Third Quater End

These are the bowls that have come out of their first firing. I have more bowls in the kiln (hopefully) and I can glaze them later.

3rd Quater Project

The work needs to be removed from the wooden boards when it is beginning to get hard. That way it will not dry out as fast any more.

The element and principle I focused on for this pieces was balance, unity, and texture. I wanted my piece to look in balance but also look like all the sides were connected with each other. Each side had to have at least two different textures to add a contrast.

I learned how to cut a 45 degree angle in order to make two pieces fit together to make a 90 degree angle. I also learned how to use the large roller in order to make my clay a certain thickness.

If I did another project like this, I would add something to the outside to make my piece stand out a little more (like a 3D stone for example). I might also use some more colors so that my piece is not so dark.

February Post

I am working on my candle lantern now in Ceramics. Today I will put my lantern together. I am having a little trouble cutting the walls at a 45 degree angle but with some practice on other pieces will help. The designing of what will be cut out and what will be smoothed over is the easiest and funnest part of the project so far.

My cups
For the purple cup on the left I used Dark Blue and Chun Plum to make it. It holds eight ounces. The orangish cup in the back was made by Shino and Chun Plum. That cups holds eight ounces as well. The beautiful dark green cup was made by Dark Blue and Chun Plum. This one holds thirteen ounces.

This last green cup was made by True Celadon and Blue Rutile. It holds seven ounces

End of Semester 1

I finished my six cups and only two of them are glazed so far. 

The purplish cup holds 10 ounces of water. The orangish cup holds five ounces of water.

The glaze I used for the purplish cup is Chun Plum and Blue Rutile.

For the orangish cup I used Shino and Light Rust.

My pinch pot finished its glaze firing. I used Metallic Green and White to make the color of it.

Happy Holidays Blog Post

I have my coil pot and one of my cups to take pictures of. The rest are in the kiln.

Leather Hard - Clay which has dried sufficiently to be stiff, but is still damp enough to be joined to other pieces.
Bone Dry - Clay that is completely dried but not yet fired. 

It is important to connect work, such as handles, onto work on the wheel when the clay is leather hard. When the clay is leather hard the clay is still moist enough to be changed but dry enough so the clay will not move all over the place. If the clay is too wet, your pieces can be easily damaged and you can cut in too deep. If the clay is too dry, it will be very hard to trim your piece.

Glazing: Part II

    I already took a picture of my pot.
    On my pinch pot, I used Oasis and Transparent. I applied the Oasis by dipping my pot into the bucket after making sure it was stirred and the bottom of my pot was brushed with the glaze-resistant. I held it under for two seconds, and then took it out. I had to apply the Transparent by brush and applied an even coat.
    The glaze ran a little down the pot and seemed to separate a little. This was because the kiln was stuck at a temperature for six hours. Although, I would not be surprised if I was at fault too. Other than that, the glaze and firing went fine. Next time, I will use a different kiln and maybe chose different glazes as well.

Glazing

    It is important to wash your hands and wipe off any dust before you glaze because the particles can get trapped. When you apply the glaze, any dust particles could become trapped with the glaze overtop and your finished product could be bumpy. Your hands have oils on them and that oil can interact with the glaze and cause the glazing to become uneven as well.
    When glazing, you apply wax resist only when you are dipping into a bucket of glaze. This is because when you paint it onto the pottery, you would not have to put wax resistant because you would not paint the bottom.
   When dipping you only want to dip for two seconds because you need just enough time for the glaze to cover your project, but you do not want any longer than necessary.
    You need to dip the pottery into the buckets that are supposed to be dipped and not brush them on. You can not brush it on because the brush will not pick up all the components of the glaze, but dipping it will make sure the glaze and all its components are on evenly.