The Square Peg

Another Rescue Auction

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:36:00 +0000

Hey there Boxerpeople...

I'm doing another auction to benefit rescue.
I'd like to tell you about it and also encourage you to share wherever you can.

This time, its to raise money for a boy named Casey.
He was languishing in a high-kill California shelter because of a bum leg.
Our few rescues here are all stuffed to the gills right now, and there was a very real possibility of Casey being put down without ever having a chance.

Until Tracy Hon of Chico Boxer Rescue, Marta Nettlefield of Boxer Rescue Canada, and a whole lot of willing volunteers stepped up to save him.
http://boxerrescuecanada.blogspot.com/
Casey is now safe in a foster home and has a busted femur. Surgery will help save his leg and alleviate his pain, but of course its not one of those inexpensive surgeries.

So, this is where the auction comes in.
This time its not a raku boxer, its something much more personal.
I'm offering to create for the winner a personalized dog bowl.
I'm currently working in stoneware clay, and my work is currently influenced by the Mexican Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) holiday.

After the auction ends and the winning bidder has paid, I'll contact you by email to discuss your dish.
Just about anything goes - within this style. I've made various items (mugs, bowls, plates etc) depicting dogs, cats, people, alpacas...just about any critter from A to Z!

(I can also do a simple dish similar to the second one pictured here if you prefer)

Please have a look at the auction here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170683563536#ht_500wt_1006
and feel free to cross post here, o Facebook - wherever you can.
Thanks!

or...

Supporting Arts Education

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 15:35:00 +0000

Hey folks,
I received the following email from a student at our local high school and, with her permission, I'm posting it in hopes there are some other artists out there who might be willing to pitch in.
I think its a great senior project, and while its an absolute shame that the school has lost its arts funding, its wonderful that this kid understands how important they are.
Please contact Kaylee directly if you would like to donate.

"Hi I am Kaylee Sedler a Senior at Bret Harte High School, each senior is given a senior project that benefits the community. My senior project is an art show where we will be selling art as well as doing a silent auction. This art show will benefit the Art Department, for the art department no longer has funding.The art classes keep on getting bigger and bigger, and our art supplies are barely holding up. I am emailing you asking if you could or would like to donate artwork to sell to raise money for the art department. We would be deeply honored!! Please let me know if you would like to donate art, the art show is October 14th-16th. I am creating a form to email to artist who would love to donate artwork.

Email: sedlerkaylee@gmail.com

thank you and love

Kaylee Sedler : )"

Where I Am now

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 04:50:00 +0000

This post is for my mentor, David Beumee.

I went through many images of pots past in the last couple days, and it was pretty revealing.
I've decided to start about a year back and show you where I was then, where I am at this point, and what I have going into the kiln over the next 3 weeks or so.

A Year Ago...

A year ago, this was my best piece.
I was (and still am) enamored of tea bowls.
This one was accepted into the Kansas City Clay Guild Tea Bowl National in 2010.

I was pretty emotionally attached to it for a while, but now its kind of hard to look at.

I was struggling a lot with form, proportion and glaze application then.

I was also beginning to explore some embellishments based on Dia de los Muertos figures (more on that in a bit...).

I knew my work was not strong, and I was struggling in several area, but I wasn't exactly sure where I was going wrong, and didn't really have anyone to bounce ideas or questions off of.

So I started looking online at various potters who's work I liked, occasionally purchasing a piece, and asking questions where I could.

The Day of the Dead stuff continues to develop, and I'm very enthusiastic about it now, but I also like very simple pieces and the potters and works I gravitate towards are pretty simple I think -

Lasse Ostman

Michael Coffee

Jake Johnson

and Mark Hudak

come to mind.

Now...

So, we move forward to the present.
Over the last year, I've spent quite a bit of time on glaze fit and form.
I see improvement!

I started by eliminating the bisque firing.

I don't exactly know why single-firing works better for me, but I do seem to get better fit and more consistent results by glazing greenware rather than bisqued ware.

I also started spraying most of my pieces rather than dipping, though I do pour most interiors of cups.

I've also stopped trying endlessly to add "wow" glazes to my palette.
A look at other posts in this blog will show that I spent quite a bit of time trying to find spectacular glazes. I think I'm more inclined to have a smaller, more consistent palette now.

To that end, in the last few months, I've started doing more ox firings, have worked with some porcelain, and have spent some time refining form a bit:

I'll say that right now, this mug is the best piece I've produced.
Its porcelain, with Hayne's White inside and out, and Tenmoku over that.
Its balanced, feels wonderful in the hand, shows, I think, some individuality and "signature", and I use it every single day.

It very much feels "right" to me, and like something I want to be associated with me as an artist.

And its a style I'm exploring more, as with this yunomi, and some other cups I have in my Etsy shop.

So, feeling pretty good about that little mug, and getting lots of positive feedback and some commissions from the Day of the Dead exploration, about a month ago I decided I needed to set up an exercise for myself to hammer out the details of the figures and also compel me to make a lot of mugs in that same style.

So I decided to make Alphabet Mugs, with each mug having a skeletal animal representing a different letter of the alphabet. You can see them here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2107193605298.126557.1409288159. I just finished them this weekend.

These have generated a lot of interest for me, and its looking like I will be participating in an invitational mug show, similar to what AKAR does with their Yunomi Invitational, in the spring. Much of this commotion has happened since I submitted my mentee application. I'm enjoying doing them (I'm thinking about a "7 Deadly Sins" set next), and they are likely to pay for my propane and and materials, which is just wonderful (just ask my husband!), but they are the polar opposite of the simple, clean, quiet works I find myself drawn to aesthetically.

So that's essentially where I am now. Lots of improvement, 3-4 loads of greenware to glaze and fire, some commissions and pre-sold items in there, but a sense that I'm sort of wallowing a bit and am more hit-and-miss than following a definite vision.

And I'm not sure if any of this helps you at all David.

I do know I'm very excited and determined to make the most of your time and knowledge and expect I'll come out the other side a much more focused artist.

And you'll probably come out of it with at least a skeleton mug ;)

Cathi

More Skeletal Fun!

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 05:02:00 +0000

Crap photos, I know - my new camera arrives Tomorrow!

I'm getting lots of positive feedback on the Dia de los Muertos themed plates, and have had a lot of requests for the motif on more functional ware.
I was reluctant. First, I feel these pieces should tell a story, not just be plastered on whatever. Second, well, I'm not sure how I feel about such bulky ornamentation on functional ware.

But sometimes ya just gotta jump in right?
I really just started out warming up on the wheel after a couple weeks of hand building with some mugs. I'm still figuring out proportion and scale with handles, and I need to throw every day for the next month to be ready for a workshop I'm attending next month.

So, I decided to play with a couple of the mugs and see how it went.
An artist friend wanted bunnies, so I went there and posted the pics on FaceBook here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2069153654323.124481.1409288159
and have gone further with the idea here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2107193605298.126557.1409288159

Started on a Boxer themed one and had it sold as soon as I posted this pic!

I'm still unsure how they'll come out of the kiln, but I'm definitely warming to the possibilities.
Not sure I want to plaster these on everything, but on these big mugs, I think they may do.

Live, Laugh, Bark, Howl

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 22:36:00 +0000

First, you can see the process of this plate coming to life by visiting my Live, Laugh, Bark, Howl FaceBook album. Lots more photos there!

Not exactly a commission.

Earlier this year I put the "Mi Casa" plate up for sale, and a dear friend bought it.

Due to carelessness on my part, it broke during shipping! She sent it back to me and I was able to repair it very well.
We both decided that rather than risk sending it again, we would wait till we were visiting and hand -deliver it to her.

Meanwhile, I hung it in the bathroom, figuring it would be safe there.
Not so - it was bumped and fell off the wall, shattering into a billion pieces! So, I'm making a replacement piece for my friend.

