Glaze Trailing, White Over Black

In my last two firings, one soda, one stoneware, I've been experimenting with glaze-into-glaze trailing (as opposed to glaze-onto raw clay, which is also fun.) Specicifally I am interested in a white-on-black look. I've had two successes, each using This glaze as the black base:

Satin Matt Black

6500 Alberta Slip
1500 Neph Sy
1000 Strontium Carb
1000 Talc
Colorants:
1% Chrome
2% Red Iron Ox.
2% Manganese Diox

This began as the Cushing Satin Doll Black from the Watershed Glaze Book, with two substitutions: where the recipe calls for Albany Slip, I've substituted Alberta, one-for-one; and where to recipe calls for Barium Carbonate, I've substituted Strontium Carb, in a one-for-two ratio, i.e., half as much. (I don't keep barium on hand, for all the reasons.)

My first effort was trailing Coilles Clear (recipe below) over top. What I really expected was a shiny-over-matte effect, but all black. Surprisingly, the Coilles turns a cool white. I enjoyed that effect, so I tried an actual white glaze (recipe below.) This was a very clean, graphic, white-on-black effect. I was surprised how well each glaze held its shape, even on verticals, but so far I have only done small dots. Possibly these heavier lines will be more affected by gravity in the kiln, and therefore more distorted. I am open to the possibility that a distorted pattern, especially if it is unevenly distorted, may be better still!

Coilles Clear (from the Watershed Glaze Book)
500 EPK
7900 Cornwall Stone
700 Zinc Ox
900 Whiting

Waxy White (not sure the origin, but I got it at Portland Pottery)

4100 Custer Spar
1200 Gerstley Borate
700 Dolomite
1500 Talc
500 EPK
2000 Silica

Our Lady of Sorrows

It's pretty obvious why I can never get my list finished. Here's what I've got going on today:

1) Mix Old Yellow Glaze

2) Straighten up studio

3) Purchase mop

4) 1 hour Home Blessing (a term I got from FlyLady.net; what normal people call housecleaning.)

5) Walk dog & mail bills

6) Wax & Glaze pots

7) Buy materials to install dryer vent

7) Starch pots for packing

and, last but definitely not least:

8) Our Lady of Sorrows, a performance art event tonight at 7 pm at the Harlow Gallery My friend Malley Weber, of Hallowell Clayworks is one of the creators of this event. Perfect ending to a busy day.

Regretsy

I've sort of soured on Etsy (more on that later.) I know some people do very well there, but for me it has turned out to be a ton of work for s few small sales, amd I've decided if I am going to be promoting my bum off it might as well be my own site I am promoting. Also, while there are TONS of good artists on Etsy, and there are an especial lot of fine potters, the site is starting to take on a cutesy sort of aesthetic which just is not me.  And it's fair to say that there are an equal number of poorly executed works there. Don't even try to suggest that the site might benefit from jurying, in the Etsy forums; people there value the openness, even at the cost of a reputation for some pretty bad art. 

But I had to laugh when someone directed me to Regretsy. It's mean, and some of the works posted there are not deserving of ridicule. (For example, I rather like the silk rag necklace, and might purchase it myself if I had that kind of money.) But it's funny, too, and on the grounds that any publicity is good publicity, I thought I'd pass on the link.It's better if you don't read the captions and just look at the works. 

Bud Vases

Does anyone use bud vases anymore? It's just my luck that I love to make stuff like bud vases and tea bowls that nobody uses. Although I have had some luck re-branding tea bowls as bourbon cups. Tells ya something. I wouldn't touch bourbon myself, not with a pole. (Not big on tea, either; I just like the forms.)

Anyway. Nice relaxing day in the studio, making small stuff and listening to Lyle Lovett. Nothing new on the kiln front; I've been too worried about layoffs at the office gig to spend any money on anything not strictly and immediately necessary. The recession may be technically over but we are a long way from out of the woods. 

On the upside, it seems people are still enjoying affordable luxuries like pottery. Maybe even bud vases!

