper blue under Tosicka black, and Tosicka black.

They are all lined with Frazer celadon.

  

Both of these are lanman fake ash, the difference is in application and firing.  The one on the right is a thicker application and normal reduction and the other is normal application and heavy reduction.  

              Here are two lid variations.  More work to come on this.

This is Frazer celadon.   I know, I know, celadon looks nasty on stoneware, but this glaze is so glassy smooth I just had to.   Next time Im going to make some out of porcelain.

Done! Now start over.

    

Here's the stack on Monday afternoon just after I finished loading, and Thursday night after the firing and cooling off.  This kiln came out just about right, it was even and well reduced.   Only one piece dripped onto the shelf.   

More pictures to come as soon as I can get them to upload. For some reason only these two worked.

Today I made more four more big buckets of glaze, now I am out of buckets.  So, now Ill just have to make test batches. 

Its time to make more clay and go through the entire process again.  

More of the same

Im still glazing...............     

This is everything I have glazed so far (not including what went into the salt kiln), and my glazing table.   Im not doing anything too complicated with glazing, but there are still so many steps involved in the process:  I have to 

>wipe all the dust off the pots  

>wax the feet 

 >glaze the inside

 >the clean up any glaze that dripped onto the outside  

>wax the top part of the inside  

 >glaze the outside

Sometime I would like to calculate how much time is spent on each piece, from making the clay all the way to unloading the kiln.   

I think in the second half of the semester I should fire smaller amounts more often, glazing everything at once is a pain.  Plus there are times when I have been throwing for ages that I just want to glaze something for a change. 

  Variety is the spice of life, right?

KCAI Kilns

  This is the soda kiln and the forced air kiln, with the natural draft kiln in the background.

In addition there is a little soda kiln and a big catenary salt kiln.  Plus lots of barrel electrics and 4 or 5 oval electrics.  Most of them just have sitters, but a few have computer controllers. 

If I could change anything I would want a little gas kiln, 2-3 times the size of the soda kiln, and no salt/soda kilns inside!

All-Fat Wheat Middlings

I can post pictures again!  I have no idea what happened.

 Anyway, this is a quilt (graduation present from my sister) that my family made for me. Its all cloth from when I was little, every piece has a story.  What a wonderful present, thank you Ali, I love it!

The last step

Soooooo......   the tests came out of the kiln last week. Unfortunately I cant seem to get any images up.   I did the same thing as for the other photos Ive posted, but for some reason it doesn't work now.   I gave up, because I was getting really angry.   

It has been a long time since I made anything new, and I'm getting antsy.  Plus I will be firing a kiln that I haven't used before, and EVERYTHING Ive made so far will be in it.   This week will require lots of blind faith, and some caffeine. 

 I just hope next week doesn't require lots of trash cans, and a hammer. 

Glaze testing

This is the materials area of the glaze room.   I didn't take a photo of the application area.   Today I made some tests, Ill put up pictures of the tiles once they are fired.  

Tiny army

I am making some casseroles, they are almost finished.  Next up, plates.  And lots of glaze testing.  I have either forgotten to take my camera in or forgotten to actually use it.  So Im posting these pictures from this spring.  This was part of an installation, lots of little bugs.  Before and after pictures are always interesting. Notice how much more room there is between the pieces once they have been fired.  

Beach Art!

Its the best 

Inspiration

    Now thats a big pot.  This is in Jingdezhen, China. 

Trip to the Belger

On Friday the seniors went to the Belger art center, this was the current show. 

                                                                                                                        

Mo tells us about the Mohammad Ali quilt.                                           

A close up of some, uh, non traditional quilting?                                  

Priscilla, queen of the desert.                                                                                 

Angel wings for Tupac.                                                                                

Finished!

Here is the jar, it just needs a lid and carvings.

Like this!     The sun comes in the studio in the afternoon, it gets hot sometimes!

                                                                                                                                   

Carvings

   Trimmings, aren't they beautiful?                                                         

Im trying to figure out some new toppers/ knobs/ finials/ what ever you want to call them, for jars.   I made them all separately, so now I have to see what they look like on top of a jar. 

Big Jars

Im making two big jars.  Here is how I do it:

First I make a base.

Then I throw a bottomless wall.

Then I put the base back on the wheel and flip the wall on top of it.

Next I throw the wall section out. 

And throw another wall section, and turn it upside down on top 

of the last wall section ( the bat is still on in this pic, I always do it this way, I just forgot to take a pic before I cut the

 bat 

off in pic #3)

Cut the bat off,

 and throw it out. 

And so on.

It has gotten bigger, but I didnt take my camera so I have no pics. Ill post one of it all finished.

Cups and bisque

These are some of the tumblers I have been working on. 

They all have different carvings on them.

This is the jar I posted a picture of before, plus all the stuff I bisqued last week.

   Mugs, some of the first things I made here.