Pottery Work - Bigger Bowls and Wrapping Up

This is Batch #11 of glazed and fired pieces.  

The light one in the back (yellowish) has an inside done with the Mishima technique.  This technique is done before the first kiln firing and involves:

• painting the area with underglaze; 
• covering the underglaze with wax (as a resist);
• carving a design into the area; and,
• then adding a contrasting underglaze layer to enhance the lines of the carved design.  
• After all is dry--the last layer has to be removed carefully with a sponge.
• The final step is covering the area with a layer of clear glaze.  

This was a complete experiment because the small bowl was misshapen and would otherwise have been recycled.  I like the technique though it is time intensive and you need the right tools for carving to look consistent.  What I didn't like was the color after the piece was fired.  It went from yellow to a peachy color, even though the photo doesn't read that way.  What I learned is that clear glaze can fire cloudy if the glaze is put on too heavy. 

The other bowls, also experiments in glaze combinations, came out nicely.  Their bases are a bit heavy because not enough clay was removed in the trimming process.  But I'm happy with them.

That said, I had a moment of clarity while at the studio last week that has driven a decision to end this pottery-making adventure in wheel-throwing.  Over the next two weeks, I'll be finishing up the trimming and glazing of all my in-progress pieces.  I've learned so much while on the journey to recognize that wheel-throwing is not for me.  There are, however, many artists including my classmates doing this kind of pottery work, and I salute them.  The work, including physical strength, dexterity and mindset needed during each session, is more demanding than you might think.