Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Tumbler 17

Watery goodness for a water cup.  Top glaze is glossy white, bottom is turquoise oribe (or-ee-bay), which is a little metallic and pleasingly vibrant.
recycled cone 10 stoneware, two glazes



Monday, February 27, 2017

Tumbler 16

I covered this whole tumbler in brown slip and you can see where some of it built up along the edges of the brush.  Glazed the top half in white and the bottom half in Carmel 14, which left a nice overlap in the middle.
mason stain slip, recycled cone 10 stoneware, glazes
drips happen



I took a type writer key and labeled the bottom of this series of tumblers with a T for Cone Ten (I did the same with a 6 for cone 6) because it can get pretty hard to tell them apart after they've been fired.  If you glaze fire cone 6 in a cone 10 kiln, it melts, and that is very bad...and expensive because it can ruin the kiln shelves and others' pieces.

Friday, February 24, 2017

Tumbler 15

 Back to tumblers!  These are made of recycled cone 10 stoneware.  This particular one I striped with chocolate brown mason stain-ed slip before firing.  I never know if the stripes will show up once glaze is applied, but this worked quite well.
mason stain, Carmel 14 glaze, cone 10 recycled stoneware

mason stain, Carmel 14 glaze, cone 10 recycled stoneware

I left tracks behind where I was holding the tumbler when I dipped it in glaze.
It's like a signature I guess.

Thursday, February 23, 2017

White Vase with Seam

Another cylinder vase with a decorated seam.  This was supposed to be a bluish celedon, but that just didn't happen.  It's a nice neutral, though.
hand-built cylinder from recycled cone 10 clay

Again, pretty messy in there.

A lot of the iron in the clay got pulled out by the white glaze upon firing.

There was a bit of wipe on/wipe off action before I painted the celedon on the
seam decoration...just that little bit of thinning of the glaze really changes the surface color.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Button Vase

 To hide the seam of this hand-built cylinder vase I used both the impression and expression of a grate that covers a drain in my basement, then cut those in circles.
recycled cone 10 stoneware


First, dipped in white, then painted buttons with celedon and iron saturate glazes.

Nice speckles!  And finger prints.

Clearly, I need to work on pouring evenly.  I'm very messy.

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Stoneware Cat Mug in Purple and White


Double dip with Copper Red on top and white on bottom.  Yes...Copper Red, depending on the oxygen in the kiln, goes blue or celedon.  We got a nice purply color here.  And I love where the glazes run together...yum yum.
stamped cone 10 half and half cat mug, recycled stoneware


stamped cone 10 half and half cat mug, recycled stoneware

stamped cone 10 half and half cat mug, recycled stoneware

stamped cone 10 half and half cat mug, recycled stoneware

Monday, February 20, 2017

Stoneware Cat Mug in Neutral


The next several posts share a series of mugs, pendants, vases, and tumblers that I made from cone 10 recycled stoneware that was put together at the KC Clay Guild.  Many of these are prototypes or test pieces (everything is a test piece for me!).  I'm still pretty unfamiliar with using cone 10 glazes--it is truly painting blind--because the high temperatures, amount of oxygen in certain parts of the kiln, and clay body makeup all react differently with every firing.  But that's what's fun about it! ...usually.

I made stamps with my digital vinyl cutter to impress cats into the clay and let the glaze fill in and highlight without any kind of wipe on/wipe off technique.

I really didn't know what I was going to be getting with this combo.  I think I was expecting a darker top half because the glaze is called "Carmel 14" but I'm quite pleased!
recycled cone 10 stoneware, half and half dip glaze

recycled cone 10 stoneware, half and half dip glaze

recycled cone 10 stoneware, half and half dip glaze

recycled cone 10 stoneware, half and half dip glaze

I'm putting stuff up on INSTAGRAM as I see fit and enjoy hearing from you!

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Tumbler 7


The clear glaze I use really pulls this mason stain down, which, interestingly enough, is lavender when I paint it on.  I added the little tab here to fortify the edge that was a bit thin at the top.  Always turning an oops into an opportunity--it's the artist's way!
white stoneware, mason stain, black stroke and coat, clear glaze