She is a consummate dog lover and supporter of rescue.
She's had, to the best of my recollection, four wonderful rescue boxers, and there have been a couple of very special pointy-nosed hounds in her life too. She's also gaga over hockey, and just has a giving, positive, make-the-world-a-better-place spirit.

Taking all that into account, I'm working on this plate for her.

Its currently drying, and then will be treated with a glaze wash like the Cat Plates.

And I'm brimming with more ideas!

Los Gatos Muertos

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 22:22:00 +0000

My first commission!

First, to keep up with the progress of this project, visit the Dia de los Muertos photo album on FaceBook:

I was contacted by someone who say my "Mi Casa" plate on FaceBook and was taken with it.
She wanted something for her home, and was particularly interested in something depicting cats (she and her husband have 5).

After some thought and brainstorming, I came up with an idea for a triptych of plates in porcelain, showing her cats. I wanted something with a lot of energy and chaos.

I showed her the sketch, and she gave me the go-ahead to do the plates.

The plates are completed now, and drying slowly.
I'll be adding the feed today and then they'll finish drying.
Once they're dry, I'll wash on a satin black glaze and remove most of it, then wash on a thinned clear glaze.
The plates will be single-fired in oxidation, hopefully next week.

This has been such a fun project, and it gets me back to mt roots as a 2-dimensional artist and my days of drawing. And its garnered some attention out in the real world and generated some sales and potentially some more commissions.

While I'll post a pic on the blog of the finished plates, do check the photo album link to see the process as it goes along!

Keeping it Simple, Playing with Porcelain

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 22:01:00 +0000

The last few weeks, I've taken a break from both stoneware and reduction firing.
I needed to create a wedding gift for a favorite cousin, and to make it extra special, I decided to use porcelain instead of stoneware.
Porcelain is its own beast - it contains very little organic material, so it stays very white and smooth. I tell people it is to clay what portland cement is to concrete.

Too obscure?

Anyhow, I wanted something very elegant, and I knew something very white and clean would appeal, so porcelain and oxidation just seemed fit.
I think the cup above - Tenmoku over Haynes white - is probably the best piece I've ever made. I'm in love with this cup, its form and its subtle glaze, and use it every day.

I'll just share a few other pieces from this little oxidation journey with you as I then want to post about a couple of commission pieces I'm working on.
I'm really having fun exploring this glaze treatment and form, so stay tuned for more in the next few months!

The Wedding Gift

My cousin and her new hubby - both of whom completed their respective doctorates the week before the wedding - are moving from the west coast to Washington DC to begin their new life. I know they entertain, but I just didn't feel compelled to make a serving dish, and I was a little unsure of their aesthetic.

So, knowing space in their new digs will be limited, I opted for practical.
Kitchen utensil jar, spoon rest and sponge holder seemed like a good option.
Of course, I needed to practice a bit before whipping out the final product in $30-a-bag Coleman porcelain, so I made several, both in stoneware and in porce;ain, and I'm really happy with them. This white set went to the happy couple, and I also played with the set in matte white, oribe, satin black and tenmoku.
All-in-all, I'm happy with the forms and how they work individually and as a set.

I also wanted to explore the white glaze with a few other glazes and got some really interesting results.

Like this yunomi, with an Oribe glaze sprayed over the white.

The white BTW, has a rather chun-like quality, with crystals floating in it.

Its a bright white with patches of white crystals in places.

Though in the top of the kiln, it underfired slightly and remained a matte white. Still very nice I think...

And again, the white with Coleman teadust sprayed over it. This is a different tenmoku than the one in the cup at the top of this post, and frankly, I don't like it quite as much.

Then there were a couple of really unexpected results that I'm keen to play with some more!
First is that plain white glaze sprayed over a carbon trap shino. No reduction here, but the result is really pleasant!
Talk about character!

And while its tough to see the subtle shimmer and turquoise hue on this last one, the white sprayed over the satin black is really wonderful I think.

The pics are a little fuzzy because my good camera bit the dust that day and my new one hasn't been delivered yet.

And speaking of photos...
I've opened up a second Etsy shop to hawk some of my photography.
I'm definitely just someone who gets lucky with a camera on occasion. I have no real skill, and can only fumblingly adjust things like f-stops and apertures, but I have made a few sales, and 20% of each sale goes to a charity near and dear to my heart, the Boxer Rescue Foundation , so if you've a mind, please come have a look!

As always, comments, critiques and suggestions are appreciated!
Stay tuned!

Chun Red Results (and a little more...)

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Sun, 08 May 2011 20:23:00 +0000

This post is primarily about my "test" of Michael Coffee's Chun Red recipe.
You can find the recipe HERE.

A little set up first.
You can click on the firing log image to see it enlarged. The red line is the reduction.
Everything was single-fired to cone 11 in my 7 cf propane updraft kiln.
I used a couple of shelves at the top, about 2" below the flue opening to sort of contain the flame and hopefully encourage reduction. I finally had to back off the redux because I was not able to get to cone after 13 hours or so and needed to go to bed.

I had to make a change to the recipe and I am not sure if that effected the results.
I didn't have any Potash Feldspar, so after some research of the ClayArt archives, I substituted Neph Sye.
I'll be talking about the specific flaws on the pieces in hopes of some insight from you all.
Click on any pic to enlarge it.

The Hakeme Bowls
OK, so I have 8 bowls here. All are an iron rich clay body.
The inside of each was coated with a porcelain slip and then "Hakemed".

The outside of each bowl was dipped in a satin black glaze.
The Chun glaze was poured into each bowl and swirled around twice.
The glaze was mixed fairly thickly and heeding Michael's notes, I tried for a medium thick coating.

The overall effect of the glaze was pretty spectacular, if not exactly what I was expecting.
Michael's example is a lovely deep, even red that breaks on the rim of the cup.
You can see, I got an almost verigated effect between the red and the celedon. I wonder why...
I really like it, though I think its too much over the Hakeme texture.

However, it crawled like crazy.
On some pieces, its very obvious and just blech.===============>

<=========On others, I kinda
like it and think it works.

And then there are some where its just enough to turn an otherwise
lovely bowl into an ashtray =============================>

FWIW I should mention that I do rinse all my greenware before glazing it.
Its dust-free and bone dry when glazed.
Anyway, its these little bare spots at the bottom of the bowl, where the glaze is pretty thick that puzzle me the most.

Here are a few more pics of the Hakeme bowls before we move on to the other things:

The Big Bowl...
So, satin black glaze was poured into the bowl.
On the outside, the glazes were sprayed.
The top 1/3 was sprayed with a yellow glaze that tends to run like an ash glaze. It pinholed something crazy.
The lower 2/3 had the Chun Red sprayed on it. I sprayed a thin-medium coat and then resprayed the middle 1/3. Wanted to keep it fairly conservative because I know this glaze can run when thick.

I guess I could have gone thicker overall.
While I guess I don't call whet the glaze did on this piece actually crawling, it is really thin in places.
I don't know if that bothers me or not, or if I should even consider it a flaw (though I feel it is).
I think its just sort of too much going on on the surface.
This bowl was dead center in the kiln, with ware above and below it, and extra posts all around it to sort of create a bit of sagar effect I suppose.

Now the rest of the load...

Kitty Dish...
OK, this is kind of interesting and something I need to play with more.
This is the Chun Red over Malcom Davis Shino.
The shino was sprayed on fairly thinly (I like that peachy mottled look), and then the Chun was double-dipped on the rim. It breaks nicely on the edges and is a deep, oxbloody red without being too irony red looking.

Soap Dish...
This dish is butt ugly!
I was just really lazy in glazing this - its Michael Coffee's Nuka over Ohata Red. But, I went back and brushed the Chun on the swirly bit and it just crawled on off. Wonder why...

Lint Feeders...
These make great test tiles sometimes ;)
So this one has that satin black on it and before I put it n the kiln, I decided to dip the part around the opening in the Chun.
I applied it really thickly. I knew it would run, but that was OK - just wanted to see what would happen.
Since it hangs on the wall, it looks sorta cool. But again, that crawling!

