Not Loafing

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Out of the kiln yesterday morning.

Chae

Coupl' l'items

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.

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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

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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.

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Chae

Not Too Shabby

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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

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

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?

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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

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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