Recently I’ve been preparing to mix my own glazes. I started stockpiling chemicals and raw materials last summer when a Laguna distributor in Michigan had a sale. Over Christmas I got a few books about glazes including Mastering Cone 6 Glazes and The Complete Guide to High-Fire Glazes. I looked through the recipes in these books and some that I found on the internet and drew up a list of raw materials that I needed to start testing recipes. Then I did some price checking for some online clay and chemical suppliers. (The pottery supply search helped!) [Read more…]
New Shelves in the Clay Studio
Over Christmas break I got a little time to work in the clay studio. I’ve also had school canceled a few days this winter so I’ve had a little extra time to put up shelves and get things organized.
new shelf – glaze area
I added a shelf at the top of the glaze area which I’m using for finished work and random objects that I don’t really use that often. Now I can use the two bottom shelves for glazes, chemicals and other glaze related tools and equipment. I might try to come up with a row of drawers or containers for storing chemicals.
new glaze area
I rearranged the small set of shelves on the floor and the table. Now I have better access to the whole table and I can move pots from the table to the long shelf against the west wall easily. And I feel like everything is less crammed into the corner. I haven’t glazed anything using this arrangement so I’m excited to try it out.
new shelf at the top
The other shelf I added is above the wedging table/workbench against the north wall. With this extra top shelf I have a lot of space to keep the stuff that I rarely use. Now I can use the easier-to-reach shelves for the stuff that I use regularly. Now I just need some more tools!
shelves near the sink
I also added one more set of shelves near the sink. I just bought the plastic, easy to put together shelves when they were on sale at Menard’s. I use them for drying plastic buckets and containers after I wash them.
Last Glaze Fire of 2010
Well, here are a few photos of the latest items to come out of the kiln. Plenty of mugs, a few vases, some bowls and a few other pieces.
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- wide bottom vase
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- wheel thrown mug blues
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- wheel thrown drip vase
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- triangle plate
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- tall sunburst bowl
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- sunburst bowl
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- straight sided vase
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- stoneware soup bowl
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- stoneware mugs
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- short wide mugs
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- short mugs
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- Pam’s Iron stoneware mugs
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- Pam’s Iron Mug Set
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- mixing bowl
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- handmade mugs
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- flare mugs
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- Cone Mugs
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- brown bathroom set
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- bathroom set for two
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- altered vase
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- 2 bathroom sets
If you missed it, there was a previous post about glazing and firing.
Like an Early Christmas!
I opened up the kiln today after yesterday’s glaze fire. Early Christmas? Early Christmas!
glazed pots – December 2010
I spent almost all of Saturday preparing and glazing and kiln washing. Everything went pretty smoothly.  I mixed up 10lbs. of Coyote’s Saturated Iron on Friday so it was ready to go. That, along with my previously mixed Pam’s Blue, gave me two buckets of glaze to dip and pour. I used a little bit of Coyote Red Gold and one vase has some Espresso Bean but other than that, just about everything else is part of the Pam’s Iron Collection. (Pam’s Blue and/or Saturated Iron).
glaze fired mugs, vases, bowls
I was happy with the way everything turned out. No major flaws, no glaze drips, no visible glaze defects, no worries. The Pam’s Blue running down over Red Gold effect that I achieved last glaze firing came through pretty well in the two bowls that I tried it with this time.  The Saturated Iron came out exactly the same as the pre-mixed pint I used previously. It might have been just a little thick for dipping because I had to brush off some excess. This usually left some darker areas compared to the reddish brown in most areas. Could be something to experiment with next time. I hope to shoot some decent photos of these pieces tomorrow or the next day and get them posted here (my apologies for the terrible lighting and yellow cast of this photo).
I had a small Holiday Pottery Sale at Ligonier Elementary the past few days. I got some positive feedback when I stopped and talked to a few people today. I might have even made enough money to buy more glaze materials!
In unrelated news I’ve been tweaking the design of the blog theme. I’ll continue to fix things as I discover them. If you have any feedback for the appearance of the blog I’d love to hear it.
Bisque Fire in Progress
ready to bisque fire
The kiln is on and was at 104F when I checked a few minutes ago. I’m bisque firing a load of mugs, bowls, vases, and a few other items. I’ve been busy the last two weeks trying to get everything thrown, assembled and dried so I can get it fired today. Next weekend I hope to glaze fire so I can have a good selection of Christmas presents to choose from.
clay tools
My school was canceled last Monday so I had a chance to do some online shopping at the clay supply stores. Clay-King sent me a $5 off coupon in their email newsletter and they had glazes on sale so I decided to go with them. I ordered a few small tools, a pint of clear glaze, some kiln posts, and a 10lb. bag of Saturated Iron dry glaze mix. Everything except the dry glaze powder was at my house on Wednesday (only 2 days!) and the dry mix ships direct from the factory so it will arrive separately.