Funny - all three of these lint feeders were on the lowest shelf. I would have expected much more reduction.
This one has Malcom Davis Shino on it. I like!

And a little Tenmoku.
Thought I might get some tea dusting as I did a bit of slow cooling at the end of the firing, but no.
That's OK...its still a nice piece, with some subtle hares fur going on. It will look great in the sunlight!

And lastly,
I've been watching ShyRabbit talk about firing pieces multiple times. Last load, I had some little cups, in a shino glaze, that were just blech. I decided not to kill them and just set them aside. So, I pulled one out, dipped it again in the shino and threw it in the kiln this firing. It is much improved and show's some interesting flashing. I don't know that I like the cup any better, but it sure was fun to see the results! And the inside is that nice peachy color.

So, there ya go.
Some will admonish me for not testing the glaze first, but, well, I did - just on bigger pieces. All I'm out is some propane (nothing to sneeze at BTW), but I'll sell the lint feeders and that will pay for the firing, so...

Now, I'm hoping you will all give me your invaluable thoughts and insight into what happened here. I am liking this glaze enough to want to keep playing with it, but could use a little direction.
And I want to thank Michael for being so generous with his recipes and knowledge and time!

CMCK

A Big Step Forward

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 03:01:00 +0000

I gotta say, I'm pretty excited.
Did a rather methodical ware firing Jan 24th and reached several milestones.
First, I completely cleaned and washed my kiln and shelves - ground the shelves down to bare shelf, vacuumed out the kiln, ground all the posts clean and level...

I worked with 2 main forms - yunomi and 3-sided bowls - and 5 glazes:

Crystal Matte

Neph Sy 50
Dolomite 20
EPK 20
Bone Ash 10
Copper OX 1.5
Rutile 5

Matte Black

Barnard Slip 80
EPK 10
Custer 10
Cobalt Ox 1

Oharata Red

Ball Clay 6
Custer Spar 48
Silica 22
Talc 6
Whiting 6
Bone Ash 12
Red Iron Ox 10
Bentonite 3

Tenmoku

Whiting 20
Custer 35
Ball Clay 15
Silica 30
Red Iron Oxide 10

Nuka

From Michael Coffee
Custer Feldspar 36
Silica 30
Whiting 22
OM-4 6
Wood Ash (unwashed) 3
Talc 2
Bone Ash 2

Everything was single-fired, and the kiln was held at 500f and 1800f each, for one hour. Reduction was started after the 1800f soak and carried out to cone 10/11. The kiln was then slowly cooled of about an hour to 2000f and then shut off.

I used an iron rich stoneware clay from Quyle Kilns.

I had some issues with glazes running and sticking to the shelves, but I think that's surmountable.

This is the first load I've fired that had NO breakage, no S-cracking, no warping, and no real glaze flaws (ie: pinholing, crazing, shivering...).

This is also the first firing that I am excited about - I mean really excited about!

I see lots of potential in my glazes - so much so I can't wait to get back to throwing so I have something to put said glazes on!

I did have some unexpected results, but I think I understand why.

One other thing...I'm playing with photographing my ware for Etsy and these are shot on my mantelpiece. I'm not trying to present them as something particularly grand or special, just wanted to experiment a bit.

Lets get to it shall we?

Tricerabowls

Like everything in this load, these are lined with the Barnard slip-based Black Matte.

The outside was first brushed with a thinish coat of Oaharata Red, and then sprayed with the Crystal Matte.

I tried to be sparing with the second glaze near the bottom - spraying it lightly twice, while spraying the rim area 3 times and fairly heavily.

Regardless, I got lots of running and shelf-sticking-to. The bowls were all placed in the middle and upper part of the kiln. I've never had the Oharata run, and I did have a bit of running with just the Crystal matte on testing, so I need to see about stiffening it up (I thought the Oharata might do that. In the glaze tests, there really wasn't much difference between the tiles with or without the Oharata. Also, in the glaze testing, the crystals were turquoise, which I assume is because they were not reduced as much? Anyhow, I'm really excited about this glaze!

Bowl

Lined with the Black Matte, this 3-cup bowl was brushed with a thin layer of Tenmoku and then a single, fairly thick layer of Nuka was poured over it.

I'm really pleased with this!

I'm not getting the lovely all-over blue loveliness that Michael Coffee showed, and I'm hoping one day I can get that, but hey - there's nothing wrong with this result!

Yunomi
Is the plural of yunomi yunomi or yunomis???
Sooooo...
Lets start with the Nuka ones.

Nuka over Tenmoku

Again, lined with the Black Matte.
I sort of was anticipating some dripping on these, so there's an area on the lower portion of each cup that just has the Black Matte on it.

Well, its drippy and fun and has lots of interest.
I personally am not a fan of drippiness in glazes, but this one's getting lots of ooohs and aaahs amongst my pals.

Both the Tenmoku and Nuka were brushed on.

Nuka over Red Iron Oxide

This is more interesting and eye-pleasing in real life.
I just wanted to see what would happen.
Its a little pinholey - probably because it was brushed on a little too sparingly.
Its not pleasing to the touch.

Nuka over Oharata

Yeah - I think this is my favorite.
Love the mossy green with the turquoise rivulettes (hope I spelled that right - my spell checker doesn't know).

Hardly any dripping.

Crystal Matte over Oharata Red

Wacky huh?
This is the exact same glaze combo and application technique as the bowls at the top of the page.

The only difference is that all of these were on the lowest kiln shelf, and the shelf above them was pretty big and may have created something of a saggar atmosphere on this shelf.

That's the only thing I can think of.

There were about 8 of these on that bottom shelf - all pretty well packed in.
Maybe 3/4 of an inch of space in between each of them.

Or perhaps because they were all crammed together there on the bottom (where my burners come up through the floor of the kiln), they didn't get the advantages of a nice slow cool and so didn't form crystals?

But why so shiny when the bowls were such a lovely matte?

Its a puzzle to me.
I don't hate them, but I sure don't love them either.
I do think they are trying to teach me something though...

Soap Dish

I'm SO inspired by Keith Phillips!

This little soap dish surely echoes his work, but hopefully I've made it my own.

This is the Crystal matte sprayed over a sloppily applied Oharata Red.

It was on the topmost shelf of the kiln, with a small shelf between it and the flue opening.

So there ya go!
I'm back at the wheel tomorrow. I think I may be finding my voice!
Thanks for stopping by...you know your comments are always appreciated.

CMCK

18 Glazes!

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:09:00 +0000

Wow!
I'm spending January working on developing a glaze palette that is consistent and feels like my voice.
I almost feel like when I have it nailed down, I may shift my form a bit to follow it.
Bass-ackwards I'm sure.

I have about 4 good, consistent glazes now - a crystaline gold, a lovely Tenmoku, an iron red and both a glossy and matte white.
I just want a little somethin' somethin' in there too.
Anyway, this test was 18 different glazes, at cone 10 reduction.
Everything was single-fired, and the kiln was held at 500f and 1800f each, for one hour. Reduction was started after the 1800f soak and carried out to cone 10/11. The kiln was then slowly cooled of about an hour to 2000f and then shut off.
Each glaze was applied to 4 tiles (in the order they'll appear in the photos):

over both Red Iron Oxide and Rutile washes
1/2/3 dip on white stoneware
1/2/3 dip on iron rich stoneware
over iron red (Ohata) glaze.

Unless otherwise indicated, all glazes started with the following base

(from "the Potter's Palette" by Constant and Ogden):

Potash Feldspar 50
Dolomite 20
EPK 20
Bone Ash 10

Click on any image to see it full size.
As always, comments and input are greatly appreciated!

Glaze #1a

Base Glaze plus 1.5% copper oxide.

