More Dragons and Other Finished Items

I was happy to pick up some more finished pieces on the weekend, and was very pleased with the results.

1) This large mask, my first one from the Bob Kingsmill workshop, is a really heavy piece.  At a full 15" tall and 12" wide, this mask is a two-hander (at least for me) to lift.  By the time I felt confident to turn him over, he was a bit dry and I was scared to carve away too much.  So it will need a good solid wall to hang on.  I'm very pleased with the colour of the Little John clay, which is enhanced with the "Bob Kingsmill wash", which is an iron oxide based formulation, and his eyes are clear glaze over a black underglaze.  I like the shiny eyes, they seem to bring this character - a green man or tree man - to life.

2) This smaller mask also turned out pretty nicely.  The Kingsmill stain is a bit metallic in parts of the decorative texture.  It is relatively light, and would make a decent wall hanging.

3) My first dragon mask turned out beautifully.  I love her eyes, which are a combination of two different green underglazes, black underglaze, and clear glaze.  She is also quite a reasonable weight, and will make a great wall hanging.  I plan to hang her above the fireplace which holds my dragon collection, subject to family approval.

4) This piece is the final one from my Tanis Saxby workshop.  This one was fired to cone 10 in the gas reduction kiln.  It is not quite as dark as in the photos, but it is also not as pure white as I was hoping, based on Tanis's work.  But then again, I think I could grow used to this off white piece, it looks somehow more natural and relaxed than the perfect but cold white.

5) Next are the two bowls from my collab day with Fredi.  This was my first experiment with the mocha diffusion technique.  We experimented with two different stains, a green and a blue, and with two acids, a mouthwash and cider vinegar.  There were lots of variables involved, and it was not clear what the perfect combination was, but we did get some good diffusion / branching action happening, although some of the distinct lines seemed to soften and blur a bit before the slip dried solid.

This bowl is little trees of mocha diffusion on white slip.  The body is B Mix, and is thrown beautifully - light and the foot is beautiful and smooth to the touch.  It was sprayed with Celadon on top, and then the center waxed, and dipped in Matt Green glaze.  I had lots of trouble with the wax resist not resisting enough, so learned on the next one to dip the edge, not the whole bowl.

6) This is my favourite of the two bowls.  I love the vibrant blues.  It is little networks of mocha diffusion in green and blue, on a white slip.  Again, the clay body is B Mix.  It was also sprayed with Celadon glaze on top, and then dipped in Deep Blue stain.  It has a super smooth foot and bottom.  I need to practice, and work toward being able to throw and trim like that!

7) I am saving my favourite from the Bob Kingsmill workshop for last.  Isn't she a beauty?  She's a little cross, but she's a sweet dragon, and useful for serving food or chips or...  it was suggested to me that she may look cool filled with water and floating candles.  Here are a few more views of this girl:

She is Little John clay enhanced with Bob Kingsmill oxide wash, and glazed inside (sprayed) with Celadon.  Her eyes are light green and black underglaze, topped with Clear glaze.

With my pieces getting larger recently, it is getting hard to find places for all of them.  My dining room table has become a temporary storage area, since the shelves and window sills are full, and anyhow too narrow to hold these new pieces.