Not just for metal anymore

My son needed a cup, for his desk, to hold pens and pencils. The light weight containers he was using kept tipping over. Since my pottery can have a nice stabilizing weight to it, I made him a pen/pencil cup...a guy's cup. I threw a basic cylinder and added pieces of clay resembling a high relief version of a diamond plate pattern. Making the diamond pattern come out even all around was mainly due to luck since I was not in a planning mood and in quite a hurry to have it dry in time to fire. I was glad it was completed in time for Christmas. It seems like I started so early and had plenty of time. Then, all of the sudden...time's up. The magazine industry prepares their Christmas issue during the summer. Maybe they've got the right idea.

Almost forgot

Here's the silly doodle.

I'm apt to use an app.

You saw all that bisqueware that needs glazing, from my other post, well I am going to doodle on them. I will photograph each pot with my ipod touch, then use Doodle Buddy, a free application from the Apple store, to draw on them. A fine line is difficult to draw or control on the ipod touch since it is so small (an ipad would be nice right about now) but it might help me narrow down color and design options since no two pots are alike. Like an Etch-A-Sketch (remember them), I can shake the touch to erase my drawing; the photo stays put. There is a "smudge" feature that gives the drawing as close to a glazed look as I'm ever going to get. Maybe I'll figure some things out while I'm having fun and being silly. Got to be silly!

My Lidded Minis

The tallest is 3 1/4 inches, the shortest is 2 1/2 inches; that's counting the lid. These are what I call my minis. I eventually learned how to throw them off the hump which allowed me to make them quicker, but at first I threw them right on the bat with a tiny piece of clay. It some ways, it is more difficult to throw something that small because you just can't get your fingers around it as easily. But it was a great exercise in getting lids to fit really well. I hate a lid that is too loose. When you put my minis on a table, they lack the impact of a large dramatic piece of pottery, but displayed well, maybe on a mini shelf or side table, they hold their own with much character, I think. And besides that, if I say so myself, they are just soooo cute!

Project: Glaze

In my quest to become proficient on the wheel, I have accumulated a variety of shapes and sizes of bisque fired pottery. The shapes of some of these pots seemed so attractive to me, in their matt, monotone simplicity that I couldn't imagine or fathom putting a glazing them. But my pots were incomplete; without closure, so to speak. And what about me? I had no closure either. In other words, I was stuck! Well, they have sat there long enough and as the expression goes: it is time to clear the deck or in this case - shelf. To some, it may not look like a lot of pots but there are smaller pots hiding inside of the larger ones! And you know how small I can make them. So one of my New Year's resolution is to, one by one, glaze them all. It's got to be easier than my other resolution which is to lose 10 lbs. Right? Time will tell.

Hubbie's Tankard

This was the 4th and final attempt at making a mug for my husband.  My problem, as usual, was starting with enough clay to make it tall enough and to compensate for firing shrinkage. So each cup I made, no matter how huge it looked on the wheel, turned out too small. I can't blame him; no one wants a piddly little cup of coffee unless of course it's an espresso. Anyway, the other problem was not making a suitable handle. Large knuckles calls for a large handle. Such complication for, what I thought, was a simple, quick project. That was my first mistake, I guess. Finally, I decided to make a huge cylinder to get the height and a tankard was born. I incorporated his initials using a stamp I made which he uses to sign his projects. The glaze gave it an old weathered look which is a good match to such a classic shape. And the hubbie likes it.

Re-do for big blue

I picked up my newly fired cookie jar from the center today but I will have to hold off on the cookies. For some reason the glaze on the lid came out smooth and the body of the jar did not. The blue speckles on the body gives it a nice depth and so do the pin holes and blisters. Pin holes and blister....not exactly the "depth" I had in mind!  I used Amaco's paintable Indigo Float glaze which is usually so reliable. This pot is not one of my minis; reaching almost 9 inches with its lid on. So I am really hoping a re-fire will help.

