Final Soda Pieces : More Leaf Imprint Vases and an Egg

Continuing from yesterday, here is the final set of soda fired pieces from the recent soda firing :

Here they are, one by one :

16) This beauty was thrown from 1300g of mixed (reclaimed) clay, and brushed with No. 6 Soda slip, before being imprinted with Japanese anemone leaves.  It was then brushed with black slip.  It was given a light spray of #2 soda slip, and glazed with Chum inside.  It was thrown as a closed form, and then the hole cut off center.  I like the effect, and the leaves turned out beautifully (much nicer than in the photos).

17) This piece was thrown from 1900g of H550 grey clay, and then brushed with No. 6 soda slip before being imprinted with Davidii involucrata (my beloved dove or handkerchief tree) leaves.  I sprayed it lightly with Gordon's #3 flashing slip, and it is glazed with Carolanne Currier's Shino inside.  It was thrown as a closed form, intentionally wonked onto its side, and then the hole cut off center.  So there is nothing regular about it.  It is funky all around.

18) This piece was thrown from 1900g of H550 grey clay, again as a closed form, into which a hole was cut off center.  It is decorated with Davidii involucrata leaves, and black slip.  It had a light spray of Gordon's #3 flashing slip on it.  It is glazed with Yellow Salt inside, and my notes say that I brushed Lorna Meaden flashing slip on the bottom.  I like the side which picked up a bit of bronze/gold.  The other leaves look pretty grey and stark against the rich bitter (99% cocoa) chocolate background.  It's funny, but there are places where the black slip look like it started to melt and peel away from the clay body.

19) This final leaf imprint vase turned out to be one of my favorites, at least from the color point of view.  It was thrown from 2000g of mixed (reclaimed) clay, and brushed with No. 6 soda clay before being imprinted by some delicate western bleeding heart flowers and leaves.  Here it is, in progress.

20) This egg was thrown from 1400g of Big White sculptural clay.  It has the eye of a creature (I was thinking dragon) peering out.  The eye was finished in Lorna Meaden flashing slip (the orange part), and black underglaze.  The egg is brushed with Cobra glaze, but I didn't brush enough for it to provide a crackled effect.  But it is still a nice texture and beautiful color.

I'm pretty happy with this soda firing.  Twenty colorful and interesting pieces is a good result.  Looking back on my previous (first) soda firing, I only got 11 pieces, and I didn't think the color variations were as dramatic.  But then again, I had different expectations going into that firing.  This time I had a more open mind, knowing that the soda is very unpredictable, and I would be happy as long as I didn't end up with too much grey, which I certainly didn't.

Tomorrow I start a three day workshop with Tony Clennell, so I'm pretty excited.  I'd better head to bed, so I won't be too tired to enjoy it!