Clay Gallimaufry

PIÈCE de RÉSISTANCE !!!

2011-05-31T16:51:00.001-06:00

It's taken me all this time to get the courage to glaze and fire this piece.
It's been sitting in a place of honor for a very long time and folks would come in and say: "I can't wait to see this when it's finished."

But i was afraid that i'd make a mistake and ruin it.

So!
Finally . . .
Here it is. Glazed and fired.

It came out fine and i'm tickled pink with it.

Courage, tout le monde, le diable est mort
Chae

Two Faced Cup

2011-05-31T13:46:00.000-06:00

I thought the glaze on this cup would come out a wee bit differently . . . shoulda known that the white striations would not sit atop the blue, but would rather blend in !
If you like blue -- it's a great cup!
Happy color striations days, foks . . .
Chae

Scandinavian Influence

2011-05-30T14:58:00.000-06:00

While you're watching TV -- if -- you watch tv, instead of looking at the main characters or action taking place, do you observe the background in the scene?

I think sometimes we get so involved in the story, we ignore the setting . . . .

Anyhooo, in a lot of recent tv shows, the background has contained a lot of Scandinavian pottery ! Surprizing, yes ???

And i do believe this has subconscously influenced this pitcher.

Happy Scandinavian days, folks.
Chae

And It Pours Well !

2011-05-29T14:55:00.000-06:00

This was a fun pot to create.

And talk about character !!!

One can almost see bright starlight singing under a full moonlit sky
and this wondrous light illuminating
all of earth's flowers
whitely and glowing with joy
in this wondrous summer night landscape.

Or so the tale goes as this unique teapot tells me its story . . . .

Happy summer nights folks, filled with starlight and moonshine!

Chae

Pitcher With Attitude

2011-05-28T16:47:00.000-06:00

What can i say? It's a pretty pot.

Actually . . . that's about all i am going to say besides the fact that it's 8 inches tall and 6 inches wide.

Have a grand weekend folks
Chae

Like Rabbits?

2011-05-24T17:45:00.000-06:00

A perfect pot. It has character and the glazes worked well
Except for one thing . . .
This is the first time ever that glaze clogged the spout !
Just in case it wasn't totally clogged, i filled the pitcher full of water and attempted to pour it into a cup.
And by golly -- it pours beautifully ! Right into the cup without a spilled drop.

Except for one thing . . .
It pours along the length of the spout -- not thru it.
Ah well . . . it's a perfectly functional pot; good design, nice glazes and it works, just not as you expect it to !
Happy Spouting days, folks
Chae

Almost There

2011-05-23T15:53:00.000-06:00

Perhaps y'all remember, a couple of years back, when i posted the greenware version of my attempts to create a banjo . . . ?
Couldn't fire it then for it was bigger than my kiln, and tho i've had success firing the gas kiln, i was afraid to fire this in that.
Sooo . . . the new Skutt kiln is large enough and reliable enough to give me the courage to go ahead and fire this creation.

Am sooo close to finishing this real, live Banjo !!! Just need to purchase the skin and the banjo strings
And then
We'll see
If there's music in it . . . .
Hope your days are full of music, folks
Chae

Can Hardly Wait

2011-05-21T20:09:00.001-06:00

Was going to glaze fire at a reasonable time yesterday, but Doug Iverson, the weatherman on NBC, predicted late afternoon thunder and lightening storms. I just plainly, without a doubt, hate to fire the kiln when lightening bolts surround the house. And Doug -- well, 80% of the time his predictions are right on target.
However, he didn't hit the target yesterday. Sure, there was a bit of soft Spring rain.
But
No roaring thunder
No lightening strikes
Silly me -- i tuned into the ABC news/weather at 4:45pm. She said: a low pressure to the west moving our way. More storms and predictable thunder storms. Tuned into the NBC weather at 5pm. Doug said a high pressure to the west and clearing skies today through but evening storms.
Decided to take a chance . . . .

Started the kiln at 11:20pm last night and sat up the whole night thru watching the digital readout do its thing.

6:31 -7am this morning and i could hardly see straight but the load completed. No thunder, no lightening.
Can hardly wait til tomorrow morning to see these pieces . . . .
Happy Glaze firing days, folks
Chae

Encouraging Spring

2011-05-10T16:43:00.000-06:00

Sometimes art copies nature. Here I am hoping that nature will copy art and emulate this very Spring inspired teapot with weather appropriate for the season !!!

This is 13 n' 1/2 inches tall by
xxxxx 11 n' 1/2 inches wide

Happy Spring Days, folks
Chae

Recent Events

2011-05-03T09:46:00.002-06:00

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

Hugs
Chae

Sort-a

2011-04-27T09:35:00.000-06:00

Not good enough to be "good" . . . .
But not bad enough to discard . . . .

Happy colorbook days, folks
Chae

From the last glaze load

2011-04-21T10:52:00.000-06:00

Hesitate to post this a'tall, and yet, it would make a sweet candy dish . . . .

Happy Candy days, folks
Chae

Emerald Green

2011-04-18T14:14:00.000-06:00

As you will plainly see -- this isn't even close to emerald green !

To the best of my recollection, one can use:
(1) 5 Tin with 3 Copper Oxide
(2) 5 (+/-) Tin with 1 (+/-) Copper Carb
Which, no matter the amount combo should predictably produce a whitish green
Or:
(3) between 2.5 and 5 Titanium with 2-3 Cobalt Oxide
Which, i think, will produce a medium yellowish green
Or:
(4) 1 Nickle with 5 Titanium and 1.25 Tin -- for a pale green

What i ended up using (hoping for emerald) was:
A base glaze with:
5 Titanium + 2.5 Copper Carb + a dot of Cobalt Carb

Which didn't work a'tall . . . .

Happy Green Days, folks!
Chae

Funky Cup Same Glaze

2011-04-17T12:50:00.000-06:00

This cup better shows the versatility of the glaze posted yesterday. It's the same glaze that's on the clunky pot two posts down.
Yes. Yes! I know the cup is a rather funky shape but sometimes funky's fun and i often use these types of cups/bowls for glaze experiments rather than tiles which are more or less useless after one sees what the recipe will do !

Happy Funky Cups days, folks !
Chae

Mauve Periwinkle Glaze

2011-04-16T12:54:00.000-06:00

50 Custer
10 Gerstley
8   Whiting
17 Silica
6   Dolomite
1   Zinc
4   Barium
4   EPK
Add:
7   Tin
1/2 of 1/8th Copper Carb
1/8th of 1/8th Potassium Bichromate

Generally, i glaze one piece at a time, thus i mix up the base oxides, etc., following which, i use approx 2 tbsp of the mixture and add whatever coloring agents i'm going to use to that. Add approx. 20ml of water.
(Had read early on in my potter's studies, that glazes which set in buckets for long periods of time are often unusable in later months. However, dry ingredients, combined and waiting for the addition of the water, will stay workable for an indefinate period of time -- which is why i creat my glazes this-a-way.)
The above is a cone 8 to 10 glaze. But i fire at 2200 degrees with a 15 minute hold -- so i use a cone 5-6 clear glaze applied over this to bring the maturing temp down.
Hugs
Chae

Color Improves Chunkiness

2011-04-16T12:31:00.000-06:00

This is how the clunky jar turned out.
Every once in a while, glaze will rescue a bisqued pot. In this case, it slimmed it down and reduced the chunkiness of it. And too, it's one of my favorite glazes. Love the way it breaks into a mauve and periwinkle over texture !
It stands 15 inches tall by 5 n' 1/2 inches wide at its widest point.

Happy Glazing Days Folks
Chae

Igor Savitsky's Uzbekistan Museum

2011-04-15T09:41:00.000-06:00

The creation of the following pot was inspired by a documentary on Savitsky's attempts to paint the desert's colors around the Nukus area in the Republic of Karakalpakstan.
Evidently, after being criticized by a famous Soviet painter/artist, Savitsky gave up his career and established a museum in Nukus which focused on contemporary Russian art and also contained ancient Russian cultural artifacts.

This "desert sands" pot stands 9 n' 1/4 inches tall and is 5 inches wide.

Happy Uzbekistan days, folks
Chae

Uninspired But Functional

2011-04-15T09:22:00.000-06:00

The title says it all. The underlying glaze had enough slippery-slidey fluxes in it to make all my painstakingly applied "flowers" and "stems" blur into a pastel Monet-type visual. Haven't a clue where the pinkish hue came from in the underlying glaze as the ingredients just didn't support the color.
Soooo . . . here it is: uninspired but functional. A nesting set of dishes -- largest is 8 inches by 2 n' 1/2 inches deep; the medium sized one is: 6 n' 7/8's inches by 2 n' 1/4 inches deep and the smallest is: 5 n' 1/4 by 1 n' 6/8ths inches deep. Measured the width at the narrowest point. Add 2 inches to the size to include the handles.

Happy stacking dish days, folks
Chae

From Yesterday's Kiln Opening

2011-04-13T17:02:00.000-06:00

Between the long-necked pot posted yesterday and these goblets today, one could believe i was in a very harlequin-ish, Cyrano de Bergerac mood both at the wheel and in the glazing room !!!

Hugs
Chae

Finished Long Necked Jar

2011-04-12T17:43:00.000-06:00

Out of the kiln this morning

Happy Long Necked Jug Days Folks
Chae

Cups

2011-04-10T16:04:00.001-06:00

Here are a few of my recent cups.

And a close up of three o me favorites:

Happy Beverage Days Folks

Chae

Decals and Casserole Dishes

2011-04-05T10:57:00.000-06:00

While we're on the topic of casserole dishes. This is one which was done back while i was still experimenting with decals. Not, perhaps, my favorite, but others seem to like it, so have kept it around.
It's a mini-mini, but a lidded casserole dish nethertheless.

Happy glazing days, folks
Chae

Rhodes' Glazes

2011-04-04T17:28:00.000-06:00

For Joel
Rhodes' #18 is a ^6 Satin Matte base:
45   Custer feldspar
15   Frit 3134
25   EPK (kaolin)
15   Dolomite
5     Gerstley Borate
5    Barium Carbonate
Can use a variety of colorants with this, particularly cobalt (5%) and mixtures of copper and rutile. Very good with #15 over the top.

Rhodes' #15 Smooth Opalescent ^6 Base:
25   Frit 3134
45   Custer feldspar
20   Gerstley Borate
10   EPK (kaolin)
A smooth, glossy glaze.

I'm not particularly partial to matte glazes, so i always use the #15 gloss over the #18 for the glossy effect.
I'm not sure at this moment what the web-address for John Post is, but am pretty sure it's listed in the side bar somewhere's as i'm most impressed with his recipes. Also, way back in the archives, you'll find 2 of his recipes which worked well together for me and produced reds.
Good luck, Joel
Hugs
Chae (Lee Ellis)

'Nother Casserole

2011-04-04T16:55:00.000-06:00

Ah sure now an' the casseroles have it.
This one is a double-walled, cut-out design. It measures 6 n' 1/4 inches tall by 6 n' 1/2 inches wide at its widest circumference.
However, the interior dimensions are 3 inches tall by 3 n' 1/4 wide.
It will hold a dab of this and a dash of that n' perhaps a cup n' a half of rice. The beauty of this dish is: whatever you put in it will stay hot for an extra long time because of the double walls.

