Glaze test

This bowl is my latest test piece hot out of the kiln! (it was actually still tinging when I took these shots!) I lined the inside of the BC (black chunky) Clay with porcelain slip to get a better colour response from the glazes I have been using. This is a crystalline glaze that Kate Malone uses. No crystals have grown but I think the finish is great. Crackles in the glaze, pooling in the middle and I love the way the BC has bleed into the glaze and trickled down the outside. This is the effect I was trying to achieve with manganese on other pieces. I might just put this on a little bit thinner so it's not quite so dark in the middle next time.... more test!
Hooray for BC Clay!!

Black smooth clay

Latest experiment is black smooth clay with a crystalline laze on the inside. (fired to 1250)The black clay has given the glaze (turquoise on earthenware) a dramatic finish. Really pleased with this piece, one of my 'huggable' pieces! 

HOWEVER!!! On writing this blog... I re-fired it to a higher temperature (1280) to see if the glaze would flow a bit more and it BROKE!!! It's now in 4 pieces and no longer a birthday present for my friend!

Degree show promotional ideas

Welcome to Axis - the online resource for contemporary art

My Onggi Pot - Time Lapse

This is so cool how he wedges the clay. Very well put together clip

TwoJingdezhenPotters

Check out what he's doing with that cigarette!! Looks more dangerous than Dougs blow torch!

New photos

I set my good friend Simon a mission to take some shots of my work for my assessment and these pictures are the results of his hard work. I am especially pleased with the close up shots of the large bowl. They look like moon craters ~ I guess this links to the use of volcanic glazes without actually using them!

http://scienceprep.org/moon.htm

Black Chunky Bowl

These pieces just hot out of the kiln are the latest of my experiments. 

Made with a black chunky clay, bisque fired and then glazed with a white tin glaze (Yo Thom) and fired to 1250 in an electric kiln

I am extremely pleased with the results, I think it is one of the best pieces I have produced so far.

The glaze works well with the chunky black clay with the different thicknesses of the glaze giving a wide range of colours and shades.

Suggested selling price £195 large bowl

Small pots £22 

Technical notes: Bisque firing  50/600 100/1000

                         Glaze firing   100/600  150/1250  20min soak

Glaze (Yo Thom): 

Potash Feldspar     49.5

China Clay             24.7

Dolomite                21.7

Tin Oxide                3

Bone Ash               2.1

Whiting                  2.1