Latest electric firing 21/03/213

A few photos of pieces from Thursday's electric firing:

Jar or vase, approx 5 inches tall

Jar or vase (b)

Water dropper, approx 2.5 inches tall

Vase, approx 4 inches tall

Lidded container, approx 3 inches tall

Guinomi, approx 3 inches tall

Carved vase, approx 3.5 inches tall

Jar or vase, approx. 3 inches tall

Bottle vase, approx 4 inches tall

Cup, approx. 2.5 inches tall

Dancing vase, approx 3.5 inches tall

Dancing vase (b)

The vase in the last photo was fired three times, first in a wood kiln, then in the electric to cone 10. I wasn't completely satisfied with it, so I dipped the top third in my new oribe glaze and fired it again to cone 10. I like this piece much more now, and was surprised how well the glaze turned out, considering it was applied to stoneware!

Teacaddy decoration

I decorated a teacaddy this afternoon, kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision..sometimes the best things happen when you do something spontaneous. The brushwork is black slip over an orange background, I can't wait to see how this fires.

The handle was made from the pad of clay left after wiring off a piece form the wheel..simply scraped off and scrunched into a loop.

Making handles under the warm sun

The weather is up, down and all over the place at the moment. It was pouring down on Saturday, snowing on Sunday and first thing today, beautiful spring sunshine..now it looks like it might snow again!

I spent this morning trimming cups and putting some handles on espresso cups..very enjoyable it was too, with the Beatles on the radio and the sun streaming in through the window.

Here's an example with a new handle design I've not tried before. Is the handle too big for the cup? I'm not sure yet, I'll wait and see how it looks and feels after the glaze firing.

Spring is here .. almost.

The days are starting to feel distinctly warmer though the mornings are still uncomfortable..and the water coming out of the workshop tap is hand-numbingly freezing! So it's onwards and upwards, time to "gain momentum" as someone said on facebook.

11th March update: I spoke to soon, it's suddenly turned arctic with temperatures around 0 degrees, and the snow has returned yet again! It's been another hard winter for making pottery.