Happy double-walling days, folks
Chae

The Casserole Series

2011-04-03T13:06:00.000-06:00

Ha! I'm only showing the completed casserole dishes where the lids fit !

Here's one with a modified Ocean Green glaze fired to 2200 degrees with a 15 minute hold.

Measures 5 n' 1/2 inches tall and 8 n' 3/8ths inches wide. Would tell you the quart capacity but am not quite sure how to measure that !!!

Would-ja believe i cook by my grandmother's method, a pinch of this, a pinch of that; then, she would spread her hands and say: "and this much". Since her meals were delicious, i never questioned her methods . . .

Happy Casseroling Foks
Chae

Kiln Opening

2011-04-02T12:41:00.001-06:00

When i first subscribed to blogger.com, their photo uploader was excellent. I could put photos in the order i wanted them with proper visual spacing. Then during the summer my computer went down and it's taken me this long to replace the computer, only to discover that blogger changed its photo application perimeters !!! This new system stinks !!! Find myself spending more time just trying to get photos to display the way i want them than it did to film the photos, off-load them from the camera and download them to the computer and disk !!! Am so frustrated right now for i've spent the last 20 minutes just trying to get the photos to upload in the series of occurrances !!!

This is the first time i've thought to take photos of a completed bisque firing in the inside of the kiln! This load had several tall pots, so it was loaded to accomodate those. There were 3 layers of pots on the other side of them. Fired to 1828 degrees yesterday. Unloaded shortly before noon today.

Third Layer

Second layer

Bottom layer.

Happy Kilning Days Folks

Chae

Casserole Dishes

2011-04-01T16:40:00.000-06:00

I have a dickens of a time creating casserole dishes because they require lids. Now creating the bottom part, or the bowl, isn't hard. And creating the lid isn't hard either. Getting them to fit perfectly together, however, is a near impossible task !!!
The use of callipers should make this an easy task, right ? After all, you are measuring to a pre-determined size, and the lid corresponds to the calliper measurement. Oughta fit snuggly together. Hmmm . . . wish it worked that-a-way.
Oh well, after throwing lots more than many -- here's a small casserole dish which did work.

Happy casseroling days, folks !
Chae

Almost Jun One

2011-03-30T16:46:00.000-06:00

Here's the glaze:

20 Custer

22 Gerstley Borate

12 Frit 3134

20 Silica

16 Whiting

8 Zinc

4 Wood Ash

2 Bone Ash

Here's the temp: fired to 2200 degrees F. with a 15 minute hold

It's a pretty little glaze, fully vitrified and shows signs of blue opalization.

Still -- it needs some tweaking.

Happy and successful glazing days, folks

Chae

Greek Teapot

2011-03-30T16:30:00.000-06:00

Ever notice something that reminded you not so much of its function, but resembled instead, a country of origin?
The line, the body and structure, the colors -- seem to touch some universal chord which touches a subliminal memory of mankind's history especially remeniscent of a place in time?
The following teapot is such. It's wheel thrown and altered. As i sat at the spinning wheel that day with a lump of clay revolving on the bat in front of me, i let go of all "thought" and just let the clay work its magic into shape and form. Even later, after the first bisque firing, as i applied the glazes -- they, more than i, dictated their direction. Could i say they applied themselves. Hmmm . . . you probably wouldn't believe that. But, in essence, they did.
And so, you have before you a teapot which pours perfectly, no drops left behind on the spout after the cup is full, and which has, more or less, created itself from some distant universal memory of existence, some distant time in history, some distant place.

And who knows, maybe that mystical place was Greece in an era of "way back when".

At least, i'd like to think so . . . .

Happy memories, folks

Chae

Juggernaut Series

2011-03-29T16:40:00.000-06:00

I only unplugged one cord ! But that one little item was enough to really, really mess me up.
My memory is still pretty good -- especially if i can find the piece of paper on which i wrote things down. And my eyesight is pretty terrific. Can still see well enough to thread the eye of a very small needle, even if those dratted eye-exam cards print their "h's" to look like "n's" and the "o's" greatly resemble "p's"!
However, even with a good memory and terrific eyesight, that one unplugged cord wasted hours of my time. Who would-a done thought that the computer printer wouldn't work if it wasn't plugged in ??!!!

Ah sure now, onwards and upwards towards more interesting items. As you know from previous posts, i've developed a grand interest in creating tall pots. My glaze combos on said pots needs some fine tuning, but here they are with all their warts . . . .

13 inches tall x 6 n' 1/2 inches wide.

11 n' 1/2 inches tall x 5 inches wide

Hopin' all your cords are plugged in, but if they're not, check your outlets before you panic !!!
Hugs

Chae

Marquis Series Two

2011-03-28T14:53:00.000-06:00

On this bowl i used John Post's Jen's Juicy Fruit:

10 EPK

9 Gerstley Borate

49 Neph Sye

12 Silica

11 Whiting

9 Lithium

Add:

4 Soda Ash

1 Fireplace Ash

3 Rutile
2 RIO

Over Coyote's Seafoam

Then, brushed a layer of Coyotes Buttercup over both of these; then a layer of Lapis

The next two bowls had many layers of glaze applied also.

Peachy keen glazing days, folks

Chae

Marquis Series

2011-03-28T13:04:00.000-06:00

These are a series of "cut-out" decorative bowls which i nicknamed the Marquis Series. The majority of them are 4 n' 1/2 to 5 inches tall by 6 n'3/4's to 7 inches wide, give or take a few fractions of an inch.

Happy design days, folks

Chae

Work In Progress

2011-03-26T12:40:00.001-06:00

Have spent most of this winter calculating glazes and their color effects on forms.

As to the forms? These are pots recentlly thrown. Am waiting for the clay to dry thoroughly so they can be bisqued.

This vase is 18 n' 1/2 inches tall.

These matching goblets: 13 n' 3/4's:

Two views of

a fat-bellied, rear-ended pot. 10 n'1/4 inches tall.

Clunky vase: 16 n'1/2 inches tall:

It surely is a long, long journey to success if someone keeps throwing crooked roadblocks in your path. As Donovan would say: onwards and upwards. For me, for now, i would merely echo -- onwards -- if you can.
Chae

Sweet Glazes

2011-03-24T16:11:00.000-06:00

This pot is approx. 5 'n 1/2 inches tall (at its tallest point) and 5 'n 1/2 inches wide (at its widest point). Probably should have photographed it from a lower angle to give a better perspective of its size.

Anyhooo . . . the glaze is:
A Rhodes #18 with:
4.5   Titanium
0.5   Copper Carb
0.5   Zinc
This glaze produces both the light mint green and the orangy yellow striations.

On the top left of the inside (the pretty mauve color) and the dotted little flowers on the outside, swiped a layer of:

50   Custer
10   Gerstley Borate
8   Whiting
17   Silica
6    Dolomite
1    Zinc
4    Barium
4   EPK
Add:
7      Tin Oxide
0.5   Copper Carb
0.05 Potassium Bichromate

This vase was fired to 2200-degrees with a 15 minute hold.
Happy glazing days, folks
Chae

Flowering Teapot

2011-03-24T15:48:00.000-06:00

This is a modified "Ocean Green" glaze. The original is a ^6 but i fire a wee bit lower than that, so modified the original to vitrify at 2200-degrees.
20 Custer feldspar
5.4 EPK
10 Neph Sye
37 Gerstley Borate
18 Silica
Add:
1.8 RIO
2.8 Rutile
3.5 Copper Carb

It's really hard to see in the photo, but there's little blue dots of color mixed in the green and brown. Sweet glaze. It's glossy and was applied thick.

Unfortunately, this pot, while newly glazed, was created years ago when i was still using my original clay. It cracked on nearly every piece, which led me to change clays.
The irony? Tho you can plainly see the crack towards the bottom of the piece -- it doesn't leak !
Happy glazing days, folks.
Chae

Slipping Greenware Pots

2011-03-24T14:25:00.010-06:00

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Was recently working with slips on greenware. Found this charming effect.
Use 3/8 tsp. of manganese, 2/8 tsp. black iron oxide and enough tobacco juice to make a paste.
Cover cup surface with a white slip. I used:
15 Frit 3134
30 ground clay scraps
30 China Clay
10 Gerstley Borate
10 Zinc
5 Wollastonite
Decorate over this with the above manganese mixture
Bisque fire to 1828 with a 15 min hold
After bisqued, cover with a clear glaze -- i use Coyote Clear, and refire to 2200-degrees with a 15 min hold.
Good slipping days, folks!
Chae

Glaze Analysis

2011-03-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

Hey Folks
Discovered this site this morning !
http://www.realendurance.com/interglaze.html

Great resource for analysizing your glaze components !!!

Happy New Year's

2011-01-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to wish everyone the best in the upcoming 2011 year.
Happy New Year's everyone !!!
Hugs
Chae

Glaze Simulator

2010-08-07T09:28:00.000-06:00

Just found this on The Square Peg blog ( http://glazesimulator.com/ ).
Haven't tried it myself but it looks like a workable ap.
http://glazesimulator.com/

Happy glazing
Chae

Watch the Sidebar !!!

2010-02-24T16:40:00.003-07:00

OK.
Think i've got it this time.
Took me all day to accomplish.

Darn if i couldn't have thrown several dozen pots in the amount of time it took me to set up this secondary display site.
However
It's all said
And done
And we can get on with more important stuff
Right ????
Darn right !!!

Clicking on the image in the sidebar ( Mediterranean Sundance) will bring you to another page which includes a description of sorts, a blurb or two, and more photos.
Footnote: Additions will be added to the sidebar as they become available. Please check back often as new items will be posted regularly.

Check it out and let me know what you think !
Chae

Proceeding Slowly

2010-02-23T14:29:00.005-07:00

This has been a confusing morning and i'm just not sure of the next step. Can't believe that i've forgotten all my javascript and html yet when i considered writing a widget for the sidebar, found the procedure daunting.

What i would like to do is: xx develop separate blog pages to post pictures and descriptions of pieces as they are ready for sale.
But
As of this moment, with my head trying to work thru a flu fog, that hasn't happened.

So
What i think i'll do is create another blogger related blog used solely to highlight new available pieces and put the picture-link in the sidebar.

Earlier today, thought i had a solution similar to this worked out on Flickr only to discover that flickr prohibits anything related to sales on their site . . . . So it's back to the drawing board.

Trouble is: i can't think of a good name for another blogspot !!!

With any luck a'tall, there will be new developments by tomorrow . . . .
Chae

Catching Up

2010-02-14T10:11:00.002-07:00

First things first: Happy Valentine's Day everyone !
Beautiful day here. Clear. Sunny. Pristine snow on the mountain tops. Lacy, iced tree branches glitter with prismatic colors as the sunshine adds radiance to their dazzling, sparkling surfaces.

Next item to address: Have approx. one more week of firing. Will then be caught up with the backlog of bisqued pots awaiting glaze and their journey thru the crucible to make their entry into the world as -- finished pots.

