Monday, March 16, 2009

Glazed Bowls









Here are the bowls glazed. Disappointed in the "black" slip turning green in the firing because I think the black would make a much stronger appearence against the green Celadon glaze. Don't know if I'll try it again or not, it's alot of work. I'm always unsatisfied with my finished pieces. There always seems to be something missing in them that keeps them from seeming like quality pots. Maybe I just have unrealistic expectations or maybe I just haven't found my voice yet.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Kitchen update 2



Been sick with a cold all week so no potting has been done. I did find out Friday at school that the black slip I applied to my pots had been mixed wrong and was coming out green in the firing. Hopefully they fired this week and I can see the results. Maybe it won't turn out as bad as I'm expecting, but then I was expecting black.

Here is the latest kitchen update. After we got the lighting and handles installed and built the pantry the pressure seemed to be off because we now had a fully functional kitchen. Really all thats left to do is install the backsplash. As you can see, it has a brick look although it's actually a concrete product. Hopefully as the weather warms up I'll get on with the job and finish it.




Thursday, March 5, 2009

Kreeger decorated style bowls




Been sort of busy with other things and uninspired pottery-wise lately. Decided to try some slip decorating I had seen on Keith Kreeger's blog and here are the greenware results. While I just sort of copied his decorations this first time, I am hoping the experience will lead me to my own decorating style. I certainly discovered it's alot of work! Up at the college they only have a clear, celadon, and winnoker blue that are transparent. I think almost everything will get the celadon. The blue is so dark that the contrast of the slip will be muted. They are in the bisque now and hopefully I will be glazing tommorrow night and get some results next weekend.
Today is my wife's birthday. Tonight we will be celebrating with a steak dinner with some of the family. Went to Shreveport this past weekend for some fine dining and gambling to celebrate mine (Feb.20) and her (March 5) birthdays with some family in east Texas.
My next focus is doing some pieces with black and white clay and marbling for a couple of small local contests. Any suggestions or hints? I'm tryng to think of non-functional pieces to make but my brain just thinks in terms of function. Must be that math/engineering training.