Glaze #1b

Base Glaze plus copper oxide 1.5% and rutile 5%

Glaze #1c

Base Glaze plus copper oxide 1.5% and tin oxide 5%

Glaze #2a

Base Glaze plus cobalt oxide 1%

Glaze #2b

Base Glaze plus cobalt oxide 1% and vanadium pentoxide 3%

Glaze #2c

Base Glaze plus cobalt oxide 1% and tin oxide 5%

Glaze #3a

Base Glaze plus rutile 15%

glaze #3b

Base Glaze plus rutile 15% and chrome oxide .25%

Glaze #3c

Base Glaze plus rutile 15% and tin oxide 5%

Glaze #4a

Base Glaze plus vanadium pentoxide 6%

Glaze #4b

Base Glaze plus vanadium pentoxide 6% and red iron oxide 3%

Glaze #4c

Base Glaze plus vanadium pentoxide 6% and rutile 5%

Fire Yellow Redux

From ClayUtah forums.

Custer Feldspar 50

EPK 50

Dolomite 25

Whiting 10

Tin Oxide 5.5

Bone Ash 8

Red Iron Oxide 1

Rutile 2

Blindingly Bright Green

(from ClayUtah forums)

Oh dear - this is just so wrong. Looked so good in the pic too! But I see I left out one ingredient, so I'll try it again...

Ball Clay 10

Whiting (accidentally omitted) 20

Silica 20

Custer Feldspar 40

Copper Carbonate .5

Chrome Oxide 2

Choy Celedon

(from John Britt's "The Complete Guide to High Fire Glaze")

Custer Feldspar 50

Silica 28

Whiting 6

EPK 4

Barium Carbonate 12

Red Iron Oxide 2

Barnard Slip

Barnard Slip 80

EPK 10

Rutile 10

Shaner Oribe

(From John Britt's "The Complete Guide to High Fire Glaze" )

Custer Feldspar 31

Whiting 22.1

Silica 25.3

EPK 12.6

Talc 7.9

Bone Ash 1.1

Copper Carbonate 5.2

John's Red

(from John Britt's "The Complete Guide to High Fire Glaze")

Not sure what happened here, except it called for frit 3134 and I only had 3124.

Custer Feldspar 48.2

Whiting 13.6

Silica 15.5

EPK 5.5

Frit 3134

(subbed 3124) 9.1

Talc 3.6

Zinc oxide 4.5

Tin oxide 1.2

Copper Carbonate .8

Bentonite 1

Well, there ya go. Some complete failures, but some really exciting possibilities too!

Next week, I'll be testing the same glazes, and maybe a few more, in an oxidation firing.

Stay tuned...

CMCK

Nov 19 Firing and Glaze Tests

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 21:40:00 +0000

Well!
I finally had some good results!

Lets get to it shall we?
This was a cone 10/11 reduction firing (maybe not reduced enough).
All ware was single fired white stoneware from Quyle Kilns. Glazes were primarily sprayed.
Kiln was held at 500 F for 1 hour and again at 1800 f for 1 hour. Reduction started at 1800 f, after the soak.
At 2200 f I added some wood for extra reduction, and then held the kiln in reduction at the top for about an hour. Cooled to 2000 f over about 1 hour and then shut off.

First the glaze tests, then the ware.
I decided to give examples of how I was taught to convert formulas to small batches.
Maybe some of my struggles lie there? I am NOT a math person...

Click on any image for a larger view, and, as always, comments and input are appreciated!

Tenmoku

From the Nov Ceramics Monthly.
Not sure what happened.
Not enough redux? Not enough Iron Oxide?
Maybe I put 10 grams of RIO instead of 100?

Whiting.....................20 (200 grams)
Custer.......................35 (350 grams)
Ball Clay...................15 (150 grams)
Silica.........................30 (300 grams)
Red Iron Oxide.........10 (100 grams)

From left to right:

1/2/3 dip || Rutile wash, over/under || Iron Ox wash over/under || Over Malcom's Shino || Over Shaner Yellow || Over Bone Ash White

Vanadium Green

From the book "The Practical Potter" by Josie Warshaw.

I didn't get the results I expected, but I'm really excited about a couple of these!

I may play with the colorant numbers a bit.

Neph Sy......................................................31 (310 grams)

Whiting........................................................31 (310 grams)

Fire Clay (subbed with Hathorne Bond).......14 (140 grams)

China Clay...................................................12 (120 grams)

Copper Ox....................................................2 (20 grams)

Vanadium Pentoxide......................................8 (80 grams)

Left to Right:

1/2/3 dip || Rutile under/over || RIO under/over || over Malcom's Shino || over Shaner yellow || over Bone Ash White

Willie Helix

Again, not at all what I expected.

Some potential, but not what I'm looking for (what I'm looking for is something like the examples in John Brit's book).

Neph Sy ...............................42.9 (429 grams)

Whiting..................................20.4 (204 grams)

Silica.....................................24.5 (245 grams)

Kaolin...................................12.2 (122 grams)

Copper Carb...........................5 (50 grams)

Bentonite.................................2 (20 grams)

Left to Right:

1/2/3 dip || under/over Rutile || over/under RIO || over Malcom's Shino

Left to Right:

over Shaner Yellow || over Bone Ash White || over Matte Black || over Vanadium Green

Some Pots...

European Butter Dish

Gary's Gold with Bone Ash White liner.

I got a request for a square, 2-stick style butter dish.

this was what I came up with, though its a little too small so I will have to make them about 10% larger next time. Also want to add some texture to the surface.

This would also make a great cheese plate I think.

I like this glaze combination too...

Little Yunomi

Again working with Gary's Gold and Bone Ash White.
Playing with the rim a little.
I'm just happy with this little guy.
More exploring to do...

Some Bowls

Again, playing with altered rims.

This is simply Gary's Gold inside and out. Its a little too much of that glaze for me personally, though it is one of my tried-and-trues.

This bowl's bigger than it looks...maybe 4.5 cups volume.

Then there's this smaller tri-lobed bowl. My friend calls them Wave Bowls - nice.

This one has a Bone Ash White liner.

Its about cereal bowl sized...2.5 cups?

I'm really liking the over spray of the gold onto the white inside this.

Need to play with overlapping glazes in the spray booth!

I have a request for a set of these.

I'd like to do something nicer with the glaze.

Maybe I'm just bored with the gold...

Mugs!

Yep!
Wanted to make some mugs for some of my favorite guys.
These are Bone Ash White. The inside is just that.
The outside is over a Rutile wash.
These were really fun to make and I'll definitely be making more and playing with glaze combinations on them.

These 3 are personalized with the guys' initials on the handles.
They're nice and big, and I like a generous handle that you can get a really good grip on.

I need to make a larger, tankard-style one for beer,
After all, one can only drink so much coffee right?

Well, that's about it.
I had a couple of kitty saucers in the kiln too, but there's not at all exciting, so I didn't include them here.
That's pretty much a full kiln load for me.
I dream of a larger kiln, but for now, this will do.

CMCK

Electric to Propane/Wood Kiln Idea

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 20:12:00 +0000

I'd appreciate any input from the experts on my idea here.
I recently picked up an old Skut 3-ring electric (non working and I'm not into electric firing).
Its the same size and configuration as my current high fire converted kiln, but in better condition, so I'm going to switch them out.

That leaves me with an extra kiln to play with and this is what I'm thinking.
I toyed with the idea of soda, but have decided instead to play with woodfiring.
I LOVE the results, and thought this might be manageable.
Don't know any more about woodfiring than I do about soda (nothing), but I figure a kiln is the logical place to start.

Oct 24 Firing

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 20:27:00 +0000

Well...
No test tiles in this firing.
I stuck to 4 glazes - the matte black from From the March/April 2010 issue of PMI , Melinda's Not Yellow , Shaner Yellow , and Lasse Ostman's Green Crackle.
I used 2 clay bodies, both from Quyle Kilns. The iron rich Sandstone Buff and the Silverstone white body.
Single-fired all, and I can see I need to work on my glaze (spraying) application. A bit thin I think.