Routine here for the last several months has been: rise and shine, run out to the garage and offload the previous day's fired pieces, reload the kiln and torch the burners, feed the little Yorkie her breakfast, glaze pots for the next day's firing !

All that will change presently and we'll focus on photographing this body of work. (Pictures posted soon !!!)
Then, of course, we'll focus on marketing . . . .

In the meantime: Happy Valentine's Day
Chae

Some Results

2010-01-29T12:20:00.003-07:00

Trust me ! It's been an uphill struggle, but i think we're close to the top !!!

Scuze my long abscence please.

My computer's been acting up . . . .

Have been firing every day . . . .

Glazing every day . . . .

Trying out new color combos . . . .

Here are some pretty poor photos and a really beautiful pot . . . .

( Should redo the photos but need to run check on the kiln, so here they are with all their warts.) Sides that - it's a bit challenging to photograph mostly black pots !

Have a greatest day

Chae

Unbelievable !!!

2009-12-09T12:27:00.002-07:00

The only thing going thru my mind right this instant is: this is totally unbelievable !!!
Unaccountable, without rhyme nor reason, illogical, implausible, mind-boggling, unbelievable.

For 3 years, i've tried to get my gas kiln to reach temps even approximating 2167 °F. Have prayed, sworn a blue streak, researched extensively, and with a heck of a lot more patience than my personality type normally exhibits - tried, tried and tried again.

Finally, as most of y'all know, decided to modify all my glazes down to ^01 which this kiln will do with ease.

Overnight temps here in the valley reached a high of minus-12 degrees last night and by 6am twas only basically zero. In the attached garage, the temperature gauge read 15 degrees. Figured that was too cold for the electric kiln's digital-programmer to function.
Guessed that i could figure out how to run the gas kiln in straight oxidation.
Have never tried this before. Gas kilns are for reduction firing, right?

Oughta mention here, that i always stack a kiln immediately before using. Otherwise the glazed pots sit in the house where normal temps range at 68°. Carried them out to the garage, loaded the kiln (which was icy cold) and started the pilot. Normally, the kiln is run on pilot for 2-hours before turning the main burners up.
But this is very early am and i'm not quite awake. It occurs to me, that pots which are already 68° might not survive being rapidly cooled to 15° and then reheated.
There was also the kiln factor. Figured the pilot burner was not going to heat that kiln much above the garage temps.
So!
Cranked on the main burner just as low as it would go and waited. Two hours later, it was holding at 1000°F. Pushed the main lever ¾'s open with the draft completely uncovered and all ports open. (Trying for oxidation.)
From past experience, was expecting that in about another 2 hours, temps would have reached around 1827° . Of course, in the past have gone for body reduction at ^012 or around 1550 - 1620°.

Ah but no, the Cosmic Joker was messing with my mind but once again !!!
The thermocouple in the top port read: 2400°F ! The middle port temps were: 2350°F

Just couldn't believe what my eyes plainly saw. Stood for several minutes switching the thermocouples from one port to another - top, bottom, middle. Letting the thermocouples reach room temp and reinserting them into the peephole ports.

Yep! They actually did read 2400°F at the top; 2350°F at the middle.
And climbing !!!

The glazes are going to be fried, of course. More pots to add to the reject pile which is growing well-nigh out of hand. And actually, until the kiln can be opened tomorrow - am not even sure the Cone 6 clay didn't melt to puddles in cone 10 temps !!!

Main question here is: is this a fluke? Somehow related to the zero temps outside? Or is this a repeatable operation?
Chae

Washes Over Thrice Fired Pots

2009-11-19T09:51:00.001-07:00

Do not put a 50/50 Gerstley Borate and Frit 3134 wash over very dull, matt surfaces and fire them to 1888°F in a gas kiln hoping for better than previous results!
This does not work a'tall !!!

Glaze Combo

2009-11-18T10:47:00.003-07:00

This is an awesome glaze combination at temps 2020°F electric oxidation firing.

50 Frit 3419
10 Neph Sye
5.5 Fireplace Ash
3 Lithium
9 EPK
14.7 Silica
5.4 Whiting
Plus:
1 Cobalt Carb
3 Lithium
2 Tin

Apply first, then apply the following glaze over this.

52.5 Frit 3124
9 Silica
14.7 EPK
4 Lithium
10.6 Zinc
7.8 Custer feldspar
5.4 Whiting
Plus:
1/2 Copper Oxide
2 Lithium
1/2 Cobalt Carbonate
2 Tin

Note: i measure in parts, using 1/8th teaspoon as a base measurement, so all of the above portions are in 1/8th tsp measurements.

Firing schedule:
200°F to 300°F
324°F to 1250°F
Full to 2000°F
Hold 15 minutes (see notes on this in previous post)
Full to 2020°F
Hold 20 minutes
Full to 900°F
Hold 40 minutes

Be aware: Both of these glazes run like crazy.
Note: by adjusting the tin oxide amounts in the additives, one can achieve different shades of blue yet with the same startling effects of the two glazes combined.

Ignore the outside of these pieces (these were all glaze tests and i usually try 3-4 per cup). Focus instead on the inside blues. Guess i oughta mention, ignore the quality of the photographs too!
For these are richly saturated blues with riverlets of blue, green, black and wee specks of pink adding a "richness" and depth to the overall finished glaze.
Happy glazing days to y'all
Chae

Nother Glaze Database

2009-11-15T12:45:00.002-07:00

Good Sunday Mornin' to y'all

If you're trying to find low-fire glaze recipes, this is an extremely useful database !!!
http://lindaarbuckle.com/handouts/glz_hg_lowfire.txt

Many thanks to Linda Aarbuckle, who has spent many hours compiling it !!!
She, also, has a raku recipe database. Just replace the word lowfire with raku in the address bar to reach it, then add it to your favorites list.

Way down towards the bottom of the list, there are some recipes for lustre glazes, too !!! Haven't tried them out yet but now that i can no longer find a source for Amaco Gold Lustre, will be attempting some of them in the near future.

Happy glazing days
Chae

Glaze Worth Mentioning

2009-11-08T13:08:00.006-07:00

xxxxxxxx

If you are working in the 2020°F glaze firing range, this glaze works well. It strongly resembles a "floating blue". The color is much more saturated and a richer blue than my photo shows.

It's a high Gloss where applied thick and doesn't run. Oxidized, electric firing.

Base Glaze:

52.5 Frit 3124

14.7 Silica

9 EPK

3 Lithium

7.6 Zinc

7.8 Cornwall Stone

5.4 Whiting

Plus:

2 Tin Oxide

2 Lithium (that's in addition to the 3 in the base glaze)

1/2 Cobalt Oxide

Note: i measure by parts. And use 1/8th tsp as a base measurement. Thus: 1/2 cobalt oxide would be: 1/2 of 1/8th tsp. Plus: i halved the above base recipe but didn't half the additives: tin, lithium and cobalt oxide.

I was seeking a pink. Spozedly lithium and cobalt oxide will produce a pink. But this didn't.

Still -- am quite pleased with the "floating blue". It's a keeper.

On the inside: Where applied thin, it's a steelish blue; the areas where 2+ coats were applied are the sections it "floated". Plus, (on the outside) where applied over a yucky chocolate brown glaze, it covered it well but the double-glaze is nothing to write home about.

Firing schedule:

200°F to 300°F

324°F to 1250°F

Full heat to 2000°F

Hold: 15 minutes

Full heat to 2020°F

Hold: 20 minutes

Full ramp speed drop to 900°F

Hold: 40 minutes

Explanation: the only reason the hold is between the 2000°F and the 2020°F, is because my Paragon kiln doesn't operate as it should and shuts itself off !!! Thus, i added an un-needed hold in order to coax it to reach 2020°F and this seems to work for this kiln. If i were firing a normal kiln, i would fire at full heat straight thru from the 1300 to the 2020°F. However, if my kiln operated correctly, i would be firing to Cone 6 !!! instead of recomputing all my glazes to the lower temp.

Chae

Fiddlin' Around

2009-11-04T16:42:00.002-07:00

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Have recently been teaching clay classes.

Decided that having a theme would move the classes along in a somewhat orderly progression.

Chose musical instruments.

Had already started this banjo as a model for the first class, when i realized, much to my dismay, that it surpassed the abilities of the enrolled age group.

So!

Have spent the last couple of weeks remodifying my game plan.

We're still doing musical instruments.

Just on a drastically more basic level.

Still, without the motivation of teaching classes, it would never have occurred to me to try and create a banjo !!!

The tuning pins were a bit of a logistics problem. But think i have this solved.

The next challenge is: how in the world to i prop this upright in the kiln? If it warps a'tall, i'll be in the soup.

Have a day or two to figure this out while the clay dries before bisque firing . . . .

Am just a'hopin and a'prayin that it survives both the bisque and glaze firings, and then, actually makes music !!!

Chae

Old Discovery Made Anew

2009-10-20T22:25:00.003-06:00

Even the smallest amount of Dolomite will turn a glaze matte !!!

As y'all know, i've been trying to modify all my glazes to vitrify at 2020°F.
Soooo
Drew up a list of materials and oxide melting points. Dolomite's melting point is 1472°F. Now, silica's MP is on the high end of the scale at 3110°F. I was hoping that in the language of eutectics, the Dolomite would lower the melting point of the silica. Or some such thing. Actually, computed the formula a little more precisely than that.
But it's Dolomite that is the culprit here.
All 6 of the new glazes worked. But darn if they're not ugly.
An' didn't i use Dolomite in every one of them. To help bring the glaze melting point down, of course.

But even the smallest amount of Dolomite will turn a glaze surface matte . . . .
7.7 out of a 100 percent isn't very much, you know.
But just for future reference
If you want a glossy glaze
7.7% is too much.
It will give a Satin Matte glaze at best. Otherwise, just a plain ole stoney matte.
Chae

Trying to Understand Glazes and Gas Kilns

2009-10-14T10:26:00.006-06:00

What can i tell you? That i don't understand gas kilns? Yep. That would be a true statement. Am i sorta getting a handle on it? Perhaps . . . .

Yesterday fired these pots under the assumption, that while i've never been able to get the Olympic Torchbearer 1827G to reach temps of 2167°F, it has consistently heated beyond temps of 2012°F. Since, both the electric and gas kilns seem to be in cahoots with each other, i've been trying to modify my cone 5-6 glazes to accomodate the kilns.

OK. Here's the scoop. Arranged the shelves in the kiln totally differently than previous attempts. Used 2 half shelves placed 3.5 inches from the bottom. Put 2 more half shelves on 10-inch posts and balanced them on the first set. Put the 4 bowls on these shelves. Then, balanced a full shelf on more 10-inch posts which placed it 4.5-inches from the top.

The air-intake valves were approximately 1/8th-inch from the closed position. The draft at the top was covered to approx. 1/3rd of the opening.

The first peephole would have been measuring heat of pots on the bottom half shelves (if any had been placed there). The second peephole measured the heat of the middle set of half shelves, and the third peephole measured the heat in the space above the top shelf. One should probably pay attention to these type of details before they fire a load. Me? I arranged the shelves and the pots. The hour was midnight and did i mention that i was already exhausted? Yesterday morning at 6am, as i fired the kiln, wondered why the pyrometer was giving me three different sets of readings: top peephole read 2150°F, middle read 2050°F, bottom read 2000°F. Which one of the three i should be paying attention to !!!

