Ammonite and Raku Firing

Today was a gorgeous sunny day, and a very enjoyable raku firing.  I finally fired my big ammonite which I have been saving for a few months now.  But first we fired some of my smaller pieces.

This one was going to be a vase, thrown in two parts, and assembled :

But I didn't have enough pieces for the raku firing, so I finished them as two separate pieces :

I was very pleased with the little beaker shaped piece, which is unglazed black, with the frog glazed in Red Bronze Copper Lustre, which thankfully turned green.

The vase is Oxblood at the top, in the textured area.  In the lower part, I was debating whether to leave it unglazed (black), or to use the MultiColor Copper Sand, which is usually a very matte, gritty finish, with some hints of iridescent colors in it.  But today it decided to become a shiny copper.  Dang.  I'm not sure I like it yet, when I was trying for a gritty ultra-matte finish.

I also finished my snail shell.  It is Oxblood, Richard's Raku (clear crackle) over yellow underglaze, and the Richard's Raku glaze.  But funny enough, over the Columbia Buff w/ Grog clay, it turned out a flesh / pink color.  And even though I brushed two or three coats, I didn't seem to get it thick enough to get any crackle.  Overall, I am still pleased with this result, and the fine black lines I was able to achieve between the colors.

Finally, we fired the monster ammonite.  I had finished most of it in Multicolor Copper Sand, trying for a rough texture, and the cut / polished part of it in Oxblood and unglazed black.  But I was beginning to worry whether I would get a shiny copper ammonite.  I guess that could have been okay too, but just not what I was hoping to achieve today.

Here it is, out of the firing, getting doused with cold water:

... and sitting on the table in the sunshine :

It turned out partially a matte greenish / blackish color, and partially a shiny copper.  The red and black turned out nicely.  Although looking at it now, an iridescent finish there would have been okay also.  Maybe for the next one.  As I think there will be more in my future, even if these are very time consuming.  I am still very intrigued by this shape, and hope to explore it more.

As always, the raku didn't disappoint in terms of drama.  Heat and flames and smoke (it would be even more dramatic if I wasn't too lazy to crop my photos before uploading them) :

As always, the class was fully of inspiration, and it was fun to see the diversity of pieces :

Some of my favorites today were the silver birch vases.  They don't show well in this photo, but they were very knarly and natural, and the whites and blacks were wonderfully contrasted.

Perhaps this is a better photo:

This was also a delightful little piece, so refined in comparison (with the squished pots also, that is fun) :

Here are my four pieces again, taken inside, before bringing them home :

I spent some time tonight adding wires for hanging my 3 ammonites and 1 snail shell.  If all goes well, I'll find some time to hang them on my office wall at work.  I've been thinking of it for some time now.  I'll leave a spot for the one which is still on student display.

I also had a chance to pick up two mugs which came out of the gas kiln.  But I'll need to take photos and post those another day.

Some Sweet Pieces Find a New Home

I sold a few pieces recently.  So bittersweet to let them go, since both of them were favourites of mine.

This octopus trinket box, I had told myself - and my son - that I didn't plan to sell it at all.  But a friend from my pottery class asked for it for her nephew.  I am trying to learn the discipline of travelling light in this world (my instinct is to be a hoarder, and keep everything), so in a moment of determination, I offered it to her, and she accepted.  I gave her a very good price, half of what I would have considered selling it for in a store, but then again, they usually only give you 50% - 70% of the sale price.  So in that way it was reasonable.

So I took a few photos of my octopus, and apologized to my son, who gave me the idea of the octopus originally, and also told me I had promised not to sell it.  I'm happy that he will be in a home where he will be appreciated.  Not that he's not appreciated here, but I really do have a LOT of pottery already in the house, and much more on the way.

This is a weird angle, but kinda fun.

The other piece I let go was my little sugar skull from a workshop with David Robinson.  My good friend Roma wanted it, and she asked me early enough that I was able to ask her which glaze she wanted.  Her choice of Ash Yellow over the black slip and white clay was a great choice.  I'll use that one again.

Here are a couple more photos :

Good-bye sweet skull.  I have two more in progress, which I need to glaze and fire.  So hoping they will turn out as awesome.

Mickey and Minnie Platter

I don't think I ever posted the Mickey and Minnie platter I made for my sister, since I was keeping it a secret for Christmas.  So I'm posting a few now.