This was a straight oxidation firing to cone 10/11, though I did try to get some reduction on the bottom shelf by using shelf posts to create a sort of saggar around the pieces on that shelf. Not terribly successful though.

Click on any image to see it enlarged.
Please to enjoy and comment as you see fit.

Beer Mug.

A beer mug for Craig.
I don't like the lip on the mug - not sure why I made it so flared.
The liner glaze is a nice bone ash white, the outer one is supposed to be a flat black. Not sure why its so shiny.
The biggest issues are the lip of the mug and that I didn't get the glaze thick enough - especially on the handle.

I'll try again...

Child's Cup and Bowl
A cup and bowl I made for my new, 2yo granddaughter Alivia.

I am not really kid-friendly, but I really wanted to do something for my new granddaughter and new daughter-in-law.

I initially thought about a 2-handled cup, but got some really great ideas from everyone on ClayArt and was inspired.

I hope she likes them...

Shaner Yellow inside and out, with irin oxide wash.

Iron rich "Sandstone Buff" clay body by Quyle Kilns.

BTW...

I did some experimenting with resists and found the best one for things like impressed letters is Shellac!

Jar

A Jar for Susan's birthday.

Liner is Bone Ash White, outer glaze is Shaner Yellow over a rutile wash.

On Quyle's "Silverstone" white clay body.

Jar

Another jar...

I go back-and-forth on this one.

I like the form. I need to work on that knob a little though.

Do I like what the glaze is doing or not?

I expected it to do something else. Not be so runny. Not pool so much.

But then I look again and those pools and breaks and layers of glaze keep

my eye coming back for more, so...

Lasse Ostman's Green Crackle with Shaner Yellow liner. On Quyle's "Silverstone".

Jar

Another jar with Lasse Ostman's Green Crackle.

On the top shelf of the kiln, and a totally different result.

Same clay body.

The glaze coverage of both the Shaner Yellow liner and the outer glaze are not good, so I may re-glaze this one.

I do like the form.

Someday Jars

My son and his new family are going to have a tough time in this economy.

I wanted to make something to both welcome his wife into our family and to help them save a little.

This is a stopperless bank.
A thrown and altered bowl with additions.

Melinda's Not Yellow glaze over an iron ox wash, on iron-rich "Sandstone Buff".
I tried to create a sort of saggar to encourage some reduction by enclosing these pieces with shelf posts. Not sure how successful it was, but I'm pleased with them.

Some Uglies

Well, ye never know unless ya try right?

I'm just beginning to play with mugs and handles and whatnot.

I still feel glazing is my big weakness.

Some days I just want to toss it in, buy pre-mixed cone 6 glazes and an electric kiln and be done with it.

But I think there's something out there in High Fire Land calling to me.

And when I see what can be done, I want to go to there.

Lastly, the Raku Boxers

I am very involved with dogs - specifically the Boxer breed. More specifically, Boxer Rescue. I did hands-on rescue for 15+ years. Part of that time was spend in Missouri working largely with puppy mill throw-aways.

I can't rescue anymore, but I do try to keep my hand in, and one of the things I do is fundraising.

My friend in Nottingham, England owns a bisque pottery.

One day she surprised me with a charming little slipcast boxer figurine.

That got the ball rolling...

Now, she sends me a box of bisqued boxers from time-to-time and I raku them. Its terribly fun, and helps rescue. If there's a particular rescue needing funds, I can put one of these critters up on eBay and usually raise a hundred dollars or so for the rescue.

Beyond that, I donate $10 to a specific national rescue fund every time I sell one.

Makes me feel like I'm still helping out ;-)

Latest Firing Results

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 23:09:00 +0000

Ok then...
My second load of ware that was glazed with the spraying technique, and I can see I need to learn to better judge my glaze thickness.
I also need to develop some reliable method for a slow cooling of the kiln to encourage crystals in my Tea Dust.

Click to Enlarge

This was a cone 11 reduction firing, though for some reason I didn't get as much reduction as I typically do.
Everything was raw glazed and single-fired.
Kiln was soaked at about 1800 degrees, and then light reduction was started.
Occasionally I added a couple of sticks of wood with an idea of increasing redux and adding some fly ash, but it smoked so much that I realized I had better wait till I could contact the local fire dept first to let them know I was not torching the Mother Lode to the ground.

Everything but a few test tiles was Quyle Kilns Sandstone Buff - an irn rich clay that is typically nice and dark in redux.

Click to Enlarge

Malcolm's Shino

Neph Sy.................40.9
Kona........................9.8
Kaolin.....................18.2
Ball Clay.................13.8
Redart.......................6
Soda Ash................17.3

From John Britt's "Complete Guide to High Fire Glazes"
Dipped 2/3 on damp clay. Tested on 2 dark and 2 light tiles, with the last tile having both Red IO and Rutile washed over and under the glaze. On one each of the light and dark tiles, I sprinkled a little coarse salt, thinking it might create some variation in surface moisture/soda ash migration (if I understand the theory behind carbon trap shinos...)
I guess I expected something more spectacular.
Anyone have any thoughts?

Click to Enlarge

Penn State Shino

Neph Sy .......................14.6
Kona..............................34
Spodumene.....................29
Kolin................................9.7
Ball Clay...........................4.9
Soda Ash.........................7.8

From John Britt's "Complete Guide to High Fire Glazes"

Dipped 2/3 on damp clay. Tested on 2 dark and 2 light tiles, with the last tile having both Red IO and Rutile washed over and under the glaze. On one each of the light and dark tiles, I sprinkled a little coarse salt, thinking it might create some variation in surface moisture/soda ash migration (if I understand the theory behind carbon trap shinos...)

Again, I guess I expected something more spectacular.

Click to Enlarge

Matte Black

Don't laugh...I forgot to add the colorants!

Cornwall Stone.....................42

Dolomite...............................15

Whiting.................................10

EPK.....................................23

Silica....................................10

(forgot) Yellow Ochre........6

(forgot) Cobalt Carb..........2

(forgot) Chrome Ox...........1

From the March/April 2010 issue of PMI .

Dipped 2/3. Tested on 2 dark and 2 light tiles, with the last tile having both Red IO and Rutile washed over and under the glaze.

Now, Ms Bohls explains that she fires cone 10 electric, but I couldn't see any reason this glaze wouldn't work in my kiln. I did put the pieces on the top shelf, which typically gets very little reduction (its right under the flue.). Wonder why its not at least matte...

Click to Enlarge

Malcolm's Shino under...

Left to right:

Click to Enlarge

Shaner Yellow

Matte Black
Melinda's Not Yellow

Another tile with the Shaner Yellow over the Malcolm's Shino.
I am really liking this!
Definitely want to use this combo!

Click to Enlarge

A Couple "Matte Black" Items

Click to Enlarge

OK, I was expecting this butter dish to be Matte Black.

I still like it! It has a Rutile wash under it and has some nice interest.

Not as dramatic as I had hoped, but in looking at it, I wonder if it really would have been as successful if it was black.

On the other hand, I think this spice shaker would definitely have been more successful and dramatic in the black.

I think I will re-glaze this piece...its just not doing anything for me as is.

Click to Enlarge

A Few "Melinda's Not Yellow" Items

Well, I just love this glaze, and am so grateful to my Stay-at-Home mug exchange partner Melinda Collins for sharing it with me!

Click to Enlarge

A couple of spice shakers. The one of the left has an RIO wash under the glaze.

Wren House - I'm just starting to develop this. Put my own stamp on it.

2 things...

I found I have a weak spot on the neck when I alter the lip, but sticking a wad of clay there and stamping in my chock seems to solve that issue.

That blue streak is a piece of copper tape I got at the hardware store. Thought it would be fun to play with. Might do better over the glaze rather than under it.

Click to Enlarge

A Few "Coleman Tea Dust" Items

I did not spray this glaze thickly enough, and I'm having some issues cooling my kiln down slowly enough, but overall, its a nice glaze on just about anything.

