Starfish

Suppose you found a large starfish on the shelf of your local pottery studio.  Wouldn't you want to press it down into clay to see the impression?  Of course.  Well, that was the inspiration for this piece.

First a slab of clay was laid over the upper surface of the starfish.  Then the rough shape was cut out and the clay pressed over the arms.  Then the clay was pulled off the starfish and the clay "reflected" so that the areas that were curled over the arms now formed the arms.  So, if you are following this, you arrive at an impression of the negative of the top of the starfish... that is, the in's go out and the out's go in.  But, all in all, it looks like a starfish.

The glaze was "Salt Buff" and the clay was Highwater Redstone.

Name: Starfish

Date: September 2009

Size:

Clay: Highwater Redstone

Glaze: Salt Buff

Blue Garden Glove

Now for something truly different, not thrown, not slab, not pinched, and not coiled.  Give up?  Just take an old cotton garden glove and a pan full of clay all mushed up with water, and start pushing the clay down inside the glove until the fingers are nice and plump.  Then continue to spoon in the wet mush until it's full as a tick.  Set aside to dry for a few days, and then think of what lies ahead. 

Well, for one thing, your going to have to time it right.  Too wet and you will not have the "hand" you desire and if you wait too long, the inside of the cotton glove will bond to the clay and you won't ever get it out.  In addition, it isn't going to be easy to slice open the glove... just ask me... it wasn't!

But suddenly, there it is... surprisingly rough (I didn't realize how many seams and other manufacturing details were inside a garden glove.

During handling, the little finger broke off, but that was reattached and all was well.

The glazing was carried out with such enthusiam that I did both sides... thus making it impossible to set on a kiln shelf.  Only with the use of a stilt (thanks, Nancy) was I able to have it fired... and even at that, I required the generousity of my friend Bob to offer me a little space in his kiln. 

Did I say I put on a coat or two of extra glaze?  Did I say this glaze runs a little?  It does and I did... so the end of the story is, there is a stilt stuck to the bottom of the glove FOREVER.  Makes a nice stand for the glove.

Name: Blue Garden Glove
Date: August 2009
Size: 8 x 5 x 1
Clay: Slip made from Highwater Riverside Grit
Glaze: Kathy's Opal Blue

Failed Cookie Plate

Here's a category I hope not to post to very often, the "failed" list.  As my friend Bob suggested, these are the creations that are best taken out to the backyard at midnight, with shovel in hand, and buried unceremoniously in some random location.

But the story had an interesting start.  I rolled a slay of Riverside Grit clay (Highwater) and cut bunches of 2D circles with a cookie cutter.  First I tried to fit them together in a single layer, but it was clear that the assemblage would not "meld," so I added a scored second layer offset over the first. 

The bisque firing was successful and everything was nice and solid.

Then, the fatal flaw... a bad glaze selection.  Tomoku Silver (which is actually supposed to come out silver breaking over blue) was applied in three coats.  But the silver never developed, except in a few locations, and the overall effect was to cover up the textures with a thick opaque blue.  Nothing like what I had hoped for. 

But, my wife rescued it from burial... by placing it in section of the garden where its unique characteristics would add to the assemblage she is creating.

Name: Failed Cookie Plate
Size: 7D x 1-1/2
Date: August 2009
Clay: Highwater Riverside Grit
Glaze: Tomoku Silver

Spiny Starfish

One day, after rolling out some clay, I found a particularly interesting piece of lace with a circular pattern.  After firing, this pattern was suggestive of a spiny starfish, if glazed properly.  The edge of the slab was cut according to the design in the lace.

Name: Spiny Starfish
Size: 4D
Date: August 2009
Clay: ?
Glaze: Chinese Blue Green Spines, Rambun Rutile (between spines)

Inscribed Circles Bowl

Continuing to work with slumping a clay sheet into a bowl, I rolled out some SC213, cut a circle using a large bowl, and pressed it into the bowl.  After a short drying time, I put the bowl (still into the bowl mold) on a cheap lazy-susan (since replaced with a nice turntable) and inscribed a series of concentric circles into the interior of the bowl.  After bisque firing, I glazed with 3 coats of PC25 Textured Turquoise.

Name: Inscribed Circles Bowl

Size: 8D x 1-1/4
Date: August 2009
Clay: 213
Glaze: PC25 Textured Turquoise

Bubble Wrap Plate

After rolling out a slab of SC 213 clay, I decided to impress the surface with a sheet of bubble wrap.  This lead to the "dimpled surface effect".  After cutting a circle, the clay was slumped into a bowl and set aside to dry.  The glaze selected was Coyote Fire Opal (MBG012).

