Monday, July 13, 2009

Not All Bad.

This vase came from my last soda firing and I am very pleased. I've made a few of these in the past and finally found the right glaze to fit the form. I have always used orange slip and sigillata on the top section with the hope that the kiln will create the dynamic surface that is unique to soda firing, but the bottom section eluded me.
I love this metallic glaze. I've used several metallic glaze recipes in the past but this one seems to work the best for me. No running or blistering.

These vases take awhile to complete. I throw the bottom section separately, then push out from the inside and paddle in from the outside to create the irregular/organic shape. I add the legs and carve away until it looks right. I then throw the upper section and connect it. After it dries a bit I return to delineate the connection. There are four more in the studio that are bisqued, waiting to be fired.

Not all was perfect. All these tumblers will have to be thrown away. The glaze that I used successfully so many times in the past blistered badly. There were a few that worked out, but most of the kiln load will have to go to the pottery graveyard. Sometimes ceramics breaks my heart.



3 comments:

Kim Hambric said...

Russell, thanks for paying a visit to my blog and leaving a comment.

I love your work. I saw your beautiful tiles on Etsy and jumped out of my chair. Really love thoses colors and textures.

After having a look at your sculptures I was wondering -- do you have an issue with dogs? Just curious.

I'll visit again soon!

Sabrosa Cycles said...

Oh the life of the ceramicist. I do like to see when other folks who work with their hands don't always get the results they hoped for. I thought I was the only one for a long time.

I have a garbage can that you can throw all of those tumblers away in. Just sayin.

Russell said...

Sabrosa, two steps forward, one step back or the other way around. I'm forever trying to stay above the fray and keep everything I make.
Kim, the dog imagery is a metephor, not to be taken literally. No dogs were harmed or injured in the making of this work.