Zapp-y Ending

Remember how I ranted about Zapplication, which all of the art fairs and other juried art events now use, instead of slides? Okay, that was pre-blog, but trust me, I did rant. I ranted that we already had a perfectly good system, so-simple-a-child-can-do-it, just get your pieces shot, stick the slides in an envelope, write a check (of course - but that is a separate rant), and you're done. When Zapp came along, I hated it because it was, I felt, dauntingly complicated, and I am no technophobe. Images had to be EXACTLY 1920 x 1920 pixels, which meant photographing them for that format, or having them look like crap by forcing them into it. It also meant, for me, having to have my work re-shot at a much denser setting, and, since I don't own Photoshop, only the image manipulation software that came with my computer, it meant paying additionally to have the image re-sized.  I was irritated because, although the system was easier for show management and for jurors, this ease was accomplished on the backs of artists, who are not known for their technological acumen. I didn't even have a computer at the time. (I still know lots of artists who do not have a computer.) The transition to Zapp was the last straw for me at a time when my life was in transition and doing artfairs was on the table with all the other life changes. It got cut. 

Well, Zapp has changed, and so have I, a little bit. In the first place, it turns out that no one is making slide projectors anymore, which means that when these last shuffle off this mortal coil, that's it. So it's a good thing most shows have made the transition. And, importantly, Zapp has dropped the requirement that the image be exactly 1920 x1920 pixels. The new guidelines state that the image must be at least this dimension, on the longer side. I can do that!

The only reason I know this is because I took a little jaunt over to Zapp to see if my account was still valid. No special reason. Well, except I was sort of visioning what my life might look like after I get my kiln rebuilt, and can (hopefully) make more inventory. Art fairs again? Maybe. In any case the application process will no longer be what stands in my way. 

Squiggle Casserole & Company

Some favorite pieces from the last firing:

I am especially delighted with the vermiculations ("worm-shapes") on the top casserole. Though somewhat labor intensive, it's very restful, hypnotic work; and they nave a nice, intriguing texture. I have used these once or twice before, and I like them especially well when they get a good blast of soda, causing the worms to soften or even flow down the side of the pot in a cascade of glaze and soda.

I took these photos myself (yes, as if anyone needed to be told), accounting for their blurriness. (Jay York I am not.) I'm told that I could avoid the blur by using a remote shutter for the camera, which we have, somewhere around here, becuase it is the slight motion of the camera as I press the button that causes the problem.
Anyblah, good firing! Most of the pieces are already spoken for, so I need to get making again.

No Excuses Left

The first bricks for the new kiln! Doug, inveterate scavenger that he is,  rescued these from the rubble pile at Watershed. They were piled amid broken pots and tiles and great slags of discarded clay, but there were lots of usable brick, especially many that could be cut down to halves or soaps. 

Now that the kiln pad is protected under a roof, my last excuse for not rebuilding the kiln itself has evaporated. The old kiln, which has an origin story to rival any superhero, has not been, since it came into my possession, capable of reaching Cone 10 in reduction; nor could it ever be used for soda, due to being constructed of soft brick in a steel jacket. All of which renders it only useful as a bisque kiln, for me. Not that I am complaining -- it has served well in that capacity, and I have been lucky to have a relationship with Watershed whereby I can use their kilns for my glaze firings. Nevertheless, it's time to put on my big-girl panties and start dealing with the necessities for constructing a new, Cone-10 capable, soda-tolerant kiln.

I actually put one foot into the big-girl panties last winter, when I downloaded plans from the site of Dave and Mary Cuzick, of Cuzick Pottery. Though I made  little progress in the months that followed, that step was a crucial one, as it transformed the new kiln from a vague, half-formed notion of something I might someday be able to do into an actual doable thing, with a finite list of necessary materials, all of which might be obtained by a potter with sufficient determination. 

While at SIUE, I took part in the construction of several kilns, but that was mostly just stacking brick wherever someone told me to. My studiomate & I built a dual-firebox, woodfired kiln while I lived in Minnesota, but Mary Jo was definitely the brains of that operation. This time, there's just me. Doug will help build, of course, but I'm the one who is supposed to know what I am doing. Ha!

