PIÈCE de RÉSISTANCE !!!

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

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

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 !

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

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?

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

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

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

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

"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

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

Happy colorbook days, folks
Chae

From the last glaze load

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

Happy Candy days, folks    
Chae

Emerald Green

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Out of the kiln this morning

Happy Long Necked Jug Days Folks
Chae

Cups

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

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

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

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

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