Friday, August 3, 2012

Rough stuff and glistening glass

I used my nutmeg glaze on this mug. Love the color, not the finish. The exterior was very rough as if the glaze had not matured. It is a matte glaze, and I think more for cone 6 than 5/6 or possibly it wasn't a thick enough coat of glaze. On a vase, the rough exterior could be an advantage giving it a rustic look but for a mug?...not very pleasant to hold. Still working on that, but I did re-fire it with another coat of a creamy satin finish glaze which, as I had hoped, smoothed it out.
The color is a little lighter than I personally like, but it was not made for me. I sometimes forget that a piece of pottery that may be a disappointment in my eyes, may be a picture of perfection for someone else. Note to self: it's not all about me!
And here is a little dish that was fired with a cream glaze with glass on the bottom. The glass looks dark in regular light, but in the sunlight it glistens with a nice depth. Dark and light green glass pieces were used. The lighter colored glass, I'm finding, is the most attractive especially when it is not in the sunlight. I've been saving a few clear glass jars that I will take a hammer to. I'd like to see what clear glass will do over a glaze or colored slip. Lately, I'm feeling a bit unfocused since there are so many different techniques to try. If I put 10 pieces of pottery on a shelf, it looks like 10 different people made them. Not good if I want to create a cohesive look to my work, but since I never studied pottery/ceramic arts in a formal setting, this exploration may be necessary to achieve that. Maybe "Cohesive" work comes later.

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