Many a slip between cup and kiln

There are so many ways to accidentally spoil a pot, it's no wonder we lose so many along the way. A few in the last firing didn't come out well for various reasons, one of which was that the bottomless saggar didn't work as I'd hoped. Despite a thick layer of sand in the base, it still sucked some oxygen in, so there wasn't enough reduction.

The slip on two pots bloated again, and I really thought I'd solved that problem..it didn't happen with all the slipped pieces though. I'm starting to wonder if the extra heat from the combustibles in the saggar is creating localised hot spots, and over-firing some of the pots placed on top of the kiln shelf, which I use as a lid. Next firing will be without a saggar, so it will be interesting to see if it reoccurs. I hope it doesn't!

Well, here are the pieces I was most happy with:

Cup with slips and ash glaze, approx 3 inches tall

By the way, this little cup above was the one where I applied the white slip after bisque firing. Red iron and black iron slips were applied at leatherhard, then it was bisqued. The white slip was brushed on and then it was dipped in a transparent ash glaze while the slip was still damp. This had the desired effect of reducing the thickness of the glaze application..the thinner this glaze is applied, the shinier it fires, and this time it came out perfectly.

Sake cup with shino glaze, approx 3 inches tall

Carved, shino bowl, approx 6 inches wide

Bottle vase with slips and ash glaze, approx 5 inches tall

Sake cup with oribe glaze, approx 2.5 inches tall

Tea light holder in the form of a bottle kiln, approx 5 inches tall

The tea light holder was previously fired in reduction, and although the colour was good, it had alot of craters in the glaze. So I refired it this time in oxidation. The glaze is more muted now, but still quite interesting..and the craters have pretty much disappeared.

A bit of sun at last!

Hooray, the weather has finally broken a little and we have some sunny spells. I'm doing a small electric firing today, testing a new saggar which I've made just by coiling raku clay. It doesn't have a bottom, so I'm using a combination of kiln fibre and a thick layer of sand in the base to make it airtight. Not sure if it will work, so I've just put a couple of pots in to see if a reduction atmosphere is produced. I'm hoping that the raku clay will withstand the thermal shock of repeat firings and that the lack of a base may make it less likely to crack..we shall see.

soaking up the sun

A carved, shino vase

approx 4 inches tall

From the last firing..I like the texture of this glaze. The pinholes are formed when the piece is dipped, caused by the roughness of the clay.

Found a little gem today!

I came across this gorgeous little pot in town today and couldn't resist buying it. It's beautifully made with a grey-green celadon glaze on the inside..measures about 3 inches wide. I absolutely love it and would really like to know who made it..does anyone recognise the potter's mark I wonder?

I've looked in the second edition of British Studio Potters' Marks, but so far no luck..

A coiled form

I made this coiled form over the last four or five days, adding a couple of new layers of clay each day. I've not made large pieces just by coiling before, and I found it very difficult to achieve the exact form I wanted. With this method, I think one needs to have a very clear idea of the final design, since the shape can't be roughed out, and then pared down, as it can with a solid sculpture built onto a support. I wasn't entirely happy with it, especially  the side view, so I decided to take the knife to it and recycle the clay. I made a couple of quick cuts without thinking and suddenly the piece looked a whole lot more interesting..

approx 15 inches tall

Nezumi shino cup

When I pulled this pot from the kiln last week, I was really underwhelmed by it, but it's another of those pieces which has grown on me alot. The other night I drank wine from it (several times!), and I enjoyed the contrast of the dark, red liquid with the very light, airy glaze. The cup is fairly heavy when full, but I like that when drinking alcohol, don't ask me why..and the carved facets and ledges make the cup feel secure in the hand.

Carved cup with shino glaze, approx. 3 inches tall

A test firing to cone 7

Here are a few results from yesterday's test firing. I say "test firing", because some of the glaze and slip combinations were experimental. The first photo is of the cappucino cup I showed unglazed in a previous post..it had the white slip applied after bisquing the black slip. 5% ferro frit was added to the transparent ash glaze as a flux, and on this piece it's cured the bubbling and pinholing problems..but i'm wondering if this is because I brushed it on very thinly. I also want test this glaze at cone 9/10, but I rather like the buttery, matt surface achieved at this lower temperature.

( It wasn't easy to photograph these slipped pieces, so the colours probably aren't 100% accurate. )

The next three pieces were combinations of black and white slips with the Leach 4321 glaze, plus about 3.5% tin. I was expecting that the glaze would come out semi-opaque at this temperature, as there's quite alot of tin oxide in there, but apart from some micro-bubbles, it's still pretty much transparent.

Where the black slip is partly covered over, it has a slight magenta tinge to it. Quite a pleasing effect, but I would like it to come through stronger and darker.