Well, I had a good cone 6 white majolica glaze going. And then I monkeyed with it. Not a good idea, especially since I did so in a way in which I knew better than to do. It was then too thin and started crawling (i.e., not covering the clay in some spots) and it began breaking up my underglaze designs. And to add insult to injury, I used a hybrid clay mix that probably also contributed to my woes. The clay body and the glaze probably did not have compatible shrinkage rates. This is all I have to show for a month’s worth of work and some of these pieces are refired.
At the same time, I was getting used to my new (old) full-sized kiln. Big learning curve after firing for a year or so in a small test kiln. It took me some research and three firings to finally get the temperature even throughout the kiln.
So now I need to test and retest a new batch of majolica on white stoneware in the correctly firing kiln. And so go the trials and tribulations of a still learning potter.
What we have here are three pasta bowls, two herb stripper bowls, and a vase. Back to the wheel, although I may do some refiring of five other pasta bowls and a couple of other things. At the very least, they will serve as heat absorbing chunks of clay for new work placed nearby.
Ceramiclectia 