The plate has become part of one of my wife's mosaic projects... called "Once in a Blue Moon".

Name:  Bubble Wrap Plate

Size: 6D

Date: August 2009

Clay: SC 213

Glaze: Coyote Fire Opal

Deep Cut Pressed Design Bowl

Early on in my developing pottery skills, I found a plastic bowl I wanted to use to make a ceramic piece with.  The plastic bowl has a deep exterior design, so I started by rolling a slab of clay and pressing it into the bowl.  The bowl was previously coated with Pam as a release.  Therefore, the interior of the bowl reflects the design on the outside of the plastic bowl.  The outside of the bowl was decorated by paddling a piece of lace into the wet clay.  The major problem encountered was trying to get air behind the clay so the piece would release from the plastic bowl.  Perhaps a small hole can be drilled in the plastic bowl.

This was my first experience with Falls Creek Shino.  This glaze has become a favorite.

Name:  Deep Cut Pressed Design Bowl
Date: August 2009
Size:
Clay: SC 112
Glaze: Falls Creek Shino

Three Legged Bowl I

Finally I get to write about one of my favorite projects.  The three legged bowl was inspired from a picture in a handbuilt pottery book... but I strayed pretty far from the prototype.

The bowl itself is made of 213 clay from a slab technique with some "slapping around".  The exterior was scraped with a serrated tool. The legs were rolled and after partial drying were also scraped with a finer toothed tool. 

The attachment of the legs was tricky and you can see the method used in the photo.
Glazing the exterior of the bowl with Salt Buff with Plum Chun drizzled on the edge.  The legs were unglazed.
This piece really pleased me and I will be trying other variations of it in the future.

Name: Three Legged Bowl
Size:
Date: August 2009
Clay: 213 & unknown red clay
Glaze: Salt Buff and Plum Chun

Upside Down Cube

The inverted cube began as a slab experiment.  Along the way, I learned about the importance of building slab projects from a template (plans) as well as properly joining the pieces of clay.  Instead, to get proper adhesion, I had to "slap" the edges of the "top" with a wooden paddle to get them to merge.  This tended to round the edges... a nice effect!

The clay was impressed while wet with a circular pattern from a place mat.  Two coats of PC55 Chun Plum were employed as glaze.

Name: Upside Down Cube
Size: 4 x 4 x 4
Date: July 2009
Clay: (unknown)
Glaze: Chun Plum

Sea Urchin

Once again, working with the SC 213 clay, I hoped to form a bowl by drapping the clay over a form.  I then worked the folds into 8 symmetrical points.  A tool was used to create the vertical lines and a ballpoint pen point used to create the holes.  The piece was glazed by dipping into Glossy Clear.

Name: Sea Urchin

Date: August 2009

Size: 6D x 2

Clay: SC 213

Glaze: Glossy Clear (dipped)

Open Cylinder

Receiving some new clay (Highwater P5) I was anxious to try a cylinder form impressed with a piece of rubber sheet from the steps of an old lab stool. The lines were run criss-cross and produced a nice pattern. Glazing was done by dipping in Peaches and Cream.

Name: Open Cylinder
Size: 3D x 4-1/2
Date: August 2009
Clay: P5
Glaze: Peaches and Cream

Bunnies Rest

First, the story behind the art. This past year, we lost two beloved members of our family. The first was our dear Dwarf Holland Lop Tortise Shell rabbit "Zinka". Zinka was our "Fairy Princess" and our loss is still keenly felt. After Zinka's passing, we brought two Lionhead rabbits, one black (Bijoux) and the other white with ruby eyes (Meringue). Bijoux passed during her spaying procedure, which obviously made the year even more heartbreaking. In our garden, we have a special place where our beloved friends lay in rest.

The Bunnies Rest marks the shaded mossy area. The sign shows the sun and moon which daily rise and fall. The background is Cherry Bloom Pink, the moon is Caribbean Sea Green, The sun is Glossy Yellow and the lettering is Magic White. The clay is (possibly) #112.

