My Clay Station Kitchen & Makin' Pots w/ Mom

Trying to get a little "umph" back for blogging. Sure, I've still been photo documenting this whole time... just have other things going on & blogging has been placed on the back burner. Like anything else, blogging takes time, and as of late, that is something I feel perpetually short of!  But, since I originally started this blog to document progress (or, at times, lack thereof) through my artistic journey, I figure I'd better make a more concerted effort to continue... though I have to admit, postings & visits to other blogs may be a bit sporadic.

I knew you'd understand.

:)

Someone had asked about my setting up a clay station in the Kitchen- well obviously it is not the best choice- It is quite messy & can be quite a pain in the **s if I decide to get hungry & try to do anything crazy... like, you know, cook in the kitchen. But, for now, my options are somewhat limited, so I do the best I can w/ what I've got.

Below~ settin' up the station & getting to work on Micaceous Pots. I don't have that particular class this semester, but I gotta make them!

I do love hand coiling pots- it's a lot of work for sure, but I always am amazed when it really starts to look pot-like.

:)

At the point it begins to have a decent shape (though I probably could have done a bit better job on this one) I let it set up a few hours before adding the rim so I don't end up squatting my pot down... which I have been know to do on several occasions.

I added several more coils, because knowing me, I'd have to cut the rim a few times to get it fairly straight. The rim is a huge challenge!

At this point- I called it good & set it off to dry as I was getting ready to head off to San Diego to see the family. It just so happens that it was my Mom's birthday when I was visiting in January, and you know that the perfect gift for anyone on my list is a little something clay related. :) Since mom is extra special & has taken quite a liking to clay, in addition to giving her one of my favorite bowls from my last class... I got her a turnstile, tools... and you guessed it... a big ol bag of clay. (Because, really, who doesn't want mud for their birthday?!)

She was able to get a couple of days off work, and we had a pot building extravaganza!

:)

Our first pots taking shape. Dang it- I forgot to take pics of them when the rim was added! Arrgh! Anyhow, looking at the mess we created below, you can certainly see how much more prudent it is to do in the garage rather than the kitchen, but I digress.

Below is our second set of pots. Mom's on the right (wow, way to go, Mom!)

& mine on the left. I was pretty excited about that one, mainly because I was using a Puki that I had made in my last wheel throwing class for the base.

Water scraping pots---

Pots in the sun after water scraping.

That's as far as we got, since my visit was a short one. I think this is kinda the ugliest stage of the process for the pots, but I love them anyway. Once they are sanded, slip is applied & they're polished, they will take on a whole new (& hopefully beautiful) look. I hope to get these finished in the next few weeks, as well as another casserole I'm working on, but in the meantime I've started a couple more classes- Wheel Throwing II & Glaze Formulation- pretty fun & challenging so far... but won't really have anything to show for quite some time and wouldn't ya know it, my beloved digital SLR just went on the blink & is expected to be at the camera doc's for the next several weeks... so no photography either... unless it is of the point & shoot low resolution variety... :(

Not looking forward to that bill! Especially since I have been trying to work less & clay more, which has been a tough balancing act, to say the least. I keep telling people, "Once I get caught up, then I can live paycheck to paycheck!" Ah, the price of pursuing my artistic dreams....

:)

Welcome 2012 (yes, it's all about the clay!)

I actually got these piece back in 2011- two days before Christmas, but am just getting around to posting! As usual, I got some pieces back that I really loved (some of which became last minute gifts to co-workers) and some total junkers. To be expected I suppose, with all the glaze testing & mixing/overlapping of glazes that I was doing... and I love to experiment! Here they are, the good, the bad & the ugly!

:)

I took good (albeit messy) glaze notes, so I should be able to replicate the ones that I liked should I take another clay class @ SF Clay in the future.

Here are some of my favorites from the final batch~

... and some close ups below.

It was fun playing w/ different styles, clays, & glazes. On some I went for smoothness & perfection, like the ones above... while in others I went for a rougher, more raw & funky look~ like the ones below.

I do like the funkiness of the handle on this one. I gave it to one of my O.T. friends, who commented on the ergonomic feel of the handle.

:)

Experimenting w/ stamping & oxide stains above.

This bowl was a total experiment using several different glazes... I love how it turned out!

:)

It makes me think of a waterfall leading into a high alpine lake.

:)

Glazing in earth & sky.

:)

Even this one has an earthy feel to me. Reminds me of dark, wet granite covered in lichen.

