About Me
Saturday, April 16
Gifts from the Kiln Gods
This week the ginger jar and vase I threw a couple of weeks ago return from there sojourn into the fire. I am pleased as always. So very much like yule and yuletide gifting.
I like the way the glaze changes when interacting with the soda ash. The red iron oxide did some really interesting things here as well, the more browninsh coloration is from the slip I used.
Now for the vase, I was interested in a more etruscan form as a starting point, then when the pot became leather hard I applied slip allowing it to run like wax would on a melting candle. I like the look and Jane says its a very "Tuscan" looking pot.
This first view of the vase is a three-quarters view. I used Bermuda Green inside the pot as a liner instead of Ellens Blue like I did for the Ginger Jar.
This second view is a full on frontal nudity of the stamp I chose and here as well you can see the slip trailing effect. I like it - although some might think its a mistake I assure you its not.
Happenings in the happy place of clay
So today was a busy, busy day. I finished up theAmphora seen in the post below, beat up an apothecary jar - lol well paddled it for texture and added handles. Then I threw the first attempt at a baby plate. We'll have to see how that turns out. For class purpouses we threw casseroles and lids, so I made two four and a half pound casseroles with flat lids.
All in all a productive day.
All in all a productive day.
Amphora!
So before I talk about this weeks class, I wanted to provide an update on making the amphora. In my case its a three piece pot, the base (6 lbs), middle (3 lbs), and top (1.5 lbs). All wheel thrown and while it can be done this way it is probably not the most effective way of making amphora. I suspect, no I am sure the ancients churned them out much faster and way more effectively than I have. However I am extremely proud of my amphora and pray to the kiln gods it survives the upcoming firings.
On the left is a close up showing the opening and detail on the handles.
Sunday, April 3
Big trouble, Little pots
Had a bit of trouble today. Guess it had to happen sometime, the class project is amphora. Amphora are greecian urns which contained oil, wine, water - pretty much everything. They come in many differing shapes and sizes, typically the more ornate amphora were given as gifts during the olympics and filled with scented oils, or so I have learned.
So ... last week we threw the base, six pounds of class clay approximately a six inch diameter inverted cone coming to about eight - nine inches tall. Looks like a dunce cap of clay, let it dry some over the week for part two today. This is where the trouble comes in, because it is an ice cream cone of clay you have to make a chuck in order to hold the cone level and true to center. A chuck is a copious amount of clay tall enough that your pot doesn't meet the bat, wide and thick enough to be stable. Usually opened to the bat.
The initial trimming went okay, you have to get the excess out of the conincal part as well as compress the cone to remove and reduce any possible area's where it might crack. Good so far, then remove the bat with the cone still in the chuck. Throw a three and a half pound ball slightly larger than the diameter of the cone opening - use calipers. Peel the edge so you basically get a L shape going. Dry the ring from containing excess moisture.
Take this bat off the wheel, put the cone back on the wheel, check make sure its center and then take the ring you've just thrown, invert it and place it atop the cone. Cut it off the bat and throw down to seal the ring to the existing base before throwing the added ring. Remember to throw as dry as possible.
I wish - didn't get that far, added ring, started to throw and the chuck torqued. Bad word. Several bad words. Well can't recover that. Smash almost fifteen total pounds of clay and start over ...
The good thing is it's only clay and in clay prior to firing I can have a "do over" and sometimes you just really need a do over. Today was that day.
So I did, same song - second verse. Stay tuned for next weeks clash
So ... last week we threw the base, six pounds of class clay approximately a six inch diameter inverted cone coming to about eight - nine inches tall. Looks like a dunce cap of clay, let it dry some over the week for part two today. This is where the trouble comes in, because it is an ice cream cone of clay you have to make a chuck in order to hold the cone level and true to center. A chuck is a copious amount of clay tall enough that your pot doesn't meet the bat, wide and thick enough to be stable. Usually opened to the bat.
The initial trimming went okay, you have to get the excess out of the conincal part as well as compress the cone to remove and reduce any possible area's where it might crack. Good so far, then remove the bat with the cone still in the chuck. Throw a three and a half pound ball slightly larger than the diameter of the cone opening - use calipers. Peel the edge so you basically get a L shape going. Dry the ring from containing excess moisture.
Take this bat off the wheel, put the cone back on the wheel, check make sure its center and then take the ring you've just thrown, invert it and place it atop the cone. Cut it off the bat and throw down to seal the ring to the existing base before throwing the added ring. Remember to throw as dry as possible.
I wish - didn't get that far, added ring, started to throw and the chuck torqued. Bad word. Several bad words. Well can't recover that. Smash almost fifteen total pounds of clay and start over ...
The good thing is it's only clay and in clay prior to firing I can have a "do over" and sometimes you just really need a do over. Today was that day.
So I did, same song - second verse. Stay tuned for next weeks clash
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