Salt and Pepper shakers - what's to say?

Click to Enlarge

Another Wren House.

I think they should be a little larger, and I had some issues with correcting for torque. The houses were pretty wet when I cut the keyhole in the back for hanging. As they dried, the keyhole moved so now they will hang kinda wonky.

Click to Enlarge

Butter Dish...

The glaze was fine on this one, but its pretty warped. Not funky/good warped, but poorly executed warped.

I had a sushi tray in this load that looks like a record left in the sun too!

I need to make the slabs for these butter dishes thicker, and handle them less. Rutile wash under this BTW.

This was kinda interesting.

Click to Enlarge

That's a piece of that copper tape, cut into a pattern and applied to the tile before glazing. This pic is a bit over-corrected, and I don't think the results were all that attractive - a dark indigo matte area), but it was interesting to see what happened.

That's pretty much it.

As usual, I welcome input, critique, suggestion and comment. I always learn so much from you all.

Thanks for having a look!

CMCK

July 10 Firing

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:15:00 +0000

With a bit more care, some great advice and a change in glazing method, I'm pretty happy with yesterday's glaze firing.

I think its helping me to fill in the dead spaces around my ware with kiln posts to create and hold more heat and I think it maybe creates little micro-atmospheres in the kiln in reduction.
So that's what I've taken to doing.

Ron Roy gave me some valuable insight into crawling, and I took it to heart, doing a more thorough soaking at about 1800f to burn out impurities in the clay - especially important since I'm single-firing.

Lastly, I cleaned up an old sprayer and had a go at spraying glazes.
Besides the obvious benefits of even coverage and blending, I can see right away that its a great way to glaze greenware. Much less stress to the delicate pots!
So I bought a gravity feed sprayer from Harbor Freight and will be constructing a spray booth from a RubberMaid garbage can today.
With these minor breakthroughs, maybe I'll even learn to love glazing...

Note:
Cone 10 redux - single fire.
Soaked @ 500f for 1 hour, again at 1800f for an hour (per Ron Roy's suggestion) and held at the top, in heavy reduction for 45 minutes.

Moon Plate

So...
this plate is about 12" on a side.
Slabbed plate with thrown foot.
Its a white body, into which I squished bits of scrap from a dark body (probably trimming leavings from a bowl or something) which explains the halos on the plate's surface - the glaze (Lasse Ostman's Green Crackle) looks very different on a dark body than on a light one, and different again in reduction.

The glaze was sprayed on!
That's something I'm experimenting with and so far I LOVE the results!

Chachke Holders

Little Chachke Holders.
Just playing around - these would make good little test tiles. They're about 2: on a side.
Stronthium Blue glaze, dipped.

Noodle Bowl

I made this for an Empty Bowls event happening in my community.

Glaze (Melinda's "Not Yellow") is sprayed on, though not thickly enough, so I need to re-glaze I think.

Dark body with white slip inside. Same glaze over the entire piece. The textured band has an iron oxide wash.

I like it, but it needs better glaze coverage. Something to learn about spraying...

Butter Tray

My little butter tray.
Well, this was sure fun to make!
I really like how it turned out, with one minor flaw...its not supposed to sag like this LOL!

This is a white body.
Iron oxide washed on and removed and then sprayed with Lasse Ostman's Green Crackle.
Fired on the top shelf, so less reduction that the other pieces.

Hors Devours Plates

Each is about 4: on a side.
I know they were utterly flat when I put them in the kiln, but each has warped slightly.
Anyone have any thoughts on that?
The glaze is Melinda's "Not Yellow" and though I'm getting different results than she, I just love this glaze!
Here its brushed onto the dark body fairly thickly.

So, you all know the drill... feedback's happily accepted - constructive critique is even better!

Thanks for looking...

CMCK

16 Glazes, 80 Test Tiles!

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 23:06:00 +0000

Glazing is truly my weak point at this time.
I have a terrible time getting predictable results of late.
So I bit the bullet and did a whole lot of testing, with a mixed bag of results.
Please to enjoy...

Notes:
This was a cone 10/11 reduction firing.

My kiln is a small (3.5 cubic feet) electric, converted to a propane updraft. I did some experimenting with the load as well as the glazes...

On the bottom shelf, I posted around the edge of the round shelf, using 8 posts.
On the middle shelf, I places posts on their sides, 2 rows tall, creating a sort of saggar around the tiles, with just enough opening in the "enclosure" for the cone pack
The topmost shelf was covered with a shelf posted with just 4 posts, and then a baffle shelf was placed on that about 3" under the flue opening.

This was a single-fire load, on bone dry greenware - I used 2 clay bodies - a high iron, groggy clay (Sandstone Buff from Quyle Kilns) and a white/gray body (SilverStone, also from Quyle).

For each glaze, 5 tiles were used - 2 of the dark body and 2 of the light body were dipped either 1/2 or 2/3, with 1 tile of each body being placed on the middle and top shelves.
A 5th tile of the combined bodies was glazed, with washes of red iron oxide and rutile brushed on both under and over the glaze. All the washed tiles were placed on the lowermost shelf.

The "saggared" shelf (the middle shelf) had much more reduction, which is noticeable in the bare clay at the bottom of each tile.
The tiles are numbered:
1= dark body on middle shelf. 2= light body on middle shelf. 3= dark body on top shelf. 4= light body on top shelf. 5 mixed body with RIO and Rutile washed over and under, on bottom shelf.
Click on images to enlarge.
whew!

Shaner Yellow

Custer...............29
Whiting.............20
Talc.....................4
Bone Ash............4
Zircopax............23
Red iron oxide.....4

Notes:

These were all dipped 1/2.

Has significant crawling on the dark body, but none on the light body.

Wonder why...

Melinda's Not Yellow

Neph Sye..........58.1
Dolomite...........19.3
Ball Clay.............3.9
Bentonite.............7.3
Zircopax............11.4
Tin Oxide..........2.1
Red iron oxide...0.5

Notes:

These were all dipped 1/2.

Melinda gets lovely blues and creams, breaking to rust.

She says this glaze is best with an RIO wash underneath, and better on bisqued clay.

I didn't have any Tin Oxide, so I subbed more Zircopax.

Candace Black

F-4 Feldspar..........65
Whiting.....................5
Silica......................20
Kaolin......................5
Red iron oxide..........8
Colbalt carbonate.....5

Notes:

Just fail.

From "Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes", by John Britt. All dipped 1/2.

First (and perhaps most importantly), I didn't have F-4 feldspar, so I used Custer.

Still searching for a nice black...

Snow White

Hawthorne Bond.....30
Custer.....................10
Silica.......................30
Oak woodash.........25
Zircopax...................6

Notes:

All were dipped 1/2.

Formulated playing around on GlazeSimulator.com .

Just not very pretty.

The glaze called for Tin oxide, so I added Zircopax at twice the amount. Again, crawling on the dark body, but not on the light. The dark body has much more tooth.

Orange Peel

KMS Kaolin.....20
Custer.....31
Talc.....34
Silica.....15
Copper carbonate.....0.05
Copper oxide.....0.05

Notes:

Dipped 1/2. Again, playing with GlazeSimulator.com . This one has potential I think. Its satiny and touchable. I like what its doing over the Rutile wash. I think I might either sub Rutile for the coppers or just add it in. Might also try an addition/substitution of Chromium oxide.

Coleman Tea Dust

Custer.................40
Silica...................25
Whiting................16
Talc.......................7
Red iron oxide.....10

Notes:

Dipped 1/2, should have defloculated a bit and dipped 2/3 I think.

First, I didn't do a slow cool-down in this firing, so I didn't get any crystallization, but I knew that would be the case.

I really like how it reacts both over and under the Rutile.

Its a keeper...

