Multi-tasking

Today while firing the kiln at Lucy’s I decided to work on wall thickness and height. Often my vases are heavy on the lower third so I decided to focus on balancing out the wall thickness while aiming for consistency in weight.

The tall pieces are about two and half pounds and about eight inches tall. The little peanut is about five inches.

In the meantime, I am holding my breath for a successful kiln firing. Stay tuned later this week.

The pieces above are from the firing that resulted from the steps depicted below. Unfortunately due to heat escaping, several of the pieces (not pictured here) did not reach the proper temperature and will need to be fired again. These pieces, however, were in a place in the kiln where they maintained the heat necessary to create the beautiful glazes I was going for.

loading it up!

Loaded up the kiln last night with a plethora of new votive and intention bowls. Some tests of new glaze combinations as well as some new soup bowls for at home as well. I’ll be firing the puppy up on Monday after the big kiln finishes firing so I can use some of the shelves. It isn’t often both are firing. Here are some shots from my phone of some of the steps in the process. Not only is divining form a process, so is envisioning the glaze outcome and how to get it to what you want it to be. Somehow it’s never simple!

A few freshly thrown pieces from the wheel

Once the pieces reach what's called a 'leather hard' stage, they can be safely flipped over and the bottom trimmed to have a foot or be a rounded bottom.

Waxing the bottom of the pot helps to save glaze waste. It's also helpful for waxing between glazing steps which is what I do on my vessel lips. I apply one or several glazes on the lip or elsewhere on the pot. Applying the wax cause the further glazing to repel from it therefore not tainting the first applied layers of the glaze.

recently glazed work

These pieces were the most successful of the recent kiln load. 

So what is successful anyway? What a loaded question. For me, I am looking at a couple of things:

An interesting color palette- Is there a color theme? Do the colors make sense throughout the piece? Is there variety in the glaze itself or is it just a simple color wash?

A nice feel in your hand- Does it feel supple or chalky? Does it feel like you want to touch it, or does it have sharp edges or a rough texture?

Kiln magic- Are there any really unique a-ha’s that are just incredibly beautiful, accidental, and make the piece sing?

Lastly, can I replicate it? Is it a “one-of-a-kind”? Is it exceptionally beautiful for some reason? Why?

I consider these pieces well executed in form and weight. The glaze compositions are a little more vibrant than evident in this picture. There are some rich green hues and reds which were nice to see.  Many notes to make now to see where these pieces lead me!