Large bowl - wheel thrown, oxidation fired, recycled clay, textured with carving tools and coiled rope when leather hard, copper stain with phila glaze, oxblood over turquoise and dk red underglaze

Large bowl - wheel thrown, recycled clay, oxidation fired, green crystal over glossy white, oxblood with dk red underglaze, ribbed texture thrown with finger while leather hard

Large casserole - wheel thrown, recycled clay, oxidation fired, carbon transfered crane painted with dk red and black underglaze with celadon, temmoku under pearl, masked with tape, slate over green crystal interior

This is the first time tried making a lidded vessel.  I decided to make it as the piece took shape - I'll plan better next time.  You need to throw a slightly thicker rim so that you can throw a gallery for the lid.  I threw a couple of upside-down bowls for the lid, and the first one I trimmed worked out.  The main challenge is using the right amount of clay to get the lid the proper size and also to match the curves and shape of the lid to those of the body.  Both pieces need to integrate well together.  I was running out of time and so had to fashion the lugs in a short amt of time, hence they are not completely symmetrical nor very pretty to look at.

For the glazing, I traced the crane image from an illustration and transferred it to the pot on both sides and then painted with dk red and black underglaze.  Then I masked the area with tape and glazed the rest of the body interior and exterior.  Interior is slate over green? and outer is pearl over temmoku - the pearl went on thick, I think it was the bottom of the bucket which is why the piece is so white.  Then I waxed the body and removed the mask and dipped in celadon.  The brushwork turned out ok, although I could definitely refine my skills there!

Large bowl -wheel thrown, recycled clay, oxidation fired, green with toffee over rim, temmoku with green crystal outer and wax resist brushed

This is a pretty ordinary bowl, with some interesting glazing.  The interior is green with toffee over the rim.  The green pools nicely at the bottom of the bowl, where it becomes a beautiful bluish green in the thicker area.  The toffee rim is super smooth, almost giving the rim a burnished quality.  The exterior is green crystal over temmoku, I brushed on wax after the temmoku to give the patterned aesthetic.

Garlic and ginger jar - wheel thrown, recycled clay, oxidation fired, gerstley borate and alberta slip brushed, ox blood and woo yellow glazes

I started throwing the body for this piece and decided to put a gallery on the rim and then throw a matching lid.  As you can see the lid is a bit small in size with a chunky hand formed handle - but not bad for first try. I was hoping the glaze would be brighter, but the oxblood is too thin.  I brushed on some alberta and gerstley borate slip underneath - both show up rather faintly as well.  Inside is woo.  A functional piece...

3rd Semester

I am making some good progress this semester.  I've learned how to throw off the hump - throwing many small pieces from one large "hump" of clay.  This technique allows quick reproduction of smaller pieces by avoiding having to clean and recenter individual balls of clay for each piece.  I've also thrown some pieces with lids - this has been tricky since you have to throw two pieces that match in size to the pot's gallery and also in character to the pot's shape.  I also learned to pull handles for cups and thrown jugs.   I am continuing to experiment with glazing as well - layering glazes in oxidation, using slips and waxes to achieve different textures and patterns.

2 Rice bowls - wheel thrown, recycled clay, Oxidation fired, white slip, carved, dk red underglaze with oxblood, glossy white under green crystal interior

These bowls took a lot of time!  After throwing, I brushed the outer surfaces with white slip and carved in the patterns with a tool.  After bisque firing, I filled in the carved areas with red underglaze and then dipped in oxblood.  The inside of the bowls are green crystal over glossy white.    Application of the underglaze in all the grooves is the most time consuming step, since you need to use a small brush.  I tried this technique instead of using the shellac (previous post) - I think it is somewhat easier, but gives a much different aesthetic.

2 Rice Bowls - wheel thrown, recycled clay, Oxidation fired, shellacked surface, celadon glaze with iron oxide stain and dk red underglaze

A pair of rice bowls.  I shellacked the patterned areas after bone dry and then washed away leaving a raised pattern which was exposed after bisque firing.  I stained the exterior of both bowls with iron oxide and wiped off the raised areas and then dipped in celadon.  Because the color in the celadon glaze is from iron oxide the stain did not show.  I also brushed in some center decoration in the bowls with red underglaze.  I really like the surface texture and patterns of both these bowls, however the shellacking and washing take a lot of time and effort, especially with recycled clay.  I'm trying to think of other ways, less laborious to achieve this same aesthetic with less work.  Perhaps adding coils or stamping the patterns would be easier.