Glaze results

Glazed Bowls. Good white dipped glaze from 1st batch of white glaze. Bleeding blue 2nd glaze. too thick? May not have bound to 1st layer/left to dry too long?

Glaze results-I'm Melting!

The glaze results are not great. The glaze was too thickly applied and the second batch of glaze was thicker than the glaze used for the bowls. The bowls white glaze has turn out fine, the blue glaze use on top has bled maybe because of the length of time the white glaze was allowed to dry (overnight). I read in a ceramics book that the 2nd colour should be applied when the 1st glaze has just gone off. I like the bowl anyway the bleeding looks quite nice like ink on plaster or anything porous. The pots look like the glaze has melted off. The glaze must have been way too thick. I like the effect on the striped pot though. Unfortunately there is also crawling and patches. This was probably due to the thickness of glaze and maybe dust. The mistakes to rectify are to : wipe the pots with a damp sponge, build up layers of glaze, don't apply so thickly, don't leave to dry for so long. So far as the firing I don't know the implications. I defiantly think it was the thickness of glaze. Though I have learnt how to do a nice waterfall cascading glaze for the future! The reason the attractive stripes remained in sort of formal lines is because the wide shoelace I used to mask made a superficial impression in the white undercoat. Also in the book I refered to you can apply glaze thickly for certain effects and then score to stop running completely.

Hand Building

This term has been about experiencing new ceramic processes and coming up with new ideas. I think I have achieved ideas more than outcomes. The execution of my ideas has not always been as successful as hoped, but I have gained a foundation to build on for future endeavours. I will also learn from mistakes, I feel at present only acquainted with clay but look forward to becoming at ease and enjoying clay more. Once I have more knowledge and understating of clay science and glaze magic.

Glazing attempt 1

Thick glaze with bubbles! I am expecting bubbles, crackles and lumps.

Dug clay as glaze test

Dug clay glaze test tiles

Alignments on tile Left 1 Left 2 Middle Right 1 Right 2
Potash added to dug clay % 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Potash
Whiting added to dug clay% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Whiting
Wood Ash added to dug clay% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Wood ash

Fired tabs look like slime or frogs.

Glazing

This is my first attempt at glazing. As the whole of the 1st year descended on the glaze room at the same time it was chaotic. I found it hard to work with the mess and commotion. I dipped the thrown bowls in white glaze and left to dry. I then brush painted a design onto one bowl and used a squirty bottle to create drips down the sides of the other thrown bowl. I used blue and white glaze for the bowls. The thrown pots were also dipped in the white glaze I then tried spraying green glaze onto the white. I used a shoe lace to create a design on one pot and some packing as a stencil for the second pot. The smaller column pot I tried spraying red glaze at different ranges around the pot to create different effects with the glaze (thick drippy/thin faint). I don't know how well these pots/bowls will turn out. I think some of the glaze is applied to thickly. I dipped the slip cast caterpillar in the white glaze.

Handbuilding

Concepts for Heterogeneous Series. Taking elements from objects and reforming them into designs. But each piece uses the same elements much like G A T C genes. Moving the elements structures and scales determines the outcome. ' Diverse in kind or nature; composed of diverse parts' 'Visibly consisting of different components' Wiki.

Fired Slip Cast Objects

Objects

These are my infamous objects. I thought it might be interesting to see where the ideas for the workshops came from. When I picked my objects the main attraction for me was the overall form/shape. I also tried to include objects with details and ornate design to take elements from. I am not really interested in ornate embelishment I favour form and colour. I like interesting simple pieces with patterns added that are still geometric and give abstraction to the form.

Handbuilding

White Earthenware clay. Experiment with cord to give texture. The most successful handbuilt 'rabbit' was when I used smaller coils. In not minimising the coils I have smoothed to much clay down the body making it bulk up and lose the nice tapered shape.Note to self: USE SMALLER COILS AND KIDNEY TOOL.

Handbuilding

Handbuilding: combining elements from collected objects-working from the forms of a fluted glass and a peg.

I have created a few ideas and would have liked to try a series of different designs but the time was too short. I have used terracotta clay and will be adding details with white slip sponged on over stencils. These are photographs of the working progress. I will also scan the design drawings to give more insight into the idea.

Clay project

Stages of 'Mud' to clay! ( My 'Mud' is second row middle in the first picture) My clay was dug in Gilfach Goch which means The Red Valley. My mud also had quite a few bits of coal in. I have found out since it did have collieries in the area.

Visual Studies

This exercise required white painted objects on a white background. The idea was to look at shadows and shading. To draw shading onto the items and try to create a sense of contrast. I feel my work looks like white objects with graphite pencil lines!

Visual Studies

The marks made can easily be identified as belonging to each participating person. I noticed my marks are very heavy, use simple shapes and stand-out from the jumble of the picture. I do enjoy geometric minimalist art and abstract expressionism. I interested in pure form and pure line. Follow link Minus Space.

Visual Studies

In groups we each picked 'themes' our group picked 'Organic', 'Director', 'Space', 'Cohesion' and 'Geometric'. The materials to hand were charcoal, acrylic paint ( black and white), graphite pencil, HB pencil and ink pens. My theme was Space I chose to represent Space by outlining blocks of white paper showing patches of pure space. I also showed Space as a measurement as above with lines at intervals like those on a ruler. When the others had started adding to the piece I also highlighted the empty spaces left with dominant hard charcoal lines. Pam was in charge of Cohesion went around the work with black acrylic paint to tie the forms and shapes together. The Organic is shown by small trials of circles acting like a growing plant across the paper.

Thrown pots- Fired

Some of my thrown ash white pots have been fired all are fine. I still need to make some more lided pots as my lids went missing.

Mould Making Casting

Two margarita glasses have been joined together, I used ash white slip to ‘glue’ the pieces together leaving one glass in the mould and propping the other glass up with a plastic triangle until the slip set. The shape is simple and pure, I had planned on adding cogs to the ends but this didn’t look quite right. I would need to experiment with different sizes of cog and maybe different mechanical inspired shapes which would require more moulds and more time. The form itself is pleasing, the balance and line is good.

Mould Making Casting

Mould Making Slip-Casting

The Dust-Buster piece was less successful the concertinaed plastic created lots of air bubbles in the plaster. The shape and detail came out but not as sharply as I would have liked.

Just to make use of the mould I added the cast of the wooden sock darning object. It is a cross of old and new household inventions. I put the two things together as the scale and flow worked quite well also.

Mould Making Slip-Casting

If you only have one mould it becomes a waiting game, I needed two margarita glass moulds to construct my proposed shape. I also need a few cog moulds, and I could only do one at a time! I realize now that mould making and casting takes 4 times as long as you anticipate, and time management is crucial! If I had more time and the foresight to plan I feel I could create some very interesting shapes and ideas. The margarita mould and the cog mould were very successful and I am glad the effort in producing them paid off.

Mould Making Slip-Casting

Cog mould, The best cast was the one left to dry out for about 2 hours. After this one I rushed the next 3 and they were not as good. The edges were less smooth, I also think I should pay more attention to bits in the mould that seem to have contaminated the slip clay.