It was made from one of my styrofoam moulds and extruded rim and feet.  The handles were my from my imagination.

Here it is from the back :

I think the little Mickey and Minnie on the bottom are a cute finishing touch.

It may be dark in the photo, but it is B-Mix clay highlighted with black slip, and then sprayed Clear.

The Mickey and Minnie pattern was created with cookie presses, into which I brushed black slip (looking at it now, I should have watered it down a LOT), let it firm up, and then scraped it off.  The timing was tricky, as it needed to be dry enough to clean up these imprints, but also needed to be pliable enough to drape it over the styrofoam mould.

It now has a great home in my sister's house, surrounded by lots of other Disney stuff, including some Disney inspired pottery I've made previously.

Finished Mugs and Small Items

I took a few more photos today, of some mugs and other small items which I plan to provide to the good folks at Hemlock Mountain Coffee in Agassiz, BC.  I think the smaller items are more popular with their customers, and don't take as much shelf space either.

26) According to my notes, this mug was thrown from half of a mix of 900g "whitish" clay and 300g "brownish" clay.  My notes also describe the shape as "boring", although it has my fun wiggle wire bottom.  It was glazed in Ash Yellow (which gives it a rustic country look) + Daly Blue (which gives it a drippy shiny smooth surface).  I like the combination, and think I'll be exploring this combination again.

27) This mug was thrown from 700 g of H440 brown clay, but then I added a wavy pattern of white slip around the belly, so that the Daly Blue glaze would be brighter.  Other than flowing over and almost hiding the wavy texture, I like what it did for the colors, and the contrast between the bright cheery blue and the grainy speckly blue/brown on the remainder of the mug.

28) I threw this small bowl / cup a couple terms back, from B-Mix clay, and then pressed in trimmings from marbled brown/yellow clay.  It was glazed in Malcolm Davis Carbon Trap Shino, and I'm pleased with the gold highlights on the outside and the reddish inside.  Shino at its best.

29) This is NOT a small piece, it is a rather large set of nesting bowls.  I am very pleased by my first attempt, and how well they nest.  They were thrown from B-Mix clay, the sizes roughly :
 a) 4400g, 13.5 cm high, 29 cm inside diameter
 b) 2800g, 10 cm high, 25 cm outside diameter, 24 cm inside diameter
 c) 1900g, 8.5 cm high, 21 cm outside diameter, 20 cm inside diameter
 d) 1200g, 7.2 cm high, 17.5cm outside diameter, 16.5 inside diameter

The tricky part was judging where the foot was going to be, and the height of the subsequent bowl.  But they seemed to work out really well for first try.  I hope to try again some day, and make another set.

They are glazed in White, with an overlap of Daly Blue (which produces that soft lavender color).

30) I was originally aiming for a nesting set of 5 bowls, and the smallest one was :
e) 800g, 6.5 cm high, 13.5 outside diameter

But I crunched it while trimming it, and I didn't have more B-Mix at the time, so I made a replacement (just to get the measurements worked out) in Columbia Buff w/ Grog clay.

This little bowl taught me a lot about glazes.  Although it is glazed in the same White with overlap of Daly Blue, the look is entirely different than the nesting bowl set.  However, instead of the vibrant and smooth, almost two dimensional glazes on the B-Mix, the colors on this clay are so much more subtle, but with so much more dimension and feeling.  I have been really impressed with this clay, but I'm now in love with what it does with the glazes.  I need to make a nesting set with this clay.

31) I threw this sweet little box in one piece, pushed in a narrow band, and cut it, to create a tight fitting lid.  My notes indicate it was H550 grey clay, and I was waiting for some while until the Daly Blue glaze became available, before glazing it.  It did not disappoint.  It is glazed Bamboo inside, and on the bottom part of the box.  Then Daly Blue on the top part.  Such pretty colors, and freckles.

I think that's it for tonight.  I'm still making my way through my notes, trying to figure out which pieces I haven't taken photos of yet, and catching up on my posts.

One of the reasons I've fallen behind, is that somewhere along with way, I decided to create a simple website to highlight some of my favourite pieces.  I'm not particularly pleased with the result, but I do have a primitive website : https://lilyligocki1.wixsite.com/pottery