This morning, after removing the bowls, i measured both the shelf spaces and the peephole openings. An ounce of precalculation is worth a pound of cure, they say. But i lucked out.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I should mention here, if you're gonna try out new glaze recipes, try not to concoct them when you're positively exhausted and your mind is laboring to overcome a dull, throbbing headache. It's not that you can't build a perfectly wonderful glaze computation which turns out swell and nicely vitrified !!! It's that after you have done so and fired them, you find you've forgotten to meticulously write down the ingredients in a logical and repeatable order!

So! To the best of my dead- (tired) reckoning, here is a recipe that will vitrify at temps between 2020°F and 2050°F:

Neph Sye = 10

Frit 3110 = 50

Bone Ash = 5.5

Magnesium = 3.1

Dolomite = 7.7

Lithium = 5.5

EPK = 5

Silica = 7

Talc = 6

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx The outside of this bowl has the above recipe (base) with 4 parts Zinc added. Let's call this: (#A). It's a satiny matte.

The inside glaze is a combination of the above recipe (base) with (#B) which has 4 parts Rutile and 1 part Red Iron Oxide added. Then, an additional overlay of the glaze (#A) with the zinc was added. It's super glossy and quite attractive in its own way.

Now . . . here comes the part about inadequate notes. A few days ago, fired a recipe high in manganese content trying to produce a lustre glaze. Fired 3 different bowls with 3 different amounts of manganese on the inside with different glazes on the outside. One had antimony; one had potassium dichromate. While all the glazes vitrified at 2020°F in the electric kiln (oxidation), they were not pretty. Dull matte surfaces. No lustre.

Naturally, i thought - well - they needed a reduction atmosphere. Put them in yesterday's firing. Since they were formulated for temps of 1999°F to 2020°F, most of the glaze surfaces boiled at 2050°F. Some did not, which is confusing in and of itself !!! But it's the color we're interested in here.

Note: On the bottom bowl: the potassium dichromate turned a putrid green in reduction. Not cool when in theory it was spozed to be an orangy-red.

The top bowl with the antimony on the outside turned ugly shades of gray sprinkled with white.

However !!!

The inside of this bowl which had been a dull metallic gray and originally glazed with:

Manganese = 36

Gerstley = 32

Lead Bisilicate = 20

Frit 3110 = 4

Red Art = 4

With the addition of Glaze recipe #A ( 4 parts Zinc) liberally brushed over the pre-fired surface and fired in reduction, turned glossy with rich red-highlighted tenmoku coloring !!!

This isn't the greatest picture of it; the one above shows the richness of color and glossiness better.

So! There you have it. Such as they are, notes on firing gas kilns and metallic lustres which didn't luster and cone 03 to cone 1 glazes which did vitrify, amidst notes on overlaying glazes.

If you're not ready to throw in the towel by now, stay with me. More notes on experimental glazes to follow when formulated and fired !!!

Chae

Steve Graber Tool

2009-10-11T13:00:00.003-06:00

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ok. So ok. This is a little rough and the lid needs attention but it's my first effort at working with Steve Graber's tool which arrived via U.P.S. delivery a few days ago.
Am tickled with the tool. It creates all kinds of potential new design ideas.
Chae

Imagination Needed Here

2009-10-03T12:19:00.005-06:00

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Discovered this morning that i really don't know how to photograph "shiny gold" effectively. Placed these pieces here. Placed them there. Placed them everywhere.

Still

The light sparkled off the gold; overexposing some areas, darkening the rest of the gold areas to reflect a "brown" rather than the shimmering gold.

Soooo

Imagination is needed here. Can you see the bright golden lusters resting luxuriously upon sunset colored sands?

When held in the hand, these pieces boast of far off magical lands awash with shimmering gold in the last orbs of the day.

XXXXXX

Chae

Results

2009-09-25T11:53:00.004-06:00

OK !!! I feel a little more positive now.
It's as if, after much searching thru the convoluted maze of pathways at the world's fair, i finally found the cotton candy booth. Oughta mention here: i love cotton candy!

Here's the scoop.

About three-quarters of the way thru yesterday's firing, realized i was trying to do two opposing things simultaneously.

1.) Was still working under the theory, that with different programming, i could get the little electric Paragon to reach a mid-range temp.

2.) That i had concocted glazes for a much lower temperature range, and if brought up to 2142°F quite possibly, they would "boil" and the effects of the whole firing would give misleading results.

Opted for the lower temperature range. Specifically 2016°F with a 15-minute hold.

Used 3 different glaze calculations.

Here are the results:

Glaze 1 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Glaze 2

Both glaze 1 and 2 vitrified. Glaze 2 is richer, more glossy and a much better glaze. In both cases, i poured glaze into the bowl, swished it around, then poured the remaining out. Glaze#2 is a Conrad G170, cone 3-5 gloss. It worked well, but if used again, will apply 2 coats for i think that will give better results. The pea-green color resulted from the basic glaze with 1% copper carb and 0.25% Rutile added. The dark purplish blue had 0.5 cobalt oxide and 0.25 magnesium added to basic glaze.

Neither of these glazes ran at all.

ok.

Now for the prize. This next one is a glaze formulation which i found on the internet which had been published in Ceramics Monthly's April 1998 issue. Notes on the glaze mentioned that it had a Cone 1-6 range but sometimes bubbled at Cone 6.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

It is a rich creamy glossy turquoise glaze. Perfect. Only needs one coat. But 2 coats wouldn't hurt it. Doesn't run at 2016°F temp with a 15-min hold. Will definately use this formulation again.

Name: Wrights Water Blue

Cone: 1-6 Oxidation

3% Lithium Carbonate

9% Strontium Carbonate

59% Frit 3110

12% EPK

17% Silica

Plus:

2% Bentonite

5% Copper Carbonate

Wasn't sure the clay i am using would vitrify at this low of a temperature either, or that the glaze would marry the clay. It's Georgies G-mix 6 with grog. It has a stated range of cone 4-6. However, the clay is extremely versatile and i've used it before when doing raku firing. Had noted, then, that the pieces with a raku 80/20 glaze would hold water indefinately without the liquid seeping out. No leakage.

If sound counts for anything a'tall, a fingernail pinged against the side of the bowl gives a lovely melodic sound as if the clay has vitrified !!!

Currently, have water in all three bowls checking for seepage or leaking.

So !!!!

There you have it. There may be a way around dysfunctional kilns.

After a year in the doldrums, a wee bit of my lifelong positive attitude is returning! And i am soooo glad to meet and greet it again . . . .

Chae

Watchin'

2009-09-24T09:52:00.001-06:00

Watching that kiln like a hawk. New glazes. New schedule.
If the glazes come out to anything a'tall, will post photos tomorrow.
Chae

Remodificaton

2009-09-22T14:55:00.004-06:00

Up at 3am this morning, to try just one more time to get the little Paragon's cooperation!
Found a glaze firing schedule produced by the Paragon company themselves, which i thought i'd try before chucking the whole Cone 5 venu and remodifying all my glazes to lower temps.
The paragon schedule gallops at high temps up to 1120°F, then crawls slowly to whichever cone completion you're seeking.
Seems backwards to me.
Still . . . . if i didn't try it, how would i know that it didn't work?

The kiln didn't like the Paragon firing schedule any more than i did !!! Shut itself off around 1910°F instead of its usual 2112°F. Yet, true to its own personality quirks, when it was immediately restarted, the onry puppy completed to 2167°F. Of course, you had to be sitting there, nose to nose with the rascally critter, to catch the exact moment it would shut itself off !
Sooooo.
Remodifying my glazes it is.
It's worth the effort, eh? Unless i want to sit thru another winter, eyeballing the digital readout dressed in 3 sweaters, an Alaskan parka, mittens and muluc boots trying to catch the exact moment it decides to misfire.
I'm sure there are other possibilities. Just haven't thought of them yet. An' sure now, isn't experimentation a grand pursuit?
Chae

Greenware On The Drying Rack

2009-09-13T13:44:00.003-06:00

Have i mentioned?

Became fascinated with the old Russian teapots which sported a hole in the center. It took me a minute or two to figure out how to throw such a piece on the wheel. And, as heavy as it is, have a hunch that perhaps the originals were slab-built.

Still

This is my first one.

The pitcher was my second attempt at the theory and it's much lighter.

With practise, ought-a get the technique perfected, eh?

xxx

xxxxxxxxx

On the pitcher below, the pink areas will bisque-fire blue on a white clay.

Happy Sunday to y'all

Chae

Random Thoughts and Taller Pots

2009-09-06T16:42:00.006-06:00

Stormy here today. This area regularly has electrical storms; we seem to have had a lot of them this summer. Lightening zapping from the sky like a cobra's deadly strike. Hitting the undeserving bushes outside, and once, in the other house, it came right inside, hitting the metal woodstove pipe with a resounding crackling. There's no proper word to describe the sound it made. Loud. Crisp. Zap!

That's a pretty long story telling why i won't bisque fire tomorrow. At least, til i know what the weather intends to do.

Last week, bisque-fired every other day filling the small Paragon to capacity each time. This wee kiln, which has such trouble reaching glaze temps, does a bisque fire very well. Was going to post a photo of all that was done, but realized it was nothing to brag about. In a large kiln, it would only have been half a load.

Transferring photos from my camera to the computer has now become a "situation". Not a situational comedy, mind you. Just a troublesome situation. I should have been paying attention, but wasn't -- when my cockateil, Kama, chewed the connector cord. Now, it's "iffy" whether the photos will transfer or not, even with electrical tape wrapped round the wires trying to heal the partially severed copper strands.

Here's a couple of pots thrown and altered this past week. Haven't a clue why it occurred to me to throw a square teapot. Spent more time trying to configure spouts, handles and lid -- on the square -- than the finished pot is probably worth !!!

xxxxxxxxxx

Am about to take another detour. Have gotten to the point in life where i intensely dislike detours. They are always so time consuming !!! Average lifespan for American women is 68-years old. So! There's little time left to accomplish a mark in the world of pottery. Two? Maybe 3 years? Less? Guess, even a detour is better than sitting here fretting about wasted time.

The detour?

Learning how to sagger fire. It's not what i want to do. I'd prefer a straight-forward glaze firing. But neither kiln will "get there". It was only within the last couple of days that i realized i had options. Saggar firing is one.

Promised my friend, Gay, that i'd post what i knew about throwing taller pots. I'm afraid what i know about the subject isn't much. But here goes:

Here are 3 links (courtesy of John Lowes of Pottery by John) which give videos showing how to throw taller:

(1) This one was the most inspiring for me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pw3AZvOUC8

Throwing a tall fluted porcelain vase by David Cuzick

(2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOrlPNNhEvw

Throwing a big clay pottery vase by potter at Ingleton Pottery

(3) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BkIWBgT8sU&feature=channel_page

Simon Leach - Learning from Guy Wolff

In the discussion between John and i, we noted:

1. That is a good comment about the type of clay making a difference. David is using Aardvark Nara Cone 10 porcelain. They also have a Cone 5 Nara porcelain.