New day, another technique

There was a time, about a year ago, when I was sick and tired of having glazes ruin my pottery. If the glaze didn't crawl, it blistered. If it didn't blister, it was just plain ugly. So, I was looking for an alternative decorating technique. The bottle above is made of a buff colored clay, so on the greenware bottle, I brushed on some white slip. After that set-up,  I randomly (and maybe artistically--Your call) brushed on an oxide. Then I actually scraped off areas that were too dark for my taste and added more white slip. The firing brought out the buff clay color to contrast with the white slip and oxides. Has potential, I think.

On this one, I borrowed an American Indian technique. I brushed on two different colored slips on just some areas of the greenware vase and burnished it in with my favorite smooth pebble. The way the colors got blended with the burnishing reminds me of a a cow's horn. I thought it would lose the smooth finish in the firing, but it didn't. Also has possibilities I think. Let me know what you think. More ideas are also welcome.

Come on baby, let's do the twist!

 Glazed with Coyote's shino and accented with Amaco's Indigo float.

As you can tell by now, I am all over the place as far as discovering a style for my pots or even sticking to a color scheme. But how do you know unless you try things out. So as I was throwing this vase, it developed a twist at the neck. I probably overworked the clay but managed to stop short of it's collapse. The other two vases, I twisted deliberately. At least I have a set of similar pots. A little bit of  homage to George Ohr.  The mad potter of Biloxi who made crazy twisted pottery.    www.justartpottery.com/collectors_pottery/ohr_pottery_history.htm  That was fun, but my style search continues. I am hoping I'll know it when I see it.

Little Vases

When I started throwing on the wheel, I could only center a small amount of clay, hence, small pots. I had lots of fun with it though, because it was very easy to manipulate their shapes to get good proportions without totally losing control of the clay. They are great for planning decorations on larger pots also.  I am finding that it is not that easy to translate a little vase of 3 inches into a vase of over 8 inches. A subtle curve this way or bulge that way, makes all the difference of whether it is graceful or clunky. Always something to work on. Have a great weekend.

Chawan glazed

It took three glazes and some wax resist to get all this "action" on this bowl's surface. Not exactly what I was after (it hardly ever is) but it made my day. It's also the first time I'm using the new stamp I made: LK utah. I stamped it in a prominent place because this bowl is mine! Pottery bowls of all sizes are very useful around the house, I am finding, and I needed one that was for my personal use. The first one  I made was too small; forever my problem. This one, however, is 6 inches wide. I do drink green tea but I have never participated in a tea ceremony using a chawan so I have no use for it that way. Milk and cereal is another story. Why does milk and cereal taste so much better in my chawan cereal bowl? I don't know why but it did. Now to make a matching yunomi/cup.

Shino test vase

I like to make little vases in order to test glazes. If it comes out well, at least I have a little vase to put on a shelf or, in the summer, put my miniature roses in. It's a little over 3 inches tall. On this one, I drew a design made with a mix of black iron oxide and cobalt oxide under the glaze to see if it would show through.  The glaze is coyote's shino #042. The thicker the layer of this glaze the more cream color and less of the rust.

Pottery Horse Power

Yesterday afternoon my son received some disc-like car parts in the mail. He explained to me what he was replacing in his car and compared how heavy the old part was to the new aluminum part. I mentioned something about using the heavy parts, somehow, as a weight on a flywheel for a kick wheel. Taking that idea many steps further, he drew me a diagram of a potters wheel run by a car engine. He's watched too many episodes of Top Gear - the UK version-especially the episode about a car engine rigged to power a "man's" blender!) At the moment, I believe I will stick with my electric Brent wheel. What a wild idea though. Also, he's not a bad artist for an automotive technician.

Raku too.

