My Artwork – Page 9

Early July Glaze Fire Results

Finally getting some images uploaded of the pots that I glaze fired at the beginning of the month!

: altered vases

: artbyfuzzy tags

: barely blue toothbrush holder

: barely blue vase

: blue berry bowl

: barely blue mugs

: blue pbl mugs

: blue stamped cups

: brown glaze test cups

: brown stoneware cups

: mugs with test glaze

: pam’s blue cups

: pam’s blue mug

: pam’s blue vases

: rusted cups

: sunset yarnbowl

: tiny clay sculptures

Not pictured are a handful of pots that will be re-fired to improve some glaze results that weren’t what I was hoping for. And one or two mugs that already have happy new homes. And a few pots that are just fine but not eye catching enough for me to take a photo, edit the photo, upload the photo and type in a description of the pot.

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Pottery in Progress: July 2012

Say No to Cracks!

oval dish crack

I’ve decided to try a couple larger forms of the wider variety. I made some slightly-square baking dishes and a pie plate. The pie plate developed a tiny crack in the middle which I might have helped along by stretching the bottom too much while trimming it. The baking dishes also developed some small cracks in the corners inside. One was barely visible and it even survived the glaze firing. The other went all the way through to the outside during the bisque firing so i probably won’t even try to glaze it.

Then there was an oval dish that I tried to make… I followed the steps in the book Wheel-Thrown Pottery (DIY) but the dried pot had a crack so big I could see through it! I don’t think I added enough clay when I re-sealed the cut mark and it just pulled right apart.

large baking dish-in progress

I think I could have decreased the likelihood of some of these cracks a couple ways. First, I think some of the pots were a little too dry when I altered the forms. I also might have let them dry too quickly. I always hear to dry things, especially large flat things, very slowly. But the plates I’ve made have never cracked… and I’m impatient… and I wanted to fire the kiln! So I might have rushed it too much. Put this one under the things-I-already-knew-but-still-had-to-learn-the-hard-way category. I put handles on this large baking dish and I have two other pie plates drying… very… slowly. Maybe I can avoid the cracks this time…

Work in Progress

I’ve been making some test items at the Clay Guild in preparation for the crystalline glazing. But I’ve also been working on some things in the home studio.

after the cut

before the cut

I threw a couple tall vases. One looked a little funny to me, so I cut off the top part. Now… maybe I like the way it was before? The picture “before the cut” is actually after I cut the top part off. I just put it back on top so you have an idea what it looked like before. I think the top part was too small. I didn’t like something about the proportions.

cups with texture

I’ve also been making a lot of small cups to experiment with. The cups in the photo have textures which were all created from parts of the sprinkler that I took apart.

Today I hope to throw a few more cups and maybe some tumblers. And try out my new stamps. And finish another blog post about the clay studio… I better get busy.

May 2012 Glaze Fire Results

It’s about time! I’m finally getting results of the last glaze fire uploaded. I fired these at the end of May just in time to take a few pieces to school for an End of School Year sale.

Everything is Warm Brown Stoneware fired to cone 6 in oxidation.

: West Noble Steins

: WNP Pencil Holders

: West Noble Mugs

: Stoneware Cups

: Wheel Thrown Brown Cups

: Teal Vase with Running Glaze

: Wheel Thrown Teal Vase

: Barely Blue Bottle

: Barely Blue Tall Stoneware Vase

: Running Glaze Closeup

: Pendants / Jewelry

: PBL Pam’s Iron Steins

: PBL All Blue Steins

: Frogs and Hand Stamp

: Dark Brown Vase

: Website Sticks

: Brown Mugs with Brushmarks

: Barely Blue Mugs and Cups

The firing went pretty well. I only have to re-fire one or two pieces due to minor glaze defects. The Sapphire Blue glaze was still a little thin. I made a few more pendants and tried some different shapes and sizes. About half were made of the Warm Brown Stoneware and the rest were Buff Stoneware with Grog which is lighter clay with dark specks. I also made some little sticks of clay with my website address stamped on them. I can give these away like little business cards or add them to orders or scatter them across the countryside.

Not pictured are two yarn bowls and probably another piece or two. The yarn bowls warped a bunch but my grandma still liked them and took them home with her. There was a third but it broke while I was glazing it. I think the walls were a little too thin for yarn bowls. The other yarn bowls I’ve made had thicker walls and didn’t break during glazing or warp much, if at all.

Soon some of these items will be available on Etsy! My store isn’t up yet but I’m in the middle of writing descriptions and getting images ready. When it’s ready you should be able to find it here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtByFuzzy.

In other news, I’ve been busy in the clay studio. I’m also ready to start my class at the clay artists guild! I’ll try to post some of the things that I learn.

Getting the Word Out

I’ve had myself a mini spring break the past few days. I had to take a day off Friday because my wife had an appointment. Then over the weekend my wife AND kid got sick. So I stayed home Monday to take care of them. It turns out that it is difficult for a baby to eat if there is no air going in through the nose. So I carried her around outside before she ate which seemed to help open up her nasal passages a little bit. The funny thing is that I had signed up two weeks ago to take a personal day today so my wife could go to her kindergarten roundup. I’m not sure I’ll remember how to teach when I get back to school tomorrow.

The Shelf with New Pots

Bad news: I haven’t made one single lump of clay into anything for about two weeks. Good news: I’ve done a lot of other stuff that goes along with making pottery. For example, I went over to the Stone Soup Emporium and picked up my check for the month of March. And for the first month ever, I’m in THE BLACK! I actually made enough money last month to cover the cost of the shelf plus 14 extra dollars. (I sold four items.) Hooray for capitalism!

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