2. Also notice that David keeps control of the rim of the pot all the way up with his left hand. He also uses his fingers on the right with the sponge to create a ledge under the clay as he pulls up and as you observed the left is pushing out hard stretching on top of the ledge.

3. The inside hand is just above stretching out the clay and the bottom hand is guiding it up and in, at the same time making the claybody wall thinner.

4. Collaring is a big help too.

In Tom Bivins workshop, i noticed that he applied most of these techniques. He starts with approx. 6 and 1/2 pounds of clay (it may have been more than this) , opens a fair amount, then cones up. Tom uses a lot of water. A very wet sponge which he slowly squeezes over his v-shaped inside fingers to focus the water along the sidewall. Using the techniques above, he brings the pot up; then, cones the clay again. Repeating the process until he has these gigantic pots.

Tom advises: "Don't pay attention to the wobbles. Ignore them and continue to bring the clay up."

He also sets his rim early on. Says it helps stabilize the pot.

You'd think with all the above info, i'd be able to throw tall pots. Not so. The tallest i've managed so far it 9-inches. The taller pots you've seen me post, have used the age-old technique of throwing the tallest pots i can manage, then stripping them together into one pot.

Last i heard tho, John is having much better luck! And better skill

If you're trying to throw tall pots -- good luck and good skill to you . . . .

Chae

Tom Bivins' Workshop

2009-08-25T12:23:00.004-06:00

Occassionally, time gets away from me.

And lately, my efforts have been focused on creating tall pots.

So!

I've been remiss in giving credit where credit is due.

Attended a workshop given by Tom Bivins, a master at throwing tall pots, at the TAC building last Wednesday.

Oughta repeat part of that last statement: Tom is a Master thrower of tall pots !!! If you ever get a chance to attend one of his workshops . . . . run . . . . don't walk to the affair. It will be well worth your time to watch him make the clay rise.

And rise.

Then . . . .

just when you believe it can't get any taller,

Tom brings it up more!

Tom Bivins at the wheel.

Here he is bringing the clay up.

Bringing it up more.

And setting the rim. Notice that now he's standing up!!! It's much too tall to work on sitting down!

A special word of THANKS goes to Tom Bivins for giving us his time and his expertise. In addition to creating beautiful ( and tall !!!) pots, he's actually a really good instructor, presenting a workshop that was not only informative, but lotza fun.

And a special word of THANKS goes to Reed Sullivan of the Valley Citizen - (Teton Valley newspaper) x for sharing his photos of the event. Thank you Reed.

Successful throwing tall days to y'all.

Chae

Update

2009-08-22T15:11:00.008-06:00

So !!!

You think because you haven't heard from me lately, i haven't been busy ???

You think that just because my kilns don't work . . . .

I haven't been creating ???

Ha!

Here are a few of the pots thrown recently . . . .

xxxxxxxxxxx

They are all greenware. All are between 9 inches and 14 inches tall. Except for the little guy ... he's approx. 7 inches in height.

Have done some casserole dishes too. Will bore you with photos of these at a later date.

Am praying sooo hard for a working Cone 10 electric kiln to somehow miraculously arrive . . . .

Happy creative days to all

Chae

Susan Harris

2009-07-31T09:15:00.003-06:00

xxxxxxxx

Susan Harris held a workshop here last weekend and i am delighted that she did !!!

Sometimes an artist's work and techniques are so inspiring that after the workshop ends, one just can't wait to get to their own wheel and see how much they actually learned from the person teaching.

Such was the case after Susan's demo.

And here is the result.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thank you Susan for coming. And thank you for sharing. It's quite awe inspiring to learn techniques from a Master Potter.

I want to thank Cynthia Guild Stoetzer for organizing and hosting this event. Cynthia is awesome !!! She is putting her heart and soul into building up the Teton Arts Council's pottery department.

And she is doing a great job.

Bravo Cynthia. And you have my heartfelt appreciation.

Have a very best creative day everyone!

Chae

Born Again

2009-07-22T13:20:00.004-06:00

Have been studying ancient Greek pottery recently. It seems that every "new" form we create has already been done by the Greeks !!! Amazing.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Then, it seems, there is pottery of the shamanic transformation style. One would attribute this to our southwest, perhaps? Or South America?

Anyhooo, i'm sure this fello was around before, in some era from a long time ago, and found somewheres between Greece and South America.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It is said that a spiritual practioner owning such a vessel is able to transform himself into a supernatural being and take on the powers of the Jaguar !!!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Which would be fun i guess.

But i ask you,

who

in this day and age,

has the time for such tomfoolery?

Chae

New Work

2009-07-15T13:01:00.004-06:00

Oops! Sorry folks. Didn't realize that it's been such a long time between postings.

Well, here we go then.

This is greenware ready for the kiln.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

God willing n the creeks don't rise, a new KM1027 Stutz kiln will make its appearance and these can be bisque fired.

So i'll go ahead and Thank Him for the new kiln even if the thank you is a wee bit premature.

Chae

Work In Progress

2009-06-24T15:50:00.003-06:00

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This isn't exactly a teapot.

Which is what i started out to create.

However, a jug was born of its own desire.

11 inches tall and still in the greenware state. In fact, not even off the bat yet.

Silly to create something too tall to fit into the kiln. But since the Paragon kiln has such difficulty working properly, guess i figured: oh what the heck . . . . let's create and then . . . .

Hope and pray a large working kiln comes my way!

God willing and the criks don't rise

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chae

Bisqued

2009-06-10T21:38:00.002-06:00

Not entirely idle. Have gotten some pieces bisqued.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxx
Chae

Artist's Statement

2009-05-20T14:25:00.004-06:00

There was a little wood cozied up to the ramshackle building we euphemistically called our five-stall garage. It was a native wood, dweller of old-world trees, it's residency established long before that of our old Victorian house which perched on the edge of its ancient maples, oaks, walnut and beech. The hardwood trunks were knarled, knobbed with bulges and hollows, hugely round and supported massively upraised arms, branching towards the sky above our three-story home. A narrow path wound its way through the wood to our neighbor's house a half mile away.
In the serenity of this small forest, there were enclaves of dappled sunlight, small skylights, filtering through the cloaking green leaves above; there were small lavender gems of woodland violets and there were clumps of white lily of the valley hidden in silken repose.
This then was the dreamland of my youth where I often sat in the nirvana which is nature and built the fairytales of my future.

Art is the woodland forest.

Reveries are the bounty of the quiescent soul, yet best sometimes to be left behind, not to be abandoned entirely, but placed gently aside in lieu of companionship, song and laughter. In such few words do I describe my Mother. Her songs were sweet music to the universe, her laughter the angelus bells ringing in the morning sunrise and the magic of her Irish stories touched each piece of antique furniture, each piece of porcelain plateware, each everyday fabric and matter with such personality that all of our material items pulsated with life, emotion and a spirit all their own.

Art is the song to the Universe, the laughter of the angelus bells, the Irish story giving it an impish personality.

My pottery is designed to bring you the discovery of woodland violets, cause you to see the little elves hidden under their lily of the valley bonnets, share the dappled but shaded sunlight of a summer afternoon, fill you with laughter and the sweet harmonic song of the universe, touch your emotions and trigger your passion for the beauty of life.

But more than creating, art is sharing the skills and techniques involved in producing pottery. As Hemmingway would tell us, man is not an island unto himself. And for all the talents, skills and just plain diligent work it has taken to find the balance between the potter's wheel and the clay to form a harmonious vessel, then blend the metallic oxides in a proportion which will obtain a kaleidoscope of colorful glazes, and learn to eye the kilnfire's licking flames which will vitrify both clay and glaze into a vessel as from the womb to maturity, so must this knowledge be shared. Taught as it were, to students who will give future generations the inheritance of elegance, strength, utility, traditional art laced with innovation, the familiarity of cups, plates, serving bowls combined with the creative interface of artistic intuition, and themes of color, texture and form drawn from visual observation of our world which flow into creative compositions of new art milieus. These are the future potters who will breathe such distinctive character into their work that it transcends the medium, responding, interacting and enabling a spiritual bond between the holder of the pottery piece and art itself.

This, then, is my artist's statement.
To create.
To share the passion of art.
To teach the necessary skills to those who will craft the canvas of life with spirit by means of pottery. A matrix morphing ever more ethereal and aspiring to Olympian heights in the evolution of creativity.

© 2009 Chaeli Sullivan

BIO

2009-05-20T14:13:00.003-06:00

I am a hybrid formed from living in many parts of our country.
In youth, winters were spent as a southern belle in Florida; summers were enjoyed as a Yankee in Massachusetts. My husband was an Iowa farmboy, thus the midwest became my home for many years. After he died, i followed Horace Greeley's advice: go west, young man/woman, go west. Our four children and i moved out to the Pacific Northwest and homesteaded ten acres in the northern panhandle of Idaho. Then, with the advent of the "empty nest" syndrome, my winters were spent in Arizona, summers in Idaho.
Each area left its imprint on my soul.
Florida sands, beaches, the ocean's salty moods, its waves gently lapping the shore one moment and the next roiling in tempest as they heralded in a hurricaine.
Massachusetts summers were spent in Williamstown, a unique village reminiscent of a European cultural center, it was choc full of bookstores, each with an art section to die for. The Clark Art Museum is located there and by age thirteen i had memorized every artist's style. Williams College is also found in Williamstown. Similarly, by age sixteen, i'd read all the world classics including Kafka, Dostoevski, Voltaire, Sophocles, Aristotle, Ibsen, Tolstoy .........
In Iowa, i could hear the corn grow. Literally. Soft breezes swept through the cornfields. Farmer's love of the rich, loamy soil, cows lowing their mournful throaty calls as they grazed the grasslands and the absolute silence just before a tornado struck, all had tenure as they impacted my personality.
Arizona's vast desert sporting roadrunners, cactus, and Desert Quail marching in families across the sunwarmed hot sand -- all added a unique quality to my character. I experienced my first earthquake in Arizona.
Idaho. Home to the pristine Teton mountains, the sparkling Coeur d'Alene lakes, the primal forests and winter blizzards. Each has a niche in my heart.

In college, i majored in Mass Communications, and my early career was spent in journalism first as a cub reporter, then, as an editor to four different newspapers.
Yet later in life, a profound change occurred when i studied silversmithing under the world famous silversmith, Robert Koepler. While still pursuing silversmithing, i learned to lampwork glass. These art skills led me to pottery. While writing well is an art, to create three-dimensional art is the joy of life!

Working with shapes, exploring textures, using the elements of design (such as line, form, volume, value), using themes of color, constructing glazes, creating a piece that, while the medium is static, has great movement and depth, throwing and sculpting, -- all keep me enthralled with the myriad facets of pottery. It is an area of artistic endeavor like no other. Always challenging. Always satisfying.

And in the final analysis, there has never been such a feeling of anticipation in any other area of art as magical as that moment when opening the kiln after the final glaze firing to see the fruition of a piece born from the ashes into maturity.
Chae

Is This Pot "Thrown"?

