Footed Bowls

I started making some footed bowls during the Pecked phase, and I decided to try to expand on that with a bag of clay I found and reconstituted.  Free clay = no waste if it turns out terrible.

Turned out GREAT, MAN!

Pushed it out almost like it was on the wheel, but slow and on a lazy Susan instead.  The outside made a kind of crust (I refer to these as Bread Bowls) when the surface cracked as I expanded it out.

Yeah, I know what these look like.  They're feet.

With the width being what it was (big bottomed) I wanted to make sure it was stable and supported.  So six feet did the trick!

Bottoms Up 

I tried some new glaze combos I was experimenting with and am really happy with the result.

 

Maker's mark made with typewriter hammers.

Here's another

Only five feet this time.

 This one cracked on the bottom but not all the way through.  I've been having issues with cracking and it has to do with the clay and the craftsmanship...still learning!  If they crack all the way I just turn them into planters.  Problem solved!

I formed the so-called Cloud Bowl over a mold, then added feet and flipped over when appropriate.  You never know if it will survive the flip, if the clay is hard enough, if the feet are connected enough or centered right.  You just have to keep making them until you figure it out, and even then you can put a lot of time into a project and it just dies.  But this one survives!!  I love the glaze, it's the same combo as the Six-Footer.

Cloud Bowl

Tripod

Oopsey.

Not only did this wide thing crack, but there is a big whammy, too...probably my fault.  It showed up when I picked it up from the bisque fire.  I left it to dry a long time, but there could have been a piece of debris in there that caused it to pop off during firing.  But I wanted to play with glaze anyway and spent quite a bit of time constructing it, so I just persisted.

 Now my Aldi cacti and succulents live here.

I'm prepping for my open studio sale!  Follow progress on Instagram and share the event on Facebook, please.  This thing is counting on word of mouth!  

Ceramics, Odds and Ends Edition

I made some footed bowls for the first time that weren't too bad...I got some Mid-Century melamine bowls from my mom and used them as a form to push balls of clay onto the sides and played with different glazes.  And of course I used bits and pieces of clay to make some jewelry.

Fresh from the kiln!

Four bowls made the same way with different stonewares,
cone 6 and cone 10, and different glaze techniques.
I call them Cloud Bowls because they especially look cloudy from the top.

I made a boatload of pendants with my left over clay and tried out new stamps
and glazes.  Then I strung them on leather cord and learned a little about tying
decorative knots.

Slip experiments...

I wound a strip of vinyl around their little bodies (slip was applied before bisque) and
then dipped them in white glaze.  After the glaze dried I pulled off the vinyl to reveal the
raw clay beneath.

The stencil experience looked silly during the process.

See previous post for BEFORE photos on those last images.