Final Set (All but One) From Pots That Pour Class

Well, the rain has changed my plans today, which was to spend some time working in my garden, and I don't feel motivated to clean and tidy the house, so I am going to post the remaining items.  With the exception of more small pitcher which I didn't recognize earlier, so hopefully it is still waiting for me on the shelves when I check next week.  I am looking forward to my next course starting Wednesday.  It is taught by a number of different instructors, to get different perspectives.  I think that will be fun.  Anyhow I have plenty of ideas of things I want to try, no matter what course I'm signed up for.

One thing I have learned is that each person has a very unique style and preference, and so I am not afraid to stick with mine.  In this past course, my instructor Jay tried to discourage me from using the sprayer for glazing.  In his experience, and his style of ceramics, dipping has worked fine.  But most of my experiences with dipped glazes have been fairly disappointing, and the pieces I have been most pleased with have been the ones I spent the time (which doesn't really seem like longer time, other than the preparation and cleanup) to spray.  This became obvious to me in this course, where I sprayed many of my pieces with Clear.  When I've dipped them, the Clear has gone on too thick, producing a pasty finish and very obvious crazing, which  interferes with the colours and design.  These pieces also demonstrate the advantages of spraying.

#23 - This piece was a 1000g bowl with hollow rim (turned out), which flopped during throwing.  So I hung the piece upside down between two stools until firm enough to set downstairs.  I helped it a bit, to end up with 5 distinct undulations.  I really like the effect.  It is sprayed with a combination of Deep Blue, Tenmoku (the brownish parts) and Old Celadon.  I could never have achieved this effect through dipping.  It bears a messy attempt at my stamp on bottom, since it was quite dry before I cut it off the bat.

#24 - This 1400g bowl also flopped during throwing (during the same class), after rolling in and forming the hollow rim.  I also hung it upside down to firm up, and teased it a bit to get the 4 soft undulations.  I didn't manage to stamp it, since it was too dry by the time I cut it off the bat.  I love the soft blending of colours, achieved by spraying with Deep Blue and Old Celadon.

#25 - I forgot what I was trying to achieve with this one, but it started as a 1200g bowl, and the top edge got mangled during throwing, so I experimented with pulling it out flat from the insides, and then cut a wavy edge on the top once leather hard.  I played a little with the glazes, filling with Clear on the inside and top edge, then flipping over, and pouring Deep Blue down the bottom side.  Not too beautiful, but the imperfect lines of the glaze seem to go fairly well with the undulations of the top edge.  It could be a small vase, or holder for pencils or something...  A good candidate for adoption.

#26 - This little guy is similar to #25, in Deep Blue and Clear glaze colours, and also shape, but is smaller.  I was experimenting with flat/oval shapes, so after rolling in a hollow rim, pulled it from the inside to flatten it, and also cut and pushed in the bottom sides, so it also has an oval base.  My stamp didn't work well on the bottom, so I stamped it again on the side (see bottom left photo).  Also a good candidate for adoption.

#27 - This one was inspired by the success of my nut bowl (#30 from my previous course) which was formed by a slab pressed onto a deeply textured glass bowl.  This one was based on a Mikasa "Bountiful" tray.  I love the cherry pattern.  I would have liked to enhance the cherries with bright red underglaze, and the leaves with green, but I didn't have access to the underglazes at the time.  So I dipped the whole piece in Tam's Green, and then my notes seem to say I sprayed the top with Tenmoku, although I don't see a colour difference from top to bottom, so the Tenmoku may have sank inside.  Anyhow, the textures have shown up quite well, so I think this is an experiment I will try again.  The whole piece is very lightweight, so would work well as a serving tray.

#28 - This plate/platter didn't turn out as I had hoped, but I like the idea enough that I will definitely be trying it again.  The plate is formed by a slab of clay (with rough torn edges) in a mould, over which I have pressed leaves formed by my mold which I made previously of my dear Davidii Involucrata (dove or hankerchief tree).  The mold is not deeply textured, but there was some veining in the leaf which I tried to highlight with Deep Blue glaze, as seen in this photo below.

Then I dipped it in Matt Green, and sprayed a light coat of Old Celadon on top.  If I could redo it, I would have only sprayed a light coat of Matt Green.  It seems that the Matt Green has not only not allowed enough of the Deep Blue highlights, but totally removed any texture from the leaves, so they look too smooth.

The bottom of the bowl slumped a bit during the glaze firing and the glazed picked up some of the kiln shelf (which can be scraped/scrubbed off, but will never be completely smooth), so next time I'll know to place the button feet wider, and probably will use 4 or 5 instead of 3.

That's it for now, until I find that remaining pitcher.

By the way, I commented on some of these being adoption candidates, but please let me know of ANY of the pieces you love, or like, or are somewhat intrigued by, and you may find these in your home.