First Deliverables of the Year

Somewhere along the line, I acquired a repeat customer who loves my “Mediterranean ware.” These pasta bowls and French coffee mugs will move to their new home later this week. The four bowls will be added to four other bowls I made…probably in 2022, to make a set of eight. The French coffee mugs are also going to make a set, but one is to replace a mug that got broken and the others are to join the original remaining mug to make a set of four.

This was a challenging task for me because all I had to go on visually was a printout of the photo I snapped of the first bowls and mugs and my memory. The clay is most assuredly different from the original stonewareI used and the new stoneware appears to have had a higher shrinkage rate. The four new bowls will most likely be a bit smaller than the original bowls. Same for the mugs.

The “yellow” color that appears on both the bowls and the mugs was one I originally created by mixing together white, various yellows, and a bit of red and/or orange underglazes. It’s impossible to determine the actual color outcome until the pieces are glaze fired. The newer pieces are much warmer (i.e., orangey) than the original pieces. I think the color is lush and beautiful, but I sure hope they are not so far removed from the originals as to jangle the perception of a set! Such is the unpredictability of making ceramics. I hate it, I love it!

For a Happy Customer

At my Master’s show, I received a commission for a pomegranate planter, two egg white separators, and a two-piece African violet pot (it waters from the bottom). I was happy to oblige. From all reports, my customer was happy.

The pomegranate planter and the egg white separators are majolica or a combination of majolica and underglaze. The African violet pot is white clay on the bottom and white clay painted with red clay slip on the top. The turquoise glaze I used (my own creation) reacted differently with the two different types of clay, as expected.

Duality

I’ve reached an important milestone: my Masters show after over three years of hard work. Now I get to put what I learned from earning this degree into practice. It’s fun getting up in the morning!

And I finally created a rudimentary website as a springboard of what’s to come. Please visit!

http://ceramiclectia.com/

Still At It

I haven’t posted much here lately because I’ve been too busy making. And preparing for my Masters show in November. Here is a sneak peek at some of my pieces. In addition to functional pieces, I’m also working on a possible sculptural narrative. I feel like I still have a long way to go, but that said, I’m heading for a two-week workshop in ceramic sculptural form at the Haystack School of Craft in Maine. Perhaps I’ll come back with new inspiration.

I used paper clay to create the impressionistic people in the sculpture pictured. So great working with paper clay. It’s pliable and light. When it survives through the bone dry and bisque stages without clumsy mishandling (and breakage) to the finished glaze product, it’s as strong as any other vitrified glazed piece.

A Plentitude of Bowls

Still working on mastering majolica and continuing to have pretty good results. I’m taking a break from lemons here (but they will be back in force, never fear!). I got interested in peas for two pasta bowls and two salad bowls. I also tried another herb shredder and was thrilled with the result. It reminded me a bit of an abstract photo I once made of an iris garden on a rainy day. On the fruit bowl, I began experimenting with combining techniques: majolica and mishima (carving out the wet clay, then inlaying underglaze to get crisp lines). The outside of the bowl is mishima. I liked it, although not necessarily the muddiness that occurred from wiping away the excess black underglaze. I came up with a fix for next time. You’ll have to wait for next time.

A Work in Progress

The shorter pots in front are meant to be a coffee set–coffee pot, filter that fits on top of the coffee pot, sugar bowl, creamers, four cups. In back are a kitchen utensil holder and a spaghetti jar (which is meant to receive a cork on top). I’m also working on a sculptural component for this project.

The Majolica white glaze is stable now (new batch) and I’m working through ideas for my masters program show later this year. I still have a long way to go in thinking all of this through. For one thing, I’m still working out the best way to render the drawings. Stay tuned.

Learning from Mistakes

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.

Bringing in the Tail of 2021

This array of pots closes out 2021. All use the Majolica process in some form and they vary from the more traditional to less so. We’ll see what 2022 inspires.

Exploring the Properties of Fruits

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.

Figs

I have three producing fig bushes. I like figs. It should come then as no surprise that figs would figure somewhere into my majolica plan. After this attempt, I went hunting for brushes that would render finer lines on my pottery and I began thinking about employing more of a watercolor effect on future work. Safe to say, I wasn’t happy with these results. The mugs are difficult to drink from as well. Anyone with a large nose would get that nose stuck in the mug.