No-Barium Blue

Strontium................31.9
Neph sye................53.1
Ball clay....................6.7
Silica.........................8.3
Copper carbonate.....4.0
Bentonite...................1
Zircopax..................10

Notes

1/2 dipped. From the article "Leaving Bariumville" on CeramicsArtsDaily.org .

The original recipe looked lovely on porcelain, but not so good on my clays. I didn't like the translucent quality, so I added the Zircopax for opacity. I like it much better now, and actually prefer it on the dark body.

Don't think it works with any of the washes.

Bone Ash white

NC-4 Feldspar.....40
Kaolin.....25
Dolomite.....30
Bone Ash.....5
Bentonite.....3

Notes:

From the book "Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes" by John Britt.

#1 & #2 - single dipped. #3 & #4 twice dipped. #5 single dipped.

I didn't have NC-4 Feldspar, so used Custer. I really like this on tile #4, though it crazed a fair amount.

Haynes White

Neph Sye.....45
Silica.....30
Whiting.....8
Dolomite.....10
Talc.....7
Bentonite.....1

Notes:

Dipped once, glaze was a cream consistency. From the book "Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes" by John Britt.

Well...Its essentially a clear glaze.

It has something of a chun quality to it, and as you can see, is very different in heavier reduction.

Anxious to see it in an Oxidation firing.

I really like the life it has both over and under RIO,

Ostman's green Crackle

Neph sye...............55
Dolomite................23
China clay..............21
Silica........................1.25
Copper carbonate....0.75

Notes:

Dipped 2/3. From Lasse Ostman's glaze page.

When Mr Ostman uses this glaze, thinly, on a white body, in oxidation, he gets a lovely matte green crackle,

I wish you could feel this glaze and see it in person. Its so alive...I love ll its incarnations.

You can't tell here, but that red on tile #5 is crystal formation - perhaps encouraged by the RIO wash...

Gary's Gold

Dolomite.............21.02
Whiting...............10.51
Custer.................36.84
Silica...................31.63
Bentonite...............5.3
Ritile....................10.51
Red iron oxide.....10

Notes:

Dipped 1/2. From Gary Kelsey, Trenton, Mo.

One of my favorite, most consistent glazes. I just love it. More crystals on an iron rich body, but nice either way. Not really effected by either of the washes, but a dip of Celedon over it produces great effects.

Ohata Red

Notes:

Dipped 1/2 - best with 1 thin dip.

Shoot! Can't find my recipe right now.

I don't really like this glaze on its own, but under ash glazes it does crazy-wonderful oil-spotty type things.

tile #5 is showing over and under Rutile.

3/3/3 chrome Ash

Redart.....33.3
Silica...33.3
Wood ash...33.3
Chromium oxide...4
Bentonite....1

Notes:

1/2 dip. I was just playing around...so while I'm sure others have made this same glaze, its just out of my head.

I've mixed it up with Rutile, Copper oxide and with no oxides. I like it because it doesn't run, and has a lot of life to it.

I don't use it inside functional ware.

Tile #5 shows it under Rutile.

333 Chrome Ash Over Rutile

Notes

Half of each tile (vertically) is washed

inside and out with Rutile.

You can see the difference I think.

I find the more texture a piece has, the more interesting it is.

Well, that's all I have.

I always get such good feedback from fellow potters when I post here, and I'm pretty anxious to hear everyone's thoughts.

I'll be doing another test next week same process, but in an oxidation atmosphere.

Looking forward to that!

thanks for taking a look!

CMCK

Updates and Doings

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:27:00 +0000

Its Been a While - Deadlines!

Yesterday at 3:48pm | Edit Note | Delete

Geeze - haven't updated in some time!
The heat has really drained me of any artistic gumption at all, but I do have some looming deadlines, so I must get crackin'.

Mosaic Project

I'm working on an address post mosaic for my brother and sister-in-law. Their birthdays are next week, so I gotta get this done! Its not as large as the last one i made, but I'm using much smaller pieces of tile, so its more labor intensive.

Not sure whether to use a dark grout or a light one.

Last Glaze Firing

I was pretty discouraged with my last firing - none of my test glazes worked well, and I just unloaded a kiln full of ugly. This blue needs some work. Its from an article in Ceramics Monthly about subbing Stronthium for Barium. I think I may need to add some Zircopax or Tin Ox to it and opacify it a bit. Maybe a little less Copper Carbonate too.

The bird feeders don't look so hot, but they function well, so at least I've managed to get a good design down. The Bug Jugs need some refinement. The feet are just too intricate for efficient waxing/glazing, so I need to simplify them. Trying out a glaze Melinda shared with me, and had some problems with it crawling, but I was telling Jeff about my glazing issues and how glazes are formulated. I mentioned that I use a postal scale to measure my ingredients and he thought that was probably a large part of the problem, so he bought me a nice new gram scale!

Mi Casa Project

The tiles glazed pretty well. I had initially put a black slip over them and bisqued them.
For the glaze firing, I added some oxide washes and glaze highlights and then put a simple clear glaze over the whole thing and then wiped away much of it. I was pretty happy with the result, but one of the tiles was cracked during glazing and so the piece was not going to work for theHands in Clay show next month.

Rather than try and make a replacement tile, I decided to take the idea in another direction and came up with this plate. its a slab plate with a thrown foot. I inlaid colored slips into the textured background and then sprigged the figures on top of that. It has all the life and chaos I had wanted, though I did have to omit the goat :(.

I also made some test tiles so I can be absolutely sure of my technique before I glaze the plate. They are firing tomorrow, with a variety of treatments. I'm most hopeful that using a dark Tenmoku wash instead of the black slip will work.

So I am loading a glaze/test tile kiln load today and hopefully firing tomorrow (wind and heat permitting).
If I like the results, I'll fire the plate later this week and if I'm happy with it, I'll deliver it to Modesto on the 30th.

Calaveras Arts Council Studio tour

Ack!
The last couple years Jeff and I have gone on this great, self guided tour of local art studios.
This year I joined the Calaveras Arts Council, and the San Joaquin Potters' Guild.
I've signed up to participate in the Calaveras Arts Council Studio Tour at the end of September.
I'll be showing up at Quyle Kilns (I hope) as my studio is too small and too remote to be practical on its own.

That means I have to get into production mode in August!
Son after that, I think both groups will be gearing up for holiday gallery sales, so I need to be thinking about that too!

Sketch Book Project

I started taking ceramics as a distraction from my other art classes in college.
For most of my life I considered myself a 2D artist and focused on drawing, painting and printmaking.
Recently I learned about something called the The Sketchbook Project put on by the ArtHouse Co-op.

They send you a little sketchbook, and you have till January to fill it and send it back to them where it becomes a permanent part of a traveling exhibit.
I chose the theme "Face in the Crowd", as I want to do some studies of my goat herd.
Its been a long time since I've picked up a Turquoise #b1...

Collaboration!

Lastly (whew!) my former Stay-at-Home mug exchange partner and FaceBook friend Sabra Wood has proposed a cross-country collaboration! We enjoy each other's art very much, and she suggested we find a way to collaborate and develop an item together.

I love the idea and can hardly wait to get started. Gotta clear out a few of these other things and then we'll see what we can come up with.
I've anchored a blog for us so when we get started we can keep track of our progress.

The only other thing I need to do is take new pics of my Etsy pieces. I haven't made a sale in a while and need to promote my stuff more.

The KC Clay Guild show has closed. I have not received either my tea bowl or a check, so I don't know if it sold or not. I'll give it till Aug first before I inquire about it.

So, that's the big ol' update from the Mother Lode.
I'll post again after this test firing.

Cracking Up!

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:05:00 +0000

Well...
Went to bed last night very happy with my newly redesigned bird feeders, only to wake to this:

These are thrown in one piece.
I have been covering them loosely, but took the plastic of last night because it was pretty humid here and they seemed to be pretty even in terms of moisture/dryness.

I dry them on this plastic grid (its a panel meant to cover an in-ceiling fluorescent light fixture) to get a little air flow all around the piece.