Name: Bunnies Rest

Date: July 2009

Size:

Clay: (unknown)

Glaze: Cherry Bloom Pink, Caribbean Sea Green, Glossy Yellow, Magic White

Blue Spagetti Cone

While on the subject of "spagetti", let me present a project composed entirely of spagetti clay. The garlic press was working overtime as I pressed the globs of clay into a drinking cup pretreated with Pam as a release agent. After a little drying time, I removed the spagetti and tapped the bottom into a cone shape. The cone was glazed with Kathy's Opal Blue. Perhaps this glaze was not the best as much of the detail of the spagetti was lost in the thick creamy glaze. Worth another try... perhaps with a white clay treated with iron oxide and glossy clear.

Name: Blue Spagetti Cone
Date: July 2009
Size: 5D x 6-1/2
Clay: (forgot)
Glaze: Kathy's Opal Blue.

Spagetti Topped Bowl

What happens when you are building a bowl using the "pinch technique" and it looks a little boring... and you happen to spy a handy garlic press? Why you load in some other clays and squeeze out bunches of spagetti which you press into the top... and voila, you have a spagetti topped bowl.


The clays were of three different types... a light tan clay for the bottom, a darker red clay, and a porcelain (or more likely b-mix which is a white clay).


Whatever the middle clay was... it came out as dark as chocolate. It was an experiment... and we were trying to use up some odds and ends of clay... so what you get is what you get!

Name: Spagetti Topped Bowl
Date: July 2009
Size: 4D x 4
Clay: Several
Glaze: Perido Green (interior) and clear glossy (exterior) with iron oxide underglaze.

Kokapeli

A challenging piece... to be sure! In our yard, we have an enameled metal Kokapeli yard art (see above). The flat shape was the inspiration to trace the outline on a clay slab and the colors of the metal Kokapeli the inspiration to use a variety of glazes.



There were difficulties. As I worked on the piece, friendly comments offered by other members of the Pottery Center centered on the fragile nature of a flat clay piece so long and with such thin elements. Upon the suggestion of Ron (thanks!) I placed the wet clay on a kiln shelf so the piece could later be lowered into the kiln without risking breakage. Returning after the bisque fire, all was well.

Glazing was done at home with purchased glazes. Kokapeli utilized Lustrous Jade, Blue Rutile, Shino, Albany Slip Brown, and Oil Spot. Perhaps a few of the glazes were applied too thinly; this seems to be a theme to overcome. But in large, the piece is fabulous and now rests in our garden.


Here's the final result... compare to the top picture.


Name: Kokapeli
Size:
Date: July 2009
Clay: #112 Standard
Glaze: Multiple Amaco PC series

Turtle Crossing (Sign)

Another rainy day story. Here one sees a bigger success in terms of the lettering (although spacing is an art still to be mastered)... but that's what "adornments" are for. On the other hand, the glaze was tragically opaque and filled in the letters. Unfortunately, I can't learn much from this experience because I didn't record the glaze. So perhaps in the future I will "goof again".


Name: Turtle Crossing (sign)
Date: July 2009
Clay: Unknown
Glaze: Unknown

Rabbit's Lair (Sign)

Into each life, a little rain must fall... or so it is said. In pottery, there are successes... and there is room for improvement. And so it goes with my first attempt to make a sign for the garden. The lettering was achieve with difficulty (I won't tell the story about having the letters impressed come out "inverse"... something to do with Asperger's). But after the bisque firing, things were very promising. The central area was smooth and glazed with Chinese Blue Green. The outer area was impressed with a piece of wood with a high degree of grain (actually, this wood was past prime and some actually adhered to the clay). The outer area was glazed with Green Shino.


The Green Shino was quite acceptable (the grain was visible in many places, nice brown and green effect) but the Chinese Blue Green completely filled the letters and was so opaque that it was "leveled". (Also, I need to remember to check for holes!)

Name: Rabbit's Lair (Sign)
Size: 10 x 5
Date: July 2009
Clay: Likely #112
Glaze: Green Shino and Chinese Blue Green

Once In A Blue Moon

To help with a large project my wife is working on, I was enlisted to prepare "tiles" with the name "Once In A Blue Moon". These were one of my first attempts to manufacture "lettering" and the results were quite good. While the clay was still "wet" I used a "scoop blade" and a lettering template to make the letters. Followup glazing was done with a white glossy fill and Kathy's Opal Blue.


The "Blue Moon" was a rolled slab cute with a circular bowl and scored with a straight edge to form "mysterious canals". Glazing was done with a variety (unknown now) of glazes to achieve a "patchy" effect.


Name: Over a Blue Moon
Date: July 2009
Clay: Unknown
Glaze: Multiple