2009-05-14T09:00:00.004-06:00

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Couldn't resist adding a comment to a recent discusson about "real" throwing techniques vs lathe methods.

Often, when those who do pottery are really critical of another's methods, i check out the source. Not to form an opinion on the validity of another's method, but just to see what all the fuss is about.

And too, when there are those who are so critical of someone else's creative techniques, i figure the "perpetrator" is an extremely inventive person, often engaged in lateral thinking, who is developing new and unique methods full of originality. If that's the case, i want to learn what they have to offer.

Check out the Ceramic Arts Daily article featuring Ayumi Horie's dry throwing method, and see for yourself what all the hoopla's about:

http://www.ceramicartsdaily.org/feature/featuredetail/2009-05/videoayumihorie.aspx

Then, let me know what you think . . . .

Chae

Raku Workshop and Kiln Dilemma

2009-04-29T16:35:00.013-06:00

Guess i should start with the raku workshop. Two Saturdays in a row. While there were only 4 of us the first Saturday, the group energy was terrific. Fun. Thanks Tim.

The local arts council pottery dept is well supplied with equipment: wheels aplenty, a slab roller, an extruder, a couple of Skutts kilns and a new raku kiln.

Tim Rein X X hosted the workshop, brought his raku glaze recipes and his expertise. We threw a few pots, slab-constructed a few pieces, fired the new raku kiln for the first time with several of Tim's pieces which he'd brought for demo purposes.

The next Saturday, we all glazed and fired the pieces created the Saturday before.

Now, i want to brag on Olympic kilns. They are really nice people to work with; solution oriented folks. When we spoke the last time, approx. 2 weeks ago, we thought the firing problem might be the oriface size. So they put larger orifaces in the mail right away. Received them the first Saturday of the workshop. Put them in the kiln the following Monday.

However, didn't try to fire the kiln until today.

And while this firing was not a success, i'm extremely optimistic that the next one will be !!!

When today's firing only produced temps to 2050°F with a lot of bushy yellow flames, i called Olympic again. Spoke with Bob Hogan this time and he asked the magic question: "That's a 3-ring kiln, isn't it? Are you using all 3 rings?"

"Ummm . . . no. Just 2 of them."

Bob replied: "I believe that's your problem. The 1827G will only reach full temp when using all 3 rings."

So!

Tomorrow, i'll add the other ring, raise the hood higher towards the ceiling and refire on Friday.

Betcha it works like a charm . . . .

Chae

Red Glaze Experiments

2009-04-23T15:26:00.006-06:00

The very first thing i want to do here is give a special word of THANKS to John Post. He's an awesome fellow. In my book, he stands 120 feet tall !!!

Gotta mention that for 3-4 years, i've been trying to achieve reds. Have mixed this chemical and that; followed this recipe and that. Testing one procedure after another.

Without success.

The fact, that neither of my kilns operate "right" hasn't helped my pursuit a'tall.

ok. All that said, let's get on with the story.

Found John's site: http://johnpost.us/ and perused his ceramic creations along with his detailed glaze information.

Decided to try out one of his glazes:

Petes's Tomato Red #13 (+ more bone ash) +++

10.8 % -- Frit 3134

23.1 % -- Nepheline syenite

10 % -- Bone ash

6.2 % -- Magnesium carb

7.7 % -- Whiting

21 % -- EPK

21.2 % -- Flint

John says to add:

2 % Bentonite

10 % Red iron oxide

However, i skipped the bentonite and only added the RIO.

Please see his detailed notes at the link above.

Ought-a explain here that it's in my nature to tinker with things. And i'd read that talc helps enable reds. And too, cause i haven't yet gotten either of my kilns to fire past ^5, i wanted to bring the glaze temp down a wee bit. So i reduced the 23.1% Neph. syenite to 22 %; reduced the EPK to 15 % and added: Wollastonite at 10 % and Talc at a generous 6 % plus Rutile at 1 %.

Now if you follow along his site you'll find that on one of his bowls, he puts a glaze called MYB over the top of the tomato red. I noticed that the flint, EPK, Neph, Whiting were all basically in similar amounts as the tomato red; the only additive which differed greatly was the zinc oxide.

And, being lazy that day, decided to use the tomato red base and add 12 % zinc oxide instead of the former additives.

Applied one thick coat of the PTR#13 with one thick coat of the MYB adoptation over the top quarter of the inside. John had said the MYB was runny and yes. even the adoptation was runny.

Now to stir this stew with absolute confusion: remember i mentioned that my kilns don't exactly work well ???

That being so, here's the scoop on firing: fired the gas kiln in oxidation, then at ^012 started body reduction. At ^05 -- returned to oxidation and continued firing. Even with extreme coaxing and trying every thing i knew, couldn't get the kiln to fire hotter than 2012 degrees F.

Had started firing by 5:30am and it was after midnight. Whether or not the pots had glazed, my eyes had glazed over with exhaustion !!! So. Put it back in reduction for approx. 20 minutes and shut it down.

The next day found that the glazes had not vitrified and there was absolutely no indications of a red color.

A couple of days later, had a new theory on how to get my electric kiln to fire to 2167 degrees F. In searching for a pot that i didn't mind losing if the theory failed, my eyes lit upon the pot described above. Put it in the electric kiln for a totally oxidized firing . . . .

And below, you can see the results:

xxxxxxxxxxx

Now on this next photo, i changed the procedure of the glaze a wee bit. Had some dabs of a Rhodes #18 glaze. So applied this to the outside, and splashed the PTR#13 with zinc in a small area. Intriguingly, believe that if the whole had been glazed with the Rhodes and the PTR#13 would have achieved a most interesting red-surfaced pot exterior !

Ok. For anyone who is mixing their own glazes and seeking a red -- this is the best i can currently offer.

Good luck

And good glazing

Chae

Susan Sheehan

2009-04-14T13:58:00.003-06:00

Here's a link to Susan Sheehan's sites: http://www.susansheehan.net/
She creates awesome lampworked beads.
I know they are awesome for back in the years when i lampworked glass, i tried unsuccessfully to create the very effects Susan is creating. It takes a lot of skill and talent to turn out such elegant floral beads.
Her work is splendiferously delicious.
The link above takes you to her main page. From there you can find her Etsy store and her blog.
Her blog is informative. Interesting. Short directives on marketing avenues which lead you to more information.
Worth the journey to her site to see what she's all about.
Chae

Happpy Easter

2009-04-12T10:44:00.002-06:00

xxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Happy Easter Everyone
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Chae

Firing Gas Kiln

2009-04-07T10:04:00.004-06:00

You would think that i've forgotten everything i ever knew !!!
Panic attacks are like that -- they cloud the mind and blank out useful info which is stored there.

Up ( not so early) this morning to start the gas kiln.
Now, it's been ages and ages since i've attempted to fire this kiln. But, battling with the Paragon electric exhausted me and out of pure desperation, decided to overcome my fear of burning the house down and go for the gas kiln.
Just kidding.
The operation is perfectly safe.
In the past, haven't had much better luck getting the gas kiln up to temps than i did with the electric.
But
The propane fello and i have modified the gas pressure from the tank to the kiln; shortened the gas line; i erected a hood over the entire ensemble, and this morning . . . .
Well, this morning i'm going for the brass ring.
But
In my eagerness to see if the kiln would, now, reach temps -- forgot to bring the initial temps up slowly.
Ran a candle flame for the first hour-and-a-half -- to temps of 300°F
Then opened the main burners, not fully open mind you, but ignited.
Temps climbed rapidly. Thought oaah-oh! Too fast. But let it go as it's already past the first inversion layer.
So. We'll see. It's a test run. Right? Merely to see if the kiln will now reach at least Cone 5-6. So far; so good. Good steady heat increase of 300°F per hour. Yes. Yes. i know. That's too fast. Like i said: just want to see if 2167°F can now be obtained.
The 3 cups inside were created with with Georgie's G-Mix 6 with Grog which is a pretty forgiving clay, so am keeping my fingers crossed that it will humor me on this firing.
Great kilning days to y'all
Chae

Kiln Hood

2009-04-03T15:53:00.004-06:00

It doesn't take a Philadelphia lawyer to figure out the design for a kiln hood. But it may take a Texas wrangler to wrestle the parts into place.

After the Paragon kiln's latest failure Tues, have more or less given up on it. It was a worthless piece of junk when i bought it brand new. The Paragon kiln manufacturers misrepresented their product, saying that the 110-volt kiln would reach temps of 2300°F. Heck. It won't reach temps much past 1900°F. 2085°F is a real stretch for it. And if you want temps over that, sit a hairslength away from the kiln and pray over it - for that's about your only recourse. Of course, this last technique works best if you have long hair. If your hair style is short, things may become a wee bit hot.

So!

There was nothing left to do but attempt to build a kiln hood. Last time i tried to use the gas kiln, the ceiling became overly hot. Now i know, pottery is spoze to come thru the crucible of fire, but we, as humans, are not. Catching the ceiling on fire isn't the optimal solution.

Tuesday's Paragon failure was Wednesday's trip down to Ace Hdwe to buy the supplies needed to make the hood.

Wed. morning the construction project began.

I might say that at 88 pounds, i am poorly designed to accomplish anything which requires strength and might. So i eyed the steel angle-iron bar with a great deal of trepidation. Could i really get a drill bit to speed-twirl its way thru that thick mass of uncompromising metal? Would a regular old Skil power drill do the trick?

xxxxxxxxx

It only took me 4-5 hours to accomplish two holes in the angle-iron! From there we were oly-oly home free. Sawed the metal sheets and the flimsier metal angle-iron suport bars, drilled the rest of the holes, attached the strong eyelet bolts.

By late last night had an acceptable kiln hood which i reckon will deflect the heat from the ceiling. Have to admit tho, by late last night i wanted nothing more than to sit on a heating pad and watch the stupid murder whodunits on tv. Will be ever so tickled when the networks bring comedies back on the air.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This morning my son, Reed, visited and he helped me hang the hood from the ceiling over the kiln.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

So! In the next few days, i'll be reconstituting all my Cone 6 oxidised glazes ( for electric kiln firings) to glazes which won't be "ruined" if they go into reduction. Let's face it. Having only fired with the Paragon electric, i'm not the brightest intellect when it comes to gas kilns.

Ho Well . . . Enjoy small victories while they are, still, victories. And the kiln hood is just such an occassion !!!

Happy days to all who are constructing kiln hoods

And may you all have a healthy supply of bandaids . . . .

Chae

Difficult Birth

2009-04-01T15:47:00.016-06:00

You have no idea the extreme trauma these critters suffered just to be born. Their journies into creation were almost destroyed by my Paragon kiln.

Paragon kilns are an abomination straight out of Hades.

For nearly two years, the Paragon kiln didn't even pretend to function properly. Then, for one month exactly, it decided to work correctly. After successful firings 3 days per week, for a month, i decided to trust it with this piece.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A sweet little fello who i didn't want to consign to "chance".

Because there was room in the kiln for one more piece, added this cup to the load.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Up at 3am to start the kiln as usual.

It "finished" the program 45-minutes early.