You can see that the one next to it has cracked all around just under the rim.
A third one has not cracked at all (knock wood).

Wondering if this is primarily a drying issue, or a compression issue. If its a drying issue, I'm wondering how better to dry these, and will I have the same challenge when I glaze them or fire them (I typically single fire to cone 10).

If its an issue with my throwing, I'm wondering if there is something I should be doing such as making the "plate" part thicker, compressing differently etc.
I typically run a wire under the piece after throwing but leave it on the bat till its leather hard.

Thanks Clay Gurus, for any thoughts!

Latest Firing

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Thu, 13 May 2010 20:20:00 +0000

Ok!
Lots of stuff in this load. I wanted to make a bunch of lint feeders so I have a good supply. Lower left are the shakers I made. They were featured in this month's PMI - I really like them and loved making them!

I did some glaze testing on them, and got some good and some ugly results.
The firing was to cone 11, fairly heavy reduction.

First one I tried, which I thought would be a nice white glaze for my palette was a simple Shino from Lasse Ostman.
Also from Mr Ostman's site was a Green Matte Crackle.
Lastly was Hamada Rust from John Brit's website.

Not a one turned out as expected. I also experimented with applying a white slip over my dark clay body to brighten some of the glazes. That works well!

The Good:

While Lasse Ostman's Green Matte Crackle didn't turn out at all as I had hoped, I am really liking this glaze! Its pale minty green, flashed with pinky-gray, silky and just begs to be touched. It needs to go on a white clay body (this is Laguna 1/2 stoneware/1/2 porcelain ) and may do something different in oxidation, but I don't do much ox firing. Its definitely a keeper!

The Bad:

I have never done a Shino glaze before, and don't know much about them, but I like them when I see them.
However, my attempt at Lasse Ostman's simple 3/3/3 Shino has some obvious issues.
It should have been a speckled white that breaks nicely. Instead its a greenish semi-matte without much character. Just not anything I can see using. As suggested, I applied it to my dark clay body.
Its greener than showing here BTW...

The Ugly:

John Britt makes glazes sing. I was so taken with the Hamada Rust on John's page and in his book that I wanted to try it. His examples are a deep smooth black breaking to rust. Simple, rich and classic.
I tried this on both white and dark clay bodies, with similar ugly results.
Yuck!

I am still searching for a successful Tenmoku...
I want something opaque, something that breaks nicely and something very dark.

Perhaps some of my fellow potters can offer some insight.
I wish glazing was not such a struggle for me.

Raku Boxer Fundraiser

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Wed, 05 May 2010 01:16:00 +0000

I've set up an eBay auction for this little guy as a fundraiser to help with Rowdy's medical bills.
You can bid on him here:
Rowdy's eBay Auction
The ceramic boxer pictured (Wiggles) was Raku fired by me (Cathi Newlin). White earthenware bisqued boxer comes all the way from Nottingham, England to be glazed and raku fired here in Angels Camp, Ca. Wiggles is fired using the Horsehair technique - The ware is glazed with a white crackle glaze and fired to about 1800 degrees Fahrenheit and removed when the glaze is molten. Strands of horse mane or tail hair are laid across the ware, carbonizing and producing unique patterns. He is aprox 6 inches tall. Raku is a kinetic and somewhat unpredictable firing process. No two pieces ever come out of the kiln alike, which makes Wiggles truly one-of-a-kind.

Rowdy the Boxer was bitten on Monday, May 4th on the neck by a water moccasin. Rowdy is a good sized boy - but the snake was very big. Wes was in the yard when this occurred and was successful in getting the kids and Kira in the house, but was unable to get Rowdy out of strike range in time.

Rowdy, like Nugget, as you'll read later, is a hero.  He blocked the little boxer girl pup
(Kira) from getting to the snake.   He’s currently at the vet being treated for the bite and “holding his
own" according to the last update.

About 5 years ago the family suffered another tragedy involving a snake and a
dog.  Nugget, who was also recognized as a hero, knocked then 7 year old
Tori away from a water moccasin placing himself between the snake and the child
and was bitten.

Unfortunately, treatment was not successful for Nugget
and he passed away due to complications of kidney failure.  Tori is 12 now
and she was 7 when Nugget got bit protecting her.  She remembers it like it was yesterday and still cries over Nugget..  She is terrified.  I have posted Nugget's story as told by
Susan at the end of this email.

Wes has recently been hired at a new job after being out of work for a 
year.  As we all know, it's tough enough providing for a family without
dealing with being out of work for an extended period, and then when something
like this comes along, it becomes an overwhelming financial burden. 
Anti-venom is expensive.  The cost for the anti-venom alone is going to
run $950 a vial, and it's not known how many vials are going to be needed in
order to save Rowdy's life.

Not interested in Wiggles?

You can still help, and anything will be appreciated!  Rowdy was a rescue coming out of Rockin'P Rescue, and in the event that more money is raised than is needed, any extra will be donated to Rockin'P Rescue.

 
Please.  Send whatever you can, be it a $1 or $100.

Donations can be sent to:
Susan McKinnon
322 Dallas Circle
Folkston, GA  31537


If you’d like to verify this, Rowdy is being treated at:
Russell Road Animal Clinic
904-291-9511
http://www.russellroadanimalclinic.com/

A Brief Interruption to Celebrate Owen's Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Mon, 03 May 2010 03:07:00 +0000

Semper Fi Tin Soldier (Owen, O-man, P, Wenny) is 12 years old!

Quyle Kilns

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:58:00 +0000

Pam Quyle at Quyle Kilns is graciously allowing me to put 10 items in their gallery!

This is wonderful! It gives me both exposure and real world feedback on my work, and it means I can say I'm showing in a gallery, which might be great when applying for shows etc.

Quyle is also where I get my clay - they mix their own local bodies. I love the iron rich Sandstone Buff and am using it almost exclusively now.

Anyway, after much thought, I've decided on this bunch of items to bring up - I don'y have any bigger bowls or bird feeders right now, but these should do. I hope they're the most appropriate.

Looking at the shot glasses last night puts me in mind of making some sake sets.

Hands in Clay

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:43:00 +0000

This is the piece I'm going to enter in the Hands in Clay juried show in Modesto this summer.
Its titled "Our House", though I may title it in Spanish for the show.

I have 2 things working for me - this is a hand-delivered show so I don't have to worry about photographs, and its not till August, so I have plenty of time to finish it.

It needs a little color - not much - and a final clear glaze firing, which will really make it pop.
Then it needs a frame. My brother Dave, who's a very talented carpenter is going to make a frame to encase the whole thing. I'm thinking about strips of black neoprene in between the tiles to separate them, and the frame will be a nice black wood (something like walnut or something) and have little feet to hold it up of the table.

KC Clay Guild Tea Bowl National

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:17:00 +0000

OK!
I'm going to enter the KC Clay Guild's Tea Bowl National juried show.
This is my first show entry in clay, and I am not really expecting to be accepted, but I do have a secret weapon.
Our good friend Nick Adams has generously agreed to take the photos of my entries!
Since acceptance is dependent largely on these photos (real art only to be sent if you are accepted), this is a pretty major coup for me.
I will need to make something special for him this week in the studio.
Anyway, tomorrow I'll pack up these two tea bowls and send them off to Utah for their photo shoot.
Nick will email the photos to me so I can get this ball rolling. I have to have them in the mail, with my application and fee by April 5th.

Today's Lint Feeders

noreply@blogger.com (the Square Peg) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:26:00 +0000

Lint Feeders!
I'm pleased with most of these. A couple are not successful, IMO.
I tried a couple of new glaze recipes, and while I'm not happy with the white glaze, I'm not unhappy with it.

That dry blue glaze was supposed to be an orange peel orange!
I can see I forgot to put silica in the gaze!
Its the first one I've tried from GlazeSimulator.com.
But perhaps it will appeal to someone...




	the kiln shed is turkey approved!