Third Time's a Charm
Ok, so, I never actually documented my projects last summer like I had intended, nor did I record the fall session. But hey, it's a new pottery session (started last Saturday, ), so might as well give it another go.
We'll be doing raku like usual, as well as a saggar firing (you coat the piece in a special chemical, then wrap it up in aluminum foil with some combustibles, and fire it like that). Last session we tried obvara for the first time, but pieces had an unfortunate tendency to crack and/or blow up. One takes the red hot piece out of the kiln, dunks it in a "brew" of water, flour, sugar, and yeast and then dunks the piece in water, going back and forth between the two a few times. So, you know, blowing up happens... We voted on which special firing techniques to do this session and I'm guessing that's why obvara lost. Ah, well.
My plans for the special firings are to make dragon eggs. I made an obvara dragon egg last session which somehow did not explode (still don't know how it survived!) and I had been thinking it'd be cool to make a set of eggs. Here's the obvara egg:
In past sessions we've frequently had a "special project" that our teacher encourages us to work on as a way of pushing ourselves, developing new skills, etc. This has included a tea pot and carving a decorative tile and turning it into a push mold. For this session our teacher doesn't have one specific project; rather she's going to bring a small project idea to each class as an inspiration for us. So during the first class she brought up the first idea, which was an egg with a little bird hatching out of it... But of course, as our teacher pointed out, it doesn't need to be a bird; it could be anything that hatches out of an egg. So this will fit right in with my plans! The egg will be made of raku clay and have white crackle put on it, then we can use under-glazes for more vivid colors on the hatchling. I'm super stoked about that. I'm also going to make a saggar egg, for the sake of completeness. So I'll have an entire set of special-firing dragon eggs. Perhaps eventually I can do a high-fire egg, though that presents Issues as there can't be glaze on the bottom of the piece...
As for the rest of the session, I'm going to focus primarily on learning to throw on the wheel, for reallies. Before this session I had made exactly 2 pieces on the wheel, during the very first session I took years ago (4 or 5 years? It's been awhile anyway!). Everything I've done since has been hand-built, as I generally have inspiration to make pieces that are too weirdly shaped for throwing. But I decided it's about time to learn to throw, as there are some more practical things I'd like to make that way, such as serving bowls and a children's tea set. I have discovered that it's awfully nice to use pieces I've made when eating, especially if I have guests. So I'll be concentrating on that for awhile.
I did manage to turn out a little dish/saucer kind of thing during the first class. It was very difficult. Working on the wheel requires both finesse and strength, so it's weird. My clay was probably too stiff, which did not help. I never really got the clay centered myself; one of the teachers and another student who has a degree in Fine Art more or less managed that. But in the end, I did make a Thing. Here it is:
I used half and half, as I've got a ton of that from the last session, previously used (and therefore a bit easier to work with on the wheel) and everything. I've spent the days since the first class getting it properly hydrated, so hopefully things will go more smoothly at the next class. And of course I'll have to trim this sucker. I think it was a decent day's work, though I do hope things get easier as I go along...
Anyhow, that's what I've done so far, and what I'm planning to work on for the rest of the session. Should be a fun time, at any rate. It always is!
We'll be doing raku like usual, as well as a saggar firing (you coat the piece in a special chemical, then wrap it up in aluminum foil with some combustibles, and fire it like that). Last session we tried obvara for the first time, but pieces had an unfortunate tendency to crack and/or blow up. One takes the red hot piece out of the kiln, dunks it in a "brew" of water, flour, sugar, and yeast and then dunks the piece in water, going back and forth between the two a few times. So, you know, blowing up happens... We voted on which special firing techniques to do this session and I'm guessing that's why obvara lost. Ah, well.
My plans for the special firings are to make dragon eggs. I made an obvara dragon egg last session which somehow did not explode (still don't know how it survived!) and I had been thinking it'd be cool to make a set of eggs. Here's the obvara egg:
In past sessions we've frequently had a "special project" that our teacher encourages us to work on as a way of pushing ourselves, developing new skills, etc. This has included a tea pot and carving a decorative tile and turning it into a push mold. For this session our teacher doesn't have one specific project; rather she's going to bring a small project idea to each class as an inspiration for us. So during the first class she brought up the first idea, which was an egg with a little bird hatching out of it... But of course, as our teacher pointed out, it doesn't need to be a bird; it could be anything that hatches out of an egg. So this will fit right in with my plans! The egg will be made of raku clay and have white crackle put on it, then we can use under-glazes for more vivid colors on the hatchling. I'm super stoked about that. I'm also going to make a saggar egg, for the sake of completeness. So I'll have an entire set of special-firing dragon eggs. Perhaps eventually I can do a high-fire egg, though that presents Issues as there can't be glaze on the bottom of the piece...
As for the rest of the session, I'm going to focus primarily on learning to throw on the wheel, for reallies. Before this session I had made exactly 2 pieces on the wheel, during the very first session I took years ago (4 or 5 years? It's been awhile anyway!). Everything I've done since has been hand-built, as I generally have inspiration to make pieces that are too weirdly shaped for throwing. But I decided it's about time to learn to throw, as there are some more practical things I'd like to make that way, such as serving bowls and a children's tea set. I have discovered that it's awfully nice to use pieces I've made when eating, especially if I have guests. So I'll be concentrating on that for awhile.
I did manage to turn out a little dish/saucer kind of thing during the first class. It was very difficult. Working on the wheel requires both finesse and strength, so it's weird. My clay was probably too stiff, which did not help. I never really got the clay centered myself; one of the teachers and another student who has a degree in Fine Art more or less managed that. But in the end, I did make a Thing. Here it is:
I used half and half, as I've got a ton of that from the last session, previously used (and therefore a bit easier to work with on the wheel) and everything. I've spent the days since the first class getting it properly hydrated, so hopefully things will go more smoothly at the next class. And of course I'll have to trim this sucker. I think it was a decent day's work, though I do hope things get easier as I go along...
Anyhow, that's what I've done so far, and what I'm planning to work on for the rest of the session. Should be a fun time, at any rate. It always is!
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