When removed from the kiln the next morning, the pieces were "disasters" of unmelted, underfired glaze. I just about sat down and cried.

ok. so we re-fire, right?

Up the next morning at 3am to start the kiln.

It wouldn't even pretend to start.

Called Susan at Paragon. Now Susan is the dearest, sweetest person in the world, who genuinely cares about people. She diagnosed the problem as a mal-functioning thermocouple and put one in the mail that day.

Received it. Installed it. And Tuesday

Yep! You guessed it ........

Was up at 3am to start the kiln.

Seems like we were right back to square one.

Fought for 17-19 hours to complete a 10-hour firing, fighting with a malfunctioning kiln.

Have a feeling the thermocouple doesn't know how to talk to the control panel. But that is just a hunch.

Like i said in the beginning: these critters suffered extreme trauma whilst coming thru the crucible into existence. I wonder if future generations will fully appreciate their journey?

Chae

Great New Stuff

2009-03-29T13:04:00.009-06:00

xxx
Oughta have a thousand new words to share, but the wind is howling so loudly and gusting so fiercely, it is blowing my thoughts away.
A couple of days ago, received a gift of a Wacom tablet. Have wanted one for a forever long time (8 years, in fact) so was delighted to receive it.
The included directions outline how to operate the pen and the tablet itself. And the mouse. But the directions lack information on what you can -- do -- with it. The internet, my usual source of information, wasn't too helpful either. For instance, i was searching for downloadable handwriting recognition applications so the word hugs could be included inline in my emails. Since my kiln's thermocouple was down, while waiting for another one to arrive by UPS, thought i had time to research this.

But then, luckily, my son stopped by for a 2-minute visit Friday. He's extremely Photoshop savvy, and a genius when it comes to graphic arts.
He showed me the brush function. Awesome Adobe Photoshop feature !!! And i haven't been the same since. Haven't had any sleep either!
Two, three, four o'clock in the morning and you can still find me at the computer, searching for new brushs to download.

There's a hitch in this game plan. After purchasing Photoshop's applications 5 and 6 years ago, decided it was getting a bit spendy to keep updating. I mean, the Adobe company is like a rabbit. It's application upgrades just keep multiplying !!!
Now downloading brushs is amazingly simple. Finding ones that will work with Photoshop 5 is a futile exercise resulting in absolute frustration.
However
Came across instructions on how to create your own brushes.
Again, an amazingly simple procedure. And fun.
Above, you can see the tree which i drew and loaded as a brush. Tap the Wacom pencil to the tablet once, and the whole tree, fully formed, appears. The flowers, (another tap of the pencil), were imported and loaded as a brush.

And even tho this won't work as inline script for an email, here it is:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chae
P.S.
Creating and Loading Photoshop Brushs:
(1) Draw the sketch in your usual way.
(2) Transfer your sketch by using the Duplicate layer function into a new grayscale xxxdocument. Sizes up to 999 X 999 pixels will work. 360 X 360 is the size of the tree xxxabove and is fairly large. For borders and such, you'd want a much smaller sized xxxgrayscale document.
(3) If you've typed script into the sketch, you'll want to render the image.
(4) Use the "select all" function
(5) Go to Brush palette pull-down menu and select "define brush".

And that's it !!! Extremely simple.
Note: If your new brush is extremely large (like my tree) the box in the brush palette will appear empty.
Select the "empty" box, use whichever tool you prefer (airbrush, paint brush, pencil, etc.) ( i generally use the airbrush) and dot the pencil to the Wacom tablet. The image magically appears . . . .
xx
xx

Link Update

2009-03-24T13:23:00.002-06:00

Please note that the link to the Kent Potters Association glaze calculator has been updated. (Found in the far right hand column of this page under Glaze Calculators.)

Am really pleased to report that this version of their calculator works like a charm.

Should also note here, that after arriving at the site there is a brief delay ( while you view a blank screen) before the calculator shows up !!!

Also notable: they have a glaze database.

Happy glaze calculating days to y'all
Chae

Out of the Kiln

2009-03-05T16:55:00.003-07:00

"Bamboo Teapot" which came out looking more like a rusty old pot than i would have liked.

xx
Vinegar and oil jug that's not too shabby. Wasn't trying for art deco but may have achieved it with this one.

xxxxxxxxxxx
Standard cups. Was disappointed. For even with the copper oxide wash, the carved, extremely detailed handles lost distinction. Need to work harder on this.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chae

From the Kiln

2009-02-21T17:44:00.005-07:00

xxxxxxxxx
ok. So the copper wash got a little out of hand. Still - he's not too shabby.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This glaze technique needs some work. Still - from a distance, it looks aok. In the bisqued-ware state the lid fit perfectly. However, with the addition of glaze, it is now slippery-slidey. A bit of a challenge to keep the lid atop the pot!

xxxxxxxxx
Ah !!! La piece d'résistance for the week !!! Worth getting up at 3am for !!!

Happy Weekend folks

Chae

Not Loafing

2009-02-18T15:48:00.001-07:00

Out of the kiln yesterday morning.

Chae

Coupl' l'items

2009-02-16T19:42:00.006-07:00

Should have twelve-hundred-and-forty-two words to share with y'all, but strangely, can think of only one or two !!! Haven't a clue why rising and shining (well . . . perhaps not shining ) at 3am does that to me -- leaves me speechless. Since i'm generally pretty wordy, some folks might see this as a blessing.

OK. First photos. Have read about making clay stamps by rolling out a slab of clay, then impressing designs into the flat surface, then rolling the textured clay into a cylinder. Skip the bisque fire step and go straight for glazed clay temps.

Did that.

Haven't tried using it yet as i've been focused on glazing. Have taken myself in hand and decided to glaze, glaze, glaze until all the waiting bisqued pieces are color-coated and out of the kiln as finished pieces. Speaking of which, here's the latest out of the kiln.

xxxxxxxxx

I'm on a roll folks and the weather is co-operating. So there will be more photos soon.

In the meantime

Happy glazing days to y'all

Chae

Negative Space

2009-02-07T12:30:00.004-07:00

There was a recent discussion on potters.org about using negative space.

As everyone tried to define it and describe how to use the concept; teach it to others; M.C. Escher immediately sprang to my mind.

In my opinion, Escher has the very best handle of all on how to effectively use negative space.

xxxx

Chae

Not Too Shabby

2009-02-06T15:13:00.008-07:00

xxxxxx

Am a bit pleased with this small pitcher.

The photos don't quite catch the contours in the top portion. So it's one of those situations where the pitcher really is prettier in person than in its photograph.

Cheers

Chae

Mylar Cones and Slip Trailing

2009-01-30T11:23:00.003-07:00

Visited Grace Sheese's site, http://www.devpsy.net/graceblog/blog , yesterday. She does some pretty time-consuming, intricate and detailed work. Very impressive.
Her Jan. 29th blog-post mentions Charan Sachar, http://www.creativewithclay.com/home.php , and his method of using mylar cones as a tool to slip trail.
Naturally, i followed her link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9czra-8DK94 , and watched his video on his method of creating the mylar cones and how he uses them to decorate ceramics by slip trailing.
He does a very thorough presentation.
Now, my only question is: where do i buy the Mylar?
Chae

What A Difference A Wash Can Make

2009-01-29T11:41:00.017-07:00

Last week was one heck of week when it came to firing the kiln. Now you remember, we had a warm spell so firing was an option nearly every day.

If you can fire every day, the odds increase that you will make a mistake.

And boy, did i make a doozy.

See any details here?

Nope. Neither do i. Which is a darn shame, for it was intricately carved. You could look at the Buddha's face and see his expression. Every dragon's scale was in high relief and detailed.

What i should-a done was: paint an oxide wash over the piece, wipe it off, and apply the glaze over the wash.

It was too late for the Buddha, but it worked the next day on this bowl.

It's enough to break-a my heart.

Chae

( Copper Oxide Wash: 1/2 Tbsp Black Copper Oxide mixed with 10 ml Water )

Small Pitcher

2009-01-27T16:35:00.004-07:00

xxxxxxxxxxx

The Art Deco style fascinates me. Which is the effect i was trying for here.

Yet, does such a small surface area do it justice?

Chae

Non Pottery Discourse

2009-01-21T13:12:00.002-07:00

Have been at odds and ends this week.
Didn't try to fire the electric kiln Monday. Even though daytime temps were warm enough, nightime temps were down around 5°F. The poor little ole electric house heators have a dickens of a time trying to keep the house warm under normal conditions. And they sure don't seem to feel that heating the garage in addition to the house is a "normal condition".
Didn't try to fire the kiln Tuesday, as the inauguration was being broadcast and i darn sure wanted to see every minute of such a historic event. It wasn't even a viable choice. Sitting in front of the Paragon electric kiln out in the garage to catch the exact moment it decided to malfunction? Or watching a once-in-a-lifetime national event!
Have been waiting all week for the propane gas company man to come out and set the pressure higher at the tank so i can try to use the gas kiln. Thought perhaps he'd come today and didn't want to be distracted trying to pay attention to him and the malfunctioning Paragon kiln. So. Didn't fire today either. Besides, overnight temps were down around 4°F.
Yep! Here it is Wednesday and i've been at 6's and 7's all week.
On the plus side of this equation - the weather during the daytime has been extraordinarily sunny and warm!!! Wonderful.
Chae

It Would Have Been a Grand Ole Bird but . . .

2009-01-17T13:10:00.007-07:00

xxxxx
I loved this design. It reminded me of a dove.
Came off the wheel just fine.
Bisqued perfectly.
So i was especially excited about opening the kiln to see the results.

Should write a book . . .
Titled: How To Go From Euphoria To Utter Depression In a Few Quick Moments
Actually a book with that title might be a best seller; you know - folks thinking it was of the self help variety with a comic twist.
However, the fates were not with me. It's the first time in 3-4 years that a glaze has "run" on me. (And wouldn't you know it had to accomplish this feat on this piece?)
What a mess. Ruined 3 kiln posts. My grinder won't even pretend to remove the glassed-glaze from their sturdy little frames.
But the saddest thing, of course, is it ruined the bottom of the piece as i chiselled the kiln shelf, the kiln posts and the "bird" apart.

xxxxxxxxxxx
Just too sad . . . .
Happy kilning days folks.
Chae

Yesterday's Kiln Results

2009-01-14T12:48:00.007-07:00

Sure wish i could get more than one piece in the kiln at the same time !!!

Have discovered that light green over a strong blue does not stay green but instead gives a deeper blue.

That orange over blue gives green.

That orange over shino brown gives a sand-color.

Yellow over orange over a strong blue doesn't necessarily show up; sometimes it does.

3 layers of green over texture obscures the texture !!!

Still . . . we're making progress. The piece is aesthetically pleasing when held in hand

And

My "impressionistic flowers" actually are beginning to look like flowers!

Happy Kiln Days to y'all

Chae

Second Day Bowls

2009-01-09T12:10:00.013-07:00

Thank goodness the weathermen were wrong when they predicted today's temperatures would range in the high teens lower 20's. If they had predicted the temps accurately to be in the mid-30's, i'd-a darn near killed myself today trying to fire another load in the kiln! Two days of firing back-to-back (that's 48 hours) with only 4 hours sleep per night darn near did me in!

