Woodfire!

Its been a while since my last post. There's lots going on the last couple weeks of school. Since my last post I realized my cookers were combination forms that fit the requirements for the project. So I made 3 teapots and 2 lug handled lided cookers. Of those the biggest and in my opinion the best teapot and cooker did not survive the bisque.

The woodkiln has been fired and proved to be a fun and exciting time. Nervous and excited to fire without the kiln Whisperer. The bfa students are stepping up in the Woodfire world. I'm confident we can accomplish a firing on our own.

Work for the wood kiln overall came out awesome. I used Liz Kraus shino, stasha's crab claw, chucks shino, shaner shino, iron saturate, and some bisque flashing slip. I think I'm going to have to mix up some more chucks next semester. I really like the way it reduces to produce some grey spots with a little bit of crackeling in the shiny spots. Next semester I will also make an effort to glaze less work for tumble stacking. I liked how my peices turned out that survived the tumble. I got some great flashing and nice ash accumulation.

Flameware

This clay is so beautiful it diserves its own post. Before cone 10 and after.

Combination forms

This project has been slow to start for me. I've decided to revisit teapots. I've made two and I'm just not happy with how they turned out. They look too much like my previous teapots. While I feel the different components fit together to make better forms than my last teapos I'm just not satisfied with them. I'm going to revisit the cylinder forms I made at the beginning of the semester and see if I can't make something that relates to my mugs a little more. I will also incorporate the previously used line texture. Here's to a productive week.

Late blog. I blame spring break.

Finished the lided forms project this week during break. I have attached lug handles to a few "roasters". I think of the three I got one really nice one. Id like to make a couple more just because I feel like I'm really getting the hang of these lids and would like to have another nice one. I'm considering putting a whole on the underside of the lug handles so the pans may hang on the wall or from a hook for a show.
I was asked while I was working why I didn't use the line texture I've previously used. I've read the flameware chips easily with sharp edges and am trying to avoid that issue. However I'm not sure how the flameware would react if I put the lines in then dulled the edges a bit. Dallas brought this to my attention. And I think ill give it a try.
Line blend tests today and hopefully ill get some throwing in. Also, I will invest in a wheel next semester. I would get so much more done if I could work from home and I think Dalton would like to play in some clay. Possibly inspire some new ideas being in the home location where most of my objects will be used.

Lided

I finally for the chance to work with my flameware! And thanks to the line blend tests I know what the clay body looks like after firing to cone 10. A pretty brown that will go well with my other Woodfired stuff. I constructed these lids by throwing them upside down, trimming, then attaching a small piece of clay then throwing the handle. The flameware drys much faster than my stoneware so I wasn't able to attach handles in time. I think for some casserole roasters these aren't too bad. The lip opens a bit which makes it a little easier to pick up without handles. But lesson learned. Handles sooner. I will make some lugs to use as handles on the next set and hopefully get some nice pans I can use on the stove.

Fusion and glaze testing

This week the class worked on fusion tests and picked materials to create glazes. I have chosen to create a glaze for the flameware I mixed earlier this semester. I will be testing petalite and epk. My test tiles have been dipped and are drying. Mixing the epk was challenging. It kept clumping up on me. I have a feeling a screen will come in handy when mixing up a batch of the glaze. Can't wait to see what the clay looks like after being fired.

Foot rings, bowls, and the beginners hump

I worked on throwing bowls this week. It has proved to be challenging. I need to work on rims and shapes for them. I would like to get my walls a little thinner. I have managed to avoid the beginners hump so far and hope that will continue. I'm playing with different foot ring shapes and really trying to fit the shape of the foot to the shape of the bowl. More to come!