The Cuzick plans (which originate from San Diego State University) are excellent but I will probably need to deviate signifcantly from them, as I will be using existing burners, and, perhaps, the existing castable arch. That last is under consideration: arch brick is expensive, and it's hard to find what you need used; but using the old arch will mean staying within the footprint of the old kiln, where it might be nice to go larger. Still: plenty of things I can do before I have to make that decision. Like scrounge up used brick! Today's task is to take photos of the small gas kiln at the 'Shed - it is the perfect one- (or two-) potter size, and it fires quickly and evenly every time. I'd have to modify it for soda, of course, but I want to document the layout. 

Farewell to the Man who Made Pottery Sexy

RIP, Patrick.

Waxing Philosophical

For some reason I always enjoy waxing day in the studio. It's a sort of mindless task that falls between making and glazing, one which only requires a small portion of my attention, leaving the rest of my mind free to wander over hill and dale. Tomorrow is glazing, a much more active task, physically and mentally. 

And, while I am humming, and waxing, and thinking about chaos theory, and evolutionary psychology, and a million other things, Doug is finishing up the kiln roof, yay! 

Another Thought on the Subject

John Britt has a brief, funny post over at Clay Club; one which wryly addresses the question I have been chewing on for the last year, or really, most of my life: How to make a living as a potter. 

Baby, if you've ever wondered...

...Wondered, whatever became of me? Well, I am still here, trying to regain my traction. Here's what's keeping me away from the blogosphere:



1)Recovery from my mysterious shoulder injury has been painfully (literally) slow, so I am limited to a few pots at a time before the ache starts in. Few pots means a long time between firings.

2)It seems like there is just less time in the day this summer than usual, in part because I am trying to get my big old house painted. I am painting cream over dark-brown-faded-to-brick, so many, many coats are needed. I actually started this project two summers ago, just pecking away at it when I had an hour here or there; but I am getting sick of it looking like ass, blotchy and half done. I won't be able to finish it this year -- doing so will require a longer ladder, which is not in the budget -- but I want everything I can reach, done. It is sucking up all of my time.

3) I am letting myself get way too down reading about the efforts in Washington toward health care reform. I think it is the most important issue our country has faced in a long time, and I am discouraged by how many people, politicians and otherwise, seem content to simply leave things the way they are. Hey, they've got theirs, right? But don't let me get started on that. It takes up too much of my mind as it is, and this blog is not the place for it.



On the plus side, it has been a boom year for pottery sales, as I have two new outlets this season that regularly send nice checks. One is a year round store, one open from May to December. If I could just make more pots, I could probably do even better. I am considering pulling work from the outlets which don't do well, but that seems...I don't know. Not nice, somehow. You can see I lack the killer business instincts. On the other hand they might rather have the space for other work.



It's time once again to forgive myself for not being superhuman, and just get done what I can, and let go of the rest. Carpet covered with cat hair? Hakuna Matata! Garden getting weedy? ♫ Shadda-dadda, that ain't no crime! ♫
Seriously, some self-love is in order. That and a goal-setting reboot, coming soon to a blog near you.

One-handed Bowls

Because I was anxious about re-injuring my shoulder, I stuck with very small bowls to start with. These were a pound and a half -- about the upper limit of what I can center with one hand; ribbing and pulling up seemed safe enough activities for both. I was overly cautious, I think: a few days later, in class, I demonstrated with 4 1/2 pounds, with no ill effects. I also loaded a bisque, only to discover that a thermocouple was shot, and that I am out, so I had to put off the firing until the new one arrives. Yes, I could have duct-taped the valve open, but again, I am more cautious than I used to be.  On a tangent, why in the Sam Hill does it cost $8 to ship a thermocouple? You could almost just stick it in a #10 envelope with a first class stamp. Highway robbery. 

Work is progressing on the kiln shelter, although not much of my work, I admit. I sketched it out and got the materials, but Doug has done almost all of the construction. That's probably for the best, as, watching him, I am astounded at how much more careful he is than I would be that things are level, at precise right angles, etc. I have a "whatever, good-enough" attitude about such things with the result that my projects, while perfectly servicable, often have a half-assed look about them. When it comes time to build the new kiln (hopefully next summer...Anyone have a line on used superduty brick, anywhere near Maine?) I will have to make an effort to emulate him.