I made only one raku piece early on and, for the most part, I like how it turned out but the pot is so heavy I call it my hurricane-proof pot. I have since learned to lighten the load by either pulling up more clay or trimming a foot,  or actually making a thinner bottom to start and then throwing and adding a footring separately. (That tip I got from a video clip of Douglas Fitch of A Devonshire Pottery, link's on the right) So my more recent pots are considerably lighter, but if I ever have to fend for my life, watch-out, that's the pot I'm throwing!

Coooool

It took 5 tries and a new secret word but it finally worked. Yeah! The camera on this iPod Touch is quite good, so posting directly will come in handy, especially when traveling. The trick is to find some wifi access like a public hotspot or library for uploading. FYI those footprints in the snow are of California quail.

Foot prints in the snow

I am testing to see if I can post this via my iPod touch

Inlay work

This is just a little pot with a little experimental inlay work. I like the results in the inlay area, but not sure about the bottom half. Let me know what you think. Feedback does help send me in the right direction. When I am too close to the work, I lose my perspective. It's similar to painting where, after awhile, you must turn your painting upside down to be able to really see it! I have set the "comments" so you don't have to be a blogger to post. I welcome your comments. I'm tough, I can take it!

Kilns

I consider myself very fortunate to have access to these kilns located at our senior center. What a wonderful resource for promoting the arts. Of course the volunteers that keep everything running at the center,  are amazing. Our pottery class wouldn't exist without John, our Friday workshop leader. He is the best....mixing glazes, cleaning the kiln shelves that inevitably get dripped on by our crazy projects and loading and firing and unloading both kilns once a week. It's nothing short of wonderful. Evan is our back-up kiln person and also teaches raku firing and how to make amazing ocarinas like the ones he makes. Such talent all around me. Maybe someday I will vounteer there, but I realistically don't have the time right now. I do sweep the floor in the crafts room and the clay closet when I get the chance. Never enough sweeping. Every little bit helps, I figure.

Meet my assistant

Nothing like a little extra "help" in the pursuit of pottery making. Meet Nips. She found my daughter and I about a year and a half ago. Nips was abandoned by a dumpster in a parking lot. She was so desperate to find someone to care for her that she ran in front of our car to get our attention. Since we are a bird household with two parrots, we weren't really interested in owning a cat but that evening we went looking for her and she came running to my daughter. I am such a sucker for a feathered or a furry face.

Anyway, she's now our house cat (not allowed outside at all) and gets quite bored. One afternoon, while I had my hands full of slip as I was making a pot on the wheel, the cat leaped onto my back and painfully (my pain, not hers) climbed onto my shoulder. She has the sharpest claws I have every had the displeasure to be punctured by. Somehow, in the panic of the situation, her long fury tail made contact with the wet pot as it was rotating. Hence, the wonky rim. You would think that the clay would dry and just flake off her tail fur. Not the case. It was like adobe building mud/clay which becomes quite durable and tenacious with the addition of fibers. Both my pot and kitty's tail got a make-over that day. Nips' tail fur grew back and this pot still needs a glazing.

Thick layer of glazes

This pot has three different glazes on it. I definitely need my imagination to guide me through the glazing process. I know two of the glazes work well together but I added a third. Won't know until after its firing on Tuesday.

I found the need to post a neighborhood view of our Wasatch Mountains (Utah's portion of the Rocky Mountains). A cold front blew away the haze/pollution and we are having the clearest day today. Last time this year, those mountains (tallest at about 11,000+ feet) were all white with snow. In fact they had record snowfall of 783". The mountains need more snow to supply us with water the rest of the year. Of course, the skiers are crying about conditions right now. Looks like Anchorage, Alaska is getting all the snow this year.

Some Assembly Required

I tend to underestimate the amount of clay I need to make a certain size pot, so I am weighing clay on my cheap IKEA scale and jotting down notes. That way, when I throw a certain shape I don't run short. I just hate when that happens! The jar is 5 1/2 inches tall; with lid 7 1/2 inches. Pot sizes: we're movin' on up! The shrinkage rate during firings still amazes me. The solution: more clay, more clay, more clay. Play-time comes when I have to make the knob. I know I spend way too much time carving out grooves; adding swirls and just messing with shape in general but I can't help it. For me, that's the best part.

