Friday 8 June 2012

Some more work from the last firing

I'm just getting round to photographing all the pieces from the last firing. I have to say that although I enjoy taking pictures of pots, it is ridiculously time-consuming, as I don't have a permanent studio set-up. That's why some of my pictures are taken outside on the patio, if it's not too rainy, cloudy, sunny, windy etc..

Here's the box with the stuck lid which is now unstuck..I'm very happy that it finally came off without any damage. To apply the glaze accurately around the lid edges, it was brushed on, hence there is some variation in texture and colour .. in this case, I think it works pretty well


lidded box, approx 5 inches tall



This carved shino cup is a bit too large to be a sake cup, so for me, it's probably more suited to red wine..it literally rocks as it's balancing on one edge of the base. Amazingly, it still stays upright (just) when full of liquid! Interesting too, how a small impression made with a thumb on the outside, has so much more impact visually on the inside..

shino spirit cup, approx 3.5 inches tall

shino spirit cup, shino glaze



I was very pleased with the oribe glazes in this firing, they came out perfectly with no burst bubbles. Quite often, when I fire this glaze I will find a single, sharp-edged crater somewhere on the pot, as if placed there just to annoy me! In the case of this carved yunomi, the glaze was applied thinly, so the iron oxide spots have just bled a little rather than running down the pot.


Carved yunomi, approx. 4 inches tall

carved sake cup, approx 2.5 inches tall

Lastly, a shot of a couple of test pieces. I doodled on these with a fine brush, using different types of slip. The disappointing thing was that the lower temperature ash glaze tends to eat iron oxide from the black slip, like so many transparent glazes. I think this is because I added 6% frit, which contains quite alot of calcium oxide. The slip with very high iron content (on the right) has remained solid in places, and not in others..this comes down to painting technique and the consistency of the slip, something I need to work on. Should I be using an underglaze medium rather than just water, I wonder?

What I did like about these tests was the multi-layered effect..in some places there are four layers of slip decoration. I'd like to experiment more with these effects, the problem being how to brush decoration on without smearing the layer beneath. These test pieces were bisqued twice, with decoration added between the firings..not something I want to do with every pot I make!



7 comments:

  1. I really love the photos of your work out and about sitting on a brick or table or with other things. It is the difference between a studio shots of loved ones and photos were you catch them wonderfully being themselves. I have a great fondness for oribe ware and these are just beautiful! The last ones are also wonderful, too. They have painterly personalities. I enjoyed reading and viewing this post immensely. I'll probably come back several times to look at those cups!

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    1. Thanks for such a nice comment, Charlene, it encourages me to keep up my blog. I'm glad you like the last two..I'm building up courage to tackle some finished pieces in this style.

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  2. Love the carved green yunomi and the last two cups as well. Photographing work is time consuming, then checking the photos, editing the photos, then going back and takubg more photos, and on and on. Professional photos show the work off to it's best but then there's the cost factor.

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    1. Hello, Linda, thanks for the positive feedback. Indeed, ceramics is expensive enough without factoring extra costs! I really enjoy taking pictures, but I'm determined to stop doing it during the day, it's too big a distraction.

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  3. I also love the green carved yunomi. Is there any chance you could do some more and put them on your Folksy shop?

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    1. Hello, Keith, I will put this one on Folksy in the next week or so. I am planning to try making some more and if I succeed I'll post them here first. Thanks for your interest.

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