Cay Denise

Today, I threw a couple of bowls, but my ability to center was not working.  It could have been partly due to the new-to-me clay I tried using.  In addition, I trimmed three others.  One of those three ended up being very experimental...in that I tried a version of mishima on the interior of the bowl.  Mishima is a technique of painting a leather-hard vessel with an underglaze(s), then waxing the layer, and finally...carving a design in the underglaze/wax surface before the vessel is fired into bisque. I tried it, and we'll see how it comes out.    Below are the five vessels of Batch #8 that I brought home today.  Of them, there are two new things I tried.  The stripy one was done with one base layer plus a second layer of alternating painted stripes of the base color and mulberry.  The other first is where I used a base layer and added two different lip colors of different widths. Lately, I've noticed other potters getting some great results...

The photo shows my newest batch of finished glazed pieces.  I'm still in experimental mode where glazes are concerned. In addition, I'm going to be exploring painting with underglazes.  They allow the painting of designs.  There is also a broader range of spectrum colors with underglazes, though they tend to be more translucent when fired - at least that's my impression.  I have yet to prove myself right, and that day is coming soon. I will have some bowls to share soon.  In creating a few, I've learned that using heavier clay (3 lbs. instead of 2 lbs.) makes a big difference in what you can wheel-throw, and bowls is one of them.    

When looking at a pottery glaze grid, it can be overwhelming as well as hard to imagine what a pot will look like with a specific pairing. That means for a while, glaze choices are all experiments.   Today's batch was a first attempt using 'runny' glazes for lip accents.  I've been hesitant to use runny glazes not knowing how much they run.  But I got brave and have now tried it.  The pot below with the reddish exterior is a glaze that really ran.  So I probably won't use that in the future.  The turquoise glaze on the inside of the pot on the right is finicky and can be problematic, but it is really pretty.  I will use that again. Five more pots have been trimmed and are in line for their first kiln firing.  That will be followed by glazing plus another kiln firing before being ready to be taken home.  There is even a cup with a handle in progress.  I'm looking foward to seeing that one when done.  It's a benchmark!

As you can see, I've been practicing pottery-throwing, trimming and glazing a lot!!!  The photo below shows the pots from my third and fourth glazed batches that are now considered done.  Yes, I'm getting better.     I've started experimenting with two-tone color combinations in the glazing process. This generally involves a full dip in one glaze as the base color -- and once set, dunking the rim area in a secondary glaze.  Sometimes the effect is a lace-like pattern, or a contrast color, or even a glossy edge.  Glazing is an exploration in and of itself.  Even if I love or dislike a vessel I create, it can change in the finishing process depending on the glaze(s) used. That said, more experiments are on the way.  

The balance of my beginner class pots (12 of the 22 total) have been glazed and fired.  This second batch isn't as impressive as the first.  You can tell many are early ones, because the bottoms of the interiors haven't been smoothed out.   Unfortunately, I didn't record the names of the glazes used for the second batch aside from Blue Celadon and Nebula.  The ones I like from this batch are the lighter speckled ones (off-white and light green).  The outcome this time included a cracked pot and another with a chipped base.  But these kinds of losses are part of the process too. I'm now into my third week of a new-to-me intermediate course in which I'm learning to throw with the wheel set-up for left-handed throwing.  Yes, it is different...the wheel rotates clockwise rather than counter-clockwise, and the roles my hands have are reversed.  My focus now is on pulling the walls of the clay taller and thinner on each vessel I undertake.  I'm als...

Here are the first 10 of 22 pots made in my Beginning Wheel-throw Pottery class!  Of the ten, two have been done in the same-colored glaze.  Among the glazes used were: Perky Purple Blue Celadon Lehman's Shino Butter Monterey Bay It's amazing what the glaze does for each piece.  'Butter' was used for the two on the lower right of the photo that are speckled.  I like how they came out...earthy.  My favorite result was the Perky Purple.  It is a matte color and has a very smooth finish.   I'm thinking about creating a signature for my pots including a date reference and a pot number.  That way, I'll be able to place them in chronological order and more easily see my skill development over time. The rest of my pots from the class are on the studio shelf awaiting firing.  The next batch are in even more different glaze colors.  Ooh-la-la...the possibilities!

Today was the last session of my five-week class that ended with the process of glazing our pots.  The process involves waxing the pot bases, dipping the pots in glaze, cleaning up the glazed areas once dry and filling in holes in the glaze from the clamp used to dip the pots that end up leaving a mark(s).  There is also the need to smooth out the inside of the pot as well as the exterior before placing the pots on the shelf for firing.  All of this is quite a bit to pay attention to. Pictured are my 22 pots thrown and fired during the five-week class that are now considered bisque.  Ten of these were glazed and readied for their second and final firing.  I paired an older pot with a newer one coloring both with the same glaze.  (You can see a couple pairings in one of the photos below.)  I want to see if the roughness of the older pot versus the later one, typically smoother, will handle the glaze differently.   The other 12 pots have waxed botto...

My beginning wheel-throw class ends next week.  At this point, all our beginning pots (mine being quite rudimentary) have been trimmed and should be glazed next week in our final class.  Then they are fired again before they can be picked up. It has been a difficult class for me.  Someone asked me today if I was having fun, and my reply was not yet.  But I have been working in class with an instructor, practicing, and studying by watching videos of other potters and keeping notes.  The notes I've made include areas of a pottery studio, how to use the equipment, types of and handling of the clay, the steps in the throwing process, and the craft lingo,  So, beginning is a heavy lift with all that to accomplish. My handy-dandy tool for documenting my learning is a new zine where I'm including notes, definitions, practice activity, and things to remember, etc. Below is the visible side of the zine.  The back side of it is covered with notes from YouTube vi...

Florian Gadsby, a very good wheel-throwing instructor with a series of videos on YouTube, recommends throwing your first 100 pots as soon as you learn the fundamentals.  Whether they are successes or failures, you'll learn from each pot thrown.  The point is not to be precious or work to perfect a piece as you're learning, but to throw them for the experience and skill-building.   I can attest to the fact that pottery throwing is work.  It takes strength in muscles you don't normally use, and you have to learn not to make abrupt movements with your hands as you work with the clay.  I've done multiple 3-hour practice sessions so far.  As a result of each, I'e returned home tired and with various aches.  That said, the practice is  necessary (like learning to play a musical instrument). On the count to 100, I'm at 32.  Today, I did 11 of those that included a failed one.  These are of the day's work.   Last week's class (#2) was learn...

My first day of a new-to-me pottery class was less than stellar.  I made a lot of mis-steps that were frustrating.  One of those mis-steps included scraping the side of my hand when trying to do 'centering'.  So, I couldn't practice for a couple of days.  During that time, I reviewed YouTube videos and found a superb one on the subject by Florian Gadsby.  He is a great teacher/guide!  His channel has other wheel-throw pottery techniques too.  The video recording is very good because of the close-ups that help viewers to 'see' the process more clearly.   Today, I went to the studio for a first day of practice.  My goal was to be able to repetitively center pieces of clay on the wheel.  The two vessel starts below were successfully centered and are now drying (for about 8 hours) before the first firing.  Granted, they look a bit odd, but that's ok...I'm learning.  Beyond that, I did them all by myself.   One of my discoverie...