Figure i'm just too old to be replaying Sleepless in Seattle . . . .

The Paragon kiln shut itself off twice during yesterday's firing. Seems as if when it contains 2 items instead of one, it shuts itself off twice instead of once! You really have to be on your toes to use a Paragon digital programmer kiln !!! By 8 o'clock last evening there was definitely tension in the air. Would the kiln complete the job or was all that lost sleep going for nothing?

Ah . . . . . . . . . . !!!

It finally did reach temperature.

Was so glad to see that this cup/bowl turned out fine. There was a lotta work involved in carving out all those little half moons and then in trying to stay within the lines when glazing. How can something which looks so simplistic have taken up so much time? Had forgotten to wet-sponge it off before applying the glaze. Have discovered that wet-sponging before glazing really helps the glaze settle into the bisquedware and diminishes the chance of minor glaze cracks. So i worried.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx This little Yunome cup did just fine also.

xxxxxxx Am delighted that they both survived their journey thru the inferno!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Doesn't look like much was accomplished in two solid days of firing, does it?!!

Wish i'd done things a wee bit differently when i was buying my kilns. Wish i had gone with a large electric kiln and a smaller gas kiln, instead of the other way around. But as i recall, we were having fierce electrical storms every day at that time with plenty of electricity outages. Figured a gas kiln would be more practical under those conditions.

And, just to think, if i'd bought a Skutt instead of a Paragon electric kiln -- it probably would-a worked perfectly !!! At least Skutt would probably have honored its warrenty . . . .

Ah sure now and isn't there some old, mostly forgotten, adage out there about hindsight?

Chae

From The Kiln

2009-01-08T09:25:00.007-07:00

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yesterday's efforts didn't come out too badly! Amazing.
If one looks with a discerning eye, one can see a Bird of Paradise.

With my pottery deco i've learned to do that, you know. Show folks the smallest, little ole nanometer of space on an item and say: "See! See! Do you the see the old and venerated Chinese Buddha fellow standing in front of the knarled tree with the Chinese village behind him?"

Thank goodness, i usually run into folks with an imagination as vivid as mine!

Yesterday's firing went along pretty well. The kiln only quit once at 2128°F. When temps reached 2100°F, i bundled up in snowboots, winter parka, scarf and sat out in the garage, intently watching the digital readout. So! Was able to catch the fail notice right away and reset the programmer. Finished firing at 5:59pm exactly.

Put another load in at 6am this morning, configuring that yesterday's bowl had cooled sufficiently after 12 hours respite.

Weatherman promised that today's temperatures would be in the high 40's, but the rest of the week, tho sunny, will be in the teens. Maybe reach 20 degrees. So! It was fire today, or wait for another warming trend.

Would-a posted more photos of this bowl, except somehow i shot all of them with the lens cap on! Tend to do stuff like that when i've only had 8 hours sleep in a 48 hour segment of time.

Ah well . . . . hope everyone has an alert, joyfully wakeful and prosperous day.

Chae

Decal Post

2009-01-07T11:43:00.003-07:00

Decided to try the Lazertran Inkjet Waterslide decal paper yesterday. Ordered it at the same time i ordered the Bel's back in mid-November but this is my first attempt to use it.
My thinking on this is that while the Bel's works fabulously, it is black + white (sepia after firing) and with the inkjet there was a possibility of achieving color.
It is my understanding that the inkjet colors will burn off during firing, so my plan was to attach the Lazertran printed decal and apply glaze coloring on top of it, using the decal as a template, so to speak.
Wrong!
More than likely, it was my method of application which caused the disfunction.
I had already applied 3 layers of glaze to the bowl (as a background) and tried to attach the decal over this. It wouldn't adhere to the powdery surface. Even tried to glue it to the surface. This didn't work either.
Which left me only one recourse.
To try and glaze-paint impressionistic flowers on the surface of the bowl.
Now y'all have already seen the results of my "impressionistic" flowers!
For some reason they never seem to work out quite the way they should . . . .
Ah well, the bowl is in the kiln; firing right along merrily. Was up at 4:30am to start it, under the premise that the weatherman was correct in his predictions that outside temps would reach 35 degrees today; and also, that it's much easier to deal with a malfunctioning kiln, at say 4-5pm, than it is at 8pm at which hour rigor mortis has set in, the mind has slowed, and all seems like a major frustration. There's just something about reading a fascinating book til 1am and then trying to surface 3-4 hours later that's not conducive to sharp mental functionability!
Happy impressionistic days to y'all
Chae

Bringing In The New Year

2009-01-01T11:59:00.007-07:00

vvvvvxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Happy New Year's Everyone !!!
xxx
How hard this little critter worked to be born !!!
The Paragon kiln which bisque fires perfectly, sure doesn't like to reach temps of 2167°F. It was an uphill battle all the way.
Started the kiln shortly after rising at 5am. It quit twice during the day, finally finishing by 9:06pm. During the last hour or so of firing, i sat watching the temperature increase like a hawk intense on saving its nesting baby.
At 2155°F it appeared as if we weren't going to make it. The temp hovered there for much too long. It just couldn't seem to gain enough extra heat to complete its journey. Got the bright idea of throwing a fiber blanket over the top of the kiln where the lid meets the body and by golly that seemed to improve the situation.
Still . . . . . .
With each °F the kiln gained, it felt as if i'd run a mile in an uphill marathon! Breathing was not an option in those moments for i was praying so hard to bring the new year in with a new creation.
Success of sorts. The casserole dish is whole and healthy. It's just that my impressionistic "flowers" are more impressionistic than flowery! I truly wanted to bring something beautiful into the new year and this misses the mark.
New Year's resolution -- learn more about the elements of design!

May the New Year bring you health, nourishment, joy, laughter, love, PEACE . . . .
You know -- all the magical Blessings of life!
Hugs
Chae

BisqueWare

2008-12-31T13:43:00.006-07:00

Ah Ha !!! Temperatures have stayed above 25°F Monday, Tuesday and today! Can't beat that with a stick. Up each morning at 5am to run the kiln while the temps are moderate. Monday and Tuesday fired bisque loads. Today, there's a casserole dish glazing in the kiln.

For the last 3 years, have brought the New Year's in with a new piece of pottery glazed and fired on New Year's Eve. It seemed imperative to do the same this year too. I hope and pray that by starting the New Year's with a new creation, it will prod the new year into producing only nourishing, peaceful, joyous and loving experiences for ALL. If i could, i would mandate peace, love, joy and nourishment for everyone in the world!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Wishing everyone a year of peace, happiness and good cheer!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Happy New Year's To All

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Chae

Stacking the Kiln

2008-12-29T09:01:00.007-07:00

It's always much easier to stack the kiln with greenware in the evening than to restack it exactly the same way the next morning at 6am.
For one thing - the evening before - you're awake! Your mind is clicking right along and computes space wondrously. Ah yes ..... that piece will exactly fit in that small cubbyhole between the cup handle and that funny shaped bowl with a half-inch margin between the side walls to boot.
The next morning your mind is fogged over and the ceiling of your attention is very low. It's like trying to re-assemble a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
It would be really nice to be able to leave the pieces in the kiln once they were stacked. But the garage gets much too cold overnight. The temperature differentiation between frozen greenware and applied heat would cause all kinds of unwanted fissures.
And even though, when you removed the pieces from the kiln the evening before and stacked them on the kitchen counter in the exact same configuration . . . .
Well, the next morning - garbed in fleece-lined winter boots, an Alaska parka and woolen mittens - it seems like an impossible fit.

The weatherman promised 39 degrees today. I hope he's right. For at that temperature the house heat will take the chill off the garage. Of course, with the door open between the house and the garage, it makes the kitchen, dining area and living room a wee bit chilly.
I have the bird here in the computor room so he won't expire due to the cold draft.
But i sure am worried about that funny shaped piece which fit in the kiln so well last night. This morning it wouldn't co-operate at all. So! It's in a rather precarious position.
Happy stacking days to y'all.
Chae

An Undersight

2008-12-26T14:20:00.003-07:00

There's no language barrier in graphic arts and design, right?
I mean -- pictures are pictures. And in theory should speak for themselves.
So!
Was checking out some Czech Republic design magazines hoping to discover current art trends in various parts of Europe. Found a magazine featuring individual art forms.
So far, so good.
Until i came across one that was far more interesting than all the others.
Now - there are many words in different languages that remain remarkably the same or very similar to English. Details is one such word. Clicked the details button.
Another screen came up with plenty of details.
All written in Czechoslovakian.

Count down days til the New Year. Hope y'all had the merriest of Christmas'
Chae

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T20:19:00.015-07:00

xxx Here's hopin' that y'all have

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxx The Merriest xx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Happiest
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxMost Magical
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Christmas
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Ever
xxxx xxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Chae
xx
xx

Scripting Tool

2008-12-23T15:15:00.008-07:00

xxxxxxxxxx

For those who are doing decal transfers onto pottery and who are not particularly adept at calligraphy http://www.stencilease.com/configure.asp#preview is quite a lovely find.

This site has neat stencils but the real treasure is a tool which allows the user to type in a phrase, choose the font and size, then use the mock up of it.
It's quick and easy.

Chae

Sensory Perceptions

2008-12-18T21:56:00.006-07:00

I found the neatest site. But first let me ask you:
If you were given this assignment: "Make sure you address the issues from a designer's perspective. Don't focus on too many technical details. Be sure to include the important factors of color, the visual effects that can be created and the impact a given product can bring ... and … oh and don't forget to add texture indicative of the product, again especially from a designer's perspective."
What piece of pottery would you design?

And too, what special textural effects would you apply?

xxxxxxx
Now let's even go a step further with this assignment. Our definition of texture is: something composed of closely interwoven elements which define the essential part (substance) or quality (character) of the object and has visual or tactile surface characteristics.
Objective tactile qualities can go beyond geometry: warm – cold, hard – soft, moist – dry, sticky – non-sticky, which are all distinctions that people recognize in texture, to the emotional dimension which describes subjective impressions such as "pairs like comfortable – uncomfortable, lively – dull, elegant – ugly, modern – traditional. Textures which suggest extremes of a particular quality and therefore create a range between those extremes such as descriptive opposites like plain – bumpy, regular – irregular, repetitive – non-repetitive, and line-scattered – dot-scattered.

Or textures which are feathery, honeycomb-like, oily, silky.
With this in mind how would you create the the texture of a clinging, slightly damp, elastic yet silky feel of the inner skin of an onion ?

xxxxxxxx
Because texture matters shouldn't we incorporate as many tactile sensations into our pottery creations as we can gracefully manage in one piece?
And the neatest site? Why it's all about textures, of course. http://www.cgtextures.com/ offers scads and scads of visual textural images to help stimulate our tactile perceptions.
Happy texturing folks

Chae

Winter Activities

2008-12-18T16:26:00.002-07:00

Wouldn't it be fun to join the group who practises Tango dancing in the train stations in Berlin?
The article caught my imagination!
Feedback please. Are Americans too socially inhibited to enjoy such sport?
Chae