Raku Number Two!

I know I said I was going to try to take more photos of the the Raku process, but I was really focused on scraping & sanding my last 2 pots so I could get them in the kiln before our semester ended- so I missed the photo-op! Out of the four pieces that were Raku fired, these were my two favorites. You may remember these- I started them 6 weeks ago! It is such a joy to see them in their finished state! I've taken several pictures of the bear pot from different angles to show all the differences in surface color & pattern made by the firing process.

(Click to enlarge for better detail.)

Here's my 2nd favorite pot from this firing.

I have to say, I am in love with this process! The first firing we did (from the last post) the pieces came out an iridescent silver/black which I loved, but while these pieces have some of those components, they also retained patterns of the deep orangey brown color seen in the traditionally pit fired pots. I can't decide which process I like better, but I can tell you I will be experimenting more with Raku in the future! 

:)

Season Finale of "Clay Days"

    “I do think a  man has missed a very deep feeling of satisfaction if he has never created or at least completed something with his own  two hands”

    -One man’s wilderness, an Alaskan odyssey…(from  the journals of Richard Proenneke) 

A quote my Mom emailed me... and quite appropriate, I believe, for the Season Finale! Clay Days have officially come to an end. You'd think I'd be sad... but actually I'm a little excited to have a bit more free time next week to get out & enjoy the great outdoors as fall is shifting towards winter. Here are the gorgeous bisqued pots, piled & ready to fire~

Remember how smoky that first pot turned out? Well the key it turns out, is to elevate the pots on racks, rather than use pallets as we did the first time. The pallets burn down, and the pots sit too long in the smoldering ash, which gives that super smoky look. Here's all the pots on racks & ready to go!

Again hesitant about getting too smoky a pot, I only put small pieces of Ponderosa Pine bark directly on my pots... then the firing is done the same as last time... wood is piled up to form a tent around the pots and then lit on fire~

After it burns awhile, the pots begin to emerge.

And, after many weeks of work... the pots are finished!

Below is the Charlie Brown Pot~

Still not my favorite, but not so Charlie Brown looking any more.

:)

My pride & joy below... the last big pot that I completed~

And, a tie for my favorite pot below... formerly known as the "Genie pot," I now call it Felipe's Pot (since it was made from Felipe's Clay.)

:)

Being so hesitant about getting too smoky a pot, I went in the other direction this time & feel a bit more of a smoke cloud would've done this pot more justice. But hey, I'm learning... and now have more of a sense of what to do next time I have the chance to work with Micaceous Clay.

:)

And, last but not least... my little Pumpkin Pot! This one was made with Felipe's Clay... and also at the very end of the session, so the craftmanship could have been just a bit better, though I do think it is awfully cute! It's a small pot that fits perfectly in my hand.

:)

My instructor thought it might make a good garlic roaster... hmmmm...

I did get back a little work from throwing on the wheel at the beginning of class, but not having the time to do glaze tests... the results were less than adequate, and really not worth posting, though I do have a few things left to be fired... so we'll see. But for now, I'm ok with this, as I simply didn't have the time to do it all... and am actually quite happy with what I did get done, considering the full time job & all. And I learned so much about working with Micaceous Clay in the traditional manner that stretches back generations... before there were such things as wheels & glazes!

Happy Fall, Everyone!

:)

The Last BIG Pot!

I had mentioned in a previous post that I was working on 2 pots concurrently... the Pot from Felipe's Clay and this one that I finished last week & am just getting around to posting! I'm really pleased with the way it turned out! It's about same size as my first Micaceous Pot~ pretty big! This represents roughly 10 to 12 hours of work~

Of course I've got to show a little process... it's what I do!

:)

The first step in building a large pot is rolling out the clay (just like rolling out dough) and placing it in a puki (a shallow ceramic form which helps hold the the shape & prevents your pot from collapsing.)

After smoothing it consistently in the puki, you add your first coil....

...and another, and another, and so on. It looks pretty rough at this stage, but if you smooth, paddle & shape it for long enough, it will begin to look like this~

At this point, I am truly amazed it starts to look like an actual Pot! Being new to the coiling method, it still boggles my mind sometimes... the transition from slab & coil to Pot... and the fact that it all stay together! 

The addition of the fluted rim...

And Handles!

And...Whala!

(After all the scraping, sanding & slip applying and burnishing)

The finished Pot!

Good news is, all the pots have made it through the bisque kiln, and we'll do the final pit fire on Wednesday... pretty exciting stuff! I've got a few other things I'm working on, and still some glazing to do on things I started over a month ago... so I may post those somewhere along the way... but these pots have been my main focus these past 7 weeks. And though I may complain from time to time (o.k, maybe a lot) about working too much & not having enough time to create, I am truly grateful for the time that I have had to learn this process!

:)