Bye bye train kiln....

It was probably the hottest day we could have chose to do this but it wasnt too bad...and I'm super excited to build up the new one which made the heat bearable. Got everything taken apart and moved and stacked in about an hour. Go us!

Fall 2013

I cannot wait to get back in the studio and get my hands dirty. Its been a great summer break so far but I'm getting the itch to make something.

So many ideas are floating around in my head for this semester. I'm hoping to incorporate a couple different ideas for each project.

My to make list is as follows.

Tall tumblers. circles with glaze
Inscent burners
Flower pot stackers
A memorial bench for papaws grave.
  -photo transfer.
  -"if love could have saved you, you would have lived forever"
Planters (me mom and grandma)
Pot hanger decoration guys
Garden sculptures
Hides for reptiles<- great opportunity for texture and mixed media
Bird houses/feeders
Double serving bows with reed handles
Knotted handles
Pinched bottom tumblers. Makes a tripod "leg" bottom.

Glazing techniques to try.

String around block
Newspaper strip stripes
Circles
Bubble wrap
Elmers glue as wax resist

Gonna be a fun semester!

Handled

I haven't got all of them done. 3 are complete. One needs some jute around the wire an the little attachment brackets broke off of the other so I'm gonna have to figure something out for the future. My favorite is more simple wooden handle with jute. Least favorite and is the first one I did and the one that took the longest....with all the wood....technically its not wood. Its willow but oh well. The one with the red/orange lid.

Glazing for wood fire.

I forgot to post....whoops.
Mixed media teapots are glazed shino or iron saturate on the insides and a combination of the 3 shinos we have on the outside. So excited for the wood fire!

Wood fire!

Everything all lined up before and after firing.

Love love love love love how my teapots turned out. Excited to get the handles goin!

Update!

I have finally gotten out of the stone age and have a data plan on my phone and am proud to say I should be blogging regularly from now on. Yay! Anywho...

I've been working on making plates with red stoneware and putting white slip over it different designs and patterns. Trying to decide what I like.

I had originally intended on making designs into the white slip to show red through but it didn't work quite as well as I hoped it would. When I was doing the design my clay was too wet and I would end up putting a dent in my plates. I'm gonna try drying them out a bit before I put the slip on and see if that helps....I am liking my accidental results. When I messed up the first plate I just kinda smeared it out with a rib and it turned out pretty cool. It makes the white less intense and kinda smoky looking. I really enjoy the inconsistencies of the smeared slip against the symmetry the thrown form.

mixed media 2013

For the mixed media project I wanted to continue to work on throwing. I had seen a teapot with a wooden handle a while ago and have been wanting to make teapots so I thought it was fitting.

I made four bodies with lids and numerous spouts. The spouts were giving me trouble at first. Having to make them thin and long and then transfer them was a hassle. Discovering the heat gun was a savior.

Of the four bodies, two survived the trimming phase. 








I am still working on some spouts. These are probably not the spouts I will use but they could be. I really like the shape of this first spout with the body so I might keep that one but I'm still not totally satisfied with the bottom one.














I have two more in the works and will work on more. I think I will end up throwing two or three more just so I know I will end up with at least one.
I am also considering making some teacups and saucers. Note that none of these teapots have handles. I plan to soak wood and incorporate it in a way that acts as a handle and decoration. If I do end up having time to throw cups and/or saucers I will come up with a way to incorporate the wood as handles for them as well.