Ceramics: Winter 2013 Coursework

Finished pieces from my Winter 2013 Ceramics Class!

If you'd like to just flip through the pictures, click on one for a slideshow-closeup effect of all pictures.

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Blue/Orange Mug
Glaze: Semi-Matte Blue over Shino
Um... less contrast. Looks weird.

Yellow/Clear Mug

Glaze: Yellow Soda with Clear

Nothing. This is my favorite piece of this round even though I did most of it in a rush.

Some Pencil Holders & Future Lithops Seedling Pots

Glaze: Lipstick over Persimmon

Glaze: Carbon Trap Shino

Glaze: Black under Semi-Matte Blue

More contrast! The blue could have been more effective if I only dipped the cup in halfway on the blue dip, giving it a two-tone.

Tricorn Planter
Glaze: Lipstick Purple, double-dip Lipstick on the rim
Subtle red-on red, but I like it.

Snail Planter
Glaze: Semi-Matte Blue over Rhodes 32
Nice. Rustic looking!

Tall Planter

Glaze: Yellow Soda over Shino

Don't ever put this high-sulphur glaze over a glaze that is sensitive to the pH of the kiln. (That or this was just in a quiet part of the kiln? idek) YS and Shino both look like two different mild beiges. Ugh.

Some Mugs

Mainly MORE CONTRAST.

Sugar and Flour Canisters

Glaze: Black slip scraffito (done with a staplegun staple taped/glued onto the eraser end of a pencil) under Clear

Big mistake here: Sponging down the bisqueware too much before dipping in the glaze. I wanted a thin coat of glaze to make sure the scraffito showed through, so I got the sponge super damp before I sponged them down for dust. However I got them too wet and when I dipped them they didn't absorb the minimum amount of glaze to set the glaze properly. Esp bad on the Sugar 'S'. Additionally, the lid for the Sugar one is too large to fit by 2-3mm... after all that careful measuring! Augh!

On the good side: I painstakingly scumbled 4 coats of black slip with a small brush, and it looks like it make a pretty opaque black in the end!

Blue & White Canister

Glaze: Blue slip (2 coats? w/ bigger brush) under White

You can't tell here, but the body of this is horribly off center. I really fought for it to live on the wheel, so I could use it as practice for lid making.  Lid is *slightly* too big, but it fits in ONE orientation.

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General Things Learned

(First off, look at your inspiration pictures! Plan ahead sometimes, esp for bigger projects!)

Throwing

Generally- GO BIG. Throw with more than 1lb if you're doing anything but mugs.

Pull bowl walls out to the side as you bring them up the second time- but not too steep a slope! It WILL collapse.

Play with throw + alter! Don't be afraid to mess up that perfectly round shape.

Roll the edges of bowls over your index finger.

Texture! Bring in some weird things to press into the wet clay. Spirals! Ridges! Cuts! Raaaah!

Trimming

Sign with the sharp edge of the wooden rib, gives a good mark without making jaggies.

Use the wooden rib to smooth down the pores in the clay opened by the trimming tool.

Lids that fit tightly will be a hair too big in the end. :(

Weird texture is your friend!

Use a paring knife to get the jaggies off of greenware.

Glazing

Use a paring knife to get the jaggies off of bisqueware.

Sponge down lightly to get dust off.

Emphasize any texture you gave the piece in greenware by any means possible. Wipe the glaze off on it, put some stain on it/sponge it off so it just stays in the grooves, etc.

Use a brush to give a piece some artistic flair. Random symbols, stylized animals, etc.

CONTRAST! Esp with steady glazes, one flat glaze does nothing for a plain piece.