On the inside I sponged on a different glaze~ I totally dig they way the two glazes blended & dripped down.

These two I'm keeping! I borrowed this glaze combo from one of the potters in the studio & I absolutely love it.

:)

Oh, and of course the bears~

Meh~ I think the glaze turned out o.k, but not one of my favorites pieces.

And the rough bear from many posts ago. The general shape & style of this one I like, but the glaze I think turned out so- so.

So that brings us up to date! My class ended several weeks ago... and I have been working like crazy ever since! (though I did squeeze in one Micaceous pot that I made in my "kitchen studio" but it is still in the very rough stage- so I'll save that for another post.)

Wishing you all the best in 2012!!

As for myself, I don't often make "resolutions" per se, but I would like to sit down & write out some goals for 2012.... and you can be sure they are going to include figuring out how to work less & do clay more! If you have any brilliant ideas on the subject, please share! Now, I'm off the computer to pack up- I'm headed west this morning! I'm off to see my family & dear friends, as I was unable to get out there during the Holidays...

Here's hoping your New Year is off to a wonderful start!

:)

My First Raku Firing... Whooo Hoooo!!!

You may recall me talking about a possible Raku firing for my Micaceous clay class (click here.) When I heard about the possible results for this process (a silver/black iridescent finish) I had in mind the 3 little wolf pups & the mini bean pot. It was a fun process & I was super excited about the results! Here they are~

Good Things Come in Three's

I totally love them!

Wolf Pup Meeting

So, you know me~ I got a little carried away with photographing them!

:)

Taking Time to Contemplate the Little Things

I couldn't help it, they're just so darn cute!

The backside shows the random iridescent pattern made by the firing.

Here's the mini bean pot. I can't help but love it, too! The random patterns combined with the shape make me think of viewing the earth from space.

A little close up of the patterning. In case you're not familiar w/Raku (which I was not) I'll give a a very brief synopsis. After the pieces are bisqued, they are put in the Raku (gas) kiln & fired very hot, very fast. My understanding is that there are a few different ways to go about it, but in this case the pieces were then moved carefully w/ long metal tongs & thrown into a steel can with sawdust. The sawdust immediately goes up in flames, the lid is closed & the sawdust burns down & then the pots are ready to come out.

My hot pot, sitting in a pile of ashes.

In the pic below, I think she was either pointing at a pattern made by the firing, or the sawdust embers still glowing.

(click to enlarge for a better view.)

I'm telling you- this was some exciting stuff! I wish I would have gotten pics of the entire process, but I was busy throwing in the sawdust & dodging smoke & flames! But, we'll likely do another firing tomorrow, so I'll try to get more pics of this fascinating process. I am totally hooked on clay and all the amazing directions you can go with it!

:)

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!

:)

Clay Creations!

Well, this is it... the end of the term. Had a little delay in getting back the last of the ceramics as one of kilns was down. Now I'm in the process of packing them up & deciding which to give away, which to keep & wondering if I can wait as long a Christmas to share them. Probably not, as I've already started giving them away! Here's the bulk of my creations this quarter, minus the 20 or so I've given away~

And some "up close shots" of some of my favorites... of course I made some more of the coffee bean mugs~

Here's the big salad bowl I was so happy about in a previous post, though it doesn't look so big in this picture! I also made 4 smaller bowls to go with it. I wasn't ecstatic about the glaze choice afterwards, but chose a clear glaze to try to bring forth the natural dark clay body~

One of my favorite bowls I decided to keep for myself... I just love this glaze~ 

It looks like a plate here! I think I'm a lot better at landscape photography than studio photography! Here's the back... I'm experimenting w/ different "signatures" & liked this one.

The next one I call the "Zen Bowl..." I don't know... it just looks Zen to me. I've decided who this bowl is going to, but that is top secret!

Another "keeper," I've already used the bowl below for french toast! (None of my plates turned out well, and I don't really like making them, so I just cut the french toast into bite size pieces, add banana & syrup.) This funky bowl was an experiment in carving & use of stains.

The glaze in the bowl below kinda looks like an eye, doesn't it?

And just a few more favorites~

It was fun experimenting with different glazes!

I think the use of different glazes can totally define what the bowls are used for... whether decorative, salad, soup or ice cream. I love the glaze in the one below, and it was difficult not to keep, but I already gave it away... it's fun to give handmade gifts!

I've really enjoyed my ceramics class this quarter, and am hoping I can figure out some way in the not too distant future to have this sort of creating be present in my daily life!

:)