It turned out to be a busy year. Lots of making, lots of selling. Of pottery. Because this is a blog where I document my progress as a ceramic artist, I feel I need to catch up some. So, here is a walk through some of the pieces I made this year, most of which are now gracing the homes of other people. Many thanks to those who appreciate my work, providing me with encouragement and validation by taking a piece home.
Now I’m going wild with fruits. I need to settle on something for a while…maybe…probably. I’m still working with lemons. I now have a full-sized kiln and my pieces will not be limited by the size of a test kiln. Perhaps my work will get larger….maybe…should be.
The apple got away. I sold it. Also, I’m editing this post to add a lime luminary (also sold) that temporarily got lost between the camera and the computer.
I attended my first clay conference last weekend. It was four days packed with workshops, demos, networking, learning, and camaraderie. One of the workshops I picked to attend was “primary colors raku.” I approached it with something like, “well, let’s get raku over with.” I just wanted to say I tried it. But the raku pieces I’ve usually seen are the “naked” variety featuring black and white, no color. I’ve also seen some others that have bright blues or reds along with the black and white, but after a while they all start to look the same to me.
The raku glazes the workshop instructor brought were something different and quite delightful. I brought along five small soldate-60 clay pots I had thrown and bisqued. The clay was very groggy and rough, both wet and dry. The black and white pot pictured actually has a small amount of raku red glaze in the “tears” I made in the neck and clear glaze elsewhere. The finished pot is white is where I painted on the clear glaze. The carbon black areas are unglazed.
The green abstract vase uses a copper penny glaze. One side experienced a reduction in oxygen (coppers and reds); the other is oxidized (metallic green). The trash cans into which we threw the very hot pots to catch on fire had lids that were not very tight fitting (and probably should have been for more control of reduction and oxidation). The gorgeous blue vase at the top right wears a matte glaze called “Hawaiian.” It worked well with the sandy clay. The green and black pot at the bottom (meant to house a candle) was supposed to have bright turquoise blue diagonal stripes and holes, not green, but I either didn’t put on enough glaze or something chemical happened in the trash can to make the green color. In any case, I’m not unhappy with it. The little guy at the top left was rushed as the instructor was getting ready to fire the last batch of pots and I was still glazing. I quickly applied some sort of red-brown glaze and threw it into the kiln. Another happy surprise though.
I’d do it all again in a heartbeat. With those or similar glazes.
Ceramiclectia 