Lidded Pots

Never enough lidded pots in my estimation. It is quite a challenge to come up with a new but functional shape. Fitting lids does not seem to be a problem with stoneware clay but porcelain seems to be another issue. Even though I throw them at the same time and the lids fit fine, the next day when all is leather hard, the bottom has shrunk more than the lid. I think water content may be the issue. Anyway, these pots are fired at cone 5/6 ox. with c.w. cream over c.w. plumb glazes (ceramics arts monthly). This glaze combination never disappoints but it does surprise...usually a good surprise.

Medium Cork Glaze

I like to call these my Tuscan storage jars. Having a set of anything makes for a nice display with more impact even though they are small. The largest is 5 1/2 inches tall; the smallest is 2 1/2 inches. The glaze is Standard Ceramics medium cork 5/6 oxidation but you can get different results depending on how evenly and thickly it is painted on (I didn't have enough to dip). The finish being satin and irregular on that traditional shape, gives them that old world appeal.

Chawan maybe?

This is dry enough to be bisque fired on Monday. And for once I have a plan for how I will glaze it. I make pieces with no final plan to bring the piece to completion. Not good. In fact, I get stuck. My new plan is to sketch, sketch, sketch with colored markers before I even touch the clay to help me past this. I'll see how this works. Always a work in progress...my pots and myself.

Snow Way!

I can't help but post some photos of the first snow fall of the new year. We were very scant in the snow department up to this point so we are glad to see it. Someone proposed that if everyone at the senior center had their cars washed, it was sure to snow. They must have done that, those silly seniors!

Bisqueware Beauties

I almost hated to glaze these lidded pots because I loved how their clean matte surfaces emphasized their profiles. No distractions.  But I did glaze them and I am pleased with that look also. Too many possibilities are not good for someone who has trouble making up their mind. I just need to make many more pots so I have more freedom to try out more decorating and glazing possibilities. Time to knead some clay!

The Pledge

The pledge is to post pottery pictures promptly! So here you go. I used Laguna's MS-26 Snow Flake glaze over a black glaze; fired to cone 5-6  oxidation. About 5"h x 4" wide. The finish is more satin than gloss when snowflake is put on thick, which I like. But if you make it too thick it might blister. The trick is to be able, to some degree, duplicate your own results even though the kiln is always full of surprises.

A Cave With A View

Natural light is so much nicer to work by so I am very pleased that my cave has a window.  It is west-facing so I get great afternoon to evening light. I have to stand on a step stool to see above the window well but a view none the less.

Eggactly what I am working on!

Since I am not a production pottery, I must figure my niche. One of a kind sculptures or piece work is what I arrived at initially. They are wheel thrown in one piece and then at pre-leather hard stage the nest part is manipulated and carved. The egg is hollow but could be a hiding place for something special. These are 3 and 4 inches tall. At some point I would like to make a huge one. Everyone needs a nestegg these days...stoneware or otherwise.

The story is....

I am on the cusp of senior citizen-ness but totally in denial (as it should be). I was looking for a hobby for myself and hubby to pass the time through the winter months. I discovered that the local, nearby Senior Center has 2 clay workshops and 2 kilns. A hobby which is usually cost prohibitive to someone who is not even sure they like to work with clay, became available to us. Yeah! And yes, I have my senior card! I must say I underestimated the senior population. This place is as lively as a high school but the vibe is better because participating is a choice not a requirement.

Photo first, story comes later.

Examples of my work made in the Mom Cave. I love making lidded pots even though fitting lids takes more time. "When in doubt, put a lid on it!", I say. That can have many applications, not only in the clay world, but I must not digress.