3rd Quarter Project

Work should be taken off the wood when leather dry so that it can retain its shape, but also can be trimmed on the wheel.  I focused mostly on texture and balance in this piece.  I learned from this project that things that seem too difficult to put together sometimes just need a few more days to stiffen (like the walls of the lantern).  If I could change something, it would be to go back and mix one of my glaze components with a paddle instead of just a whisk, because inadequate mixing made it come out green instead of blue. 

Lantern

I'm doing a lantern.  I already finished it and glazed it.  The glaze didn't come out the color I was expecting because I didn't mix it properly.  The project wasn't very easy because the walls were hard to hold up and attach at the same time.

Cups

Blue- Holds 230 mL. Glaze N14: blue rutile and blue rutile
Green- Holds125 mL. Glaze Q12: oasis and metallic green
Yellow- Holds 225 mL. Glaze N8: blue rutile and goldenrod shino

Red- Holds 8 oz. Glaze B4: Chun Plum and Turkish Amber
White- Holds 4 oz.  Glaze H1: Second Hand Rose and Goldenrod Shino

Rainbow- Holds 9 oz. Glaze O1: Seaspray and Second Hand Rose

Happy Holidays

I have made all my cups, but three are in the firing room.  Leather Hard - Clay which has dried sufficiently to be stiff, but is still damp enough to be joined to other pieces. - Bone Dry - Clay that is completely dried but not yet fired. Clay forms are most fragile at this stage. It is important to connect slab work or trim pottery on the wheel when the clay is leather hard because if it's too soft, the clay won't be rigid enough to hold the shape of the foot you carve.  If it were to hard, it would damage the tools and would ruin the surface of the clay by scratching off layers in powder and flakes. Also, it has to be wet enough to attach the handles after you trim.  

Glazing Part 2

I used seaspray and albany slip brown.  They were both dip glazes.  The albany slip brown on top  of the seaspray started to crack and peel off, so I had to wet my finger, smooth out the cracks, and touch up the parts where the layer had chipped off.  I actually like the uneven effect this gave the glaze, so I was happy with the outcome.

Glazing Part 1

- If there's dust or debris, the glaze won't stick to the clay as well and won't absorb, and the dust will be trapped under the glaze coating.  Also, hand oils can repel the glaze, just like is intentionally done with wax-resist on the bottom, and it will come out uneven
-b
-About a second
-It's too thin and drippy, because it isn't made for being painted.  Being submerged ensures an even coating

Wheel

I have been working on the wheel every class since we were assigned to it, so a couple of weeks.  I've gotten the hang of it better in the past couple of days.  The skills are still a little shaky to put all together, but individually they are coming along.  After many frustrating attempts, I finally achieved my 6 inch cylinder last class, so the wheel is going pretty well.  My only concern is that my ability to center is still inconsistent and varies day to day, which affects how well I can bring up the clay.  I hope these skills will help me with future wheel projects that are more complicated.