Well, it happened - I finally glazed some pots. And, well, there were some good things and some bad. I'll start with the good: we were having some trouble with the Deb's Clear blistering, but that didn't seem to happen with this round of work (yea!). I applied the glaze considerably thinner than we had before, so I'm thinking application may have been the culprit. Secondly, the Deb's with copper (6%) and Iron (3%) gave a lovely warm green that I used on the the tractor bowl. I think that glaze is definitely a keeper. I also really like the Amber (which is the G-76 Amber) and will continue to use that glaze as well...
Now onto the not so great results. First off, and I should have tested these ages ago, the underglazes were far more vibrant and flat than I had anticipated. They give the pots (the whale bowl in particular) a paint-by-number feel that I am not particularly keen on. On the other hand, now I know what to expect and I can adjust my usage of these underglazes accordingly (and maybe nix them, in fact!). I've also realized that the slip base is far too white for my taste, but I think that is easy enough to fix with the adddition of a little colorant.
On the bright side, I now have a good deal of information about how these glazes worked and what I need to change. I'm still in pursuit of a runny clear that I can add colorants to that will bleed outside of my drawings. I think I should play with inlaying some glaze into my drawings as well - it would be great if the illustrations themselves could blur and bleed a bit.
Okay, that's it for now. Given that my class is over and I don't move into my new studio space until January, my posts may be a little few and far between this month. It'll be good to get back in the studio and start on my next phase of clay research!
5 comments:
excellent start to glazing kip, yep underglazes are all different in their opaque responses, i do a test of 1,2,3 coats so you can see what each colour does...any stain in a clear glaze should give you soft edges to your drawings.......happy testing your work's looking great....cheers ang, have a great christmas..
hi kip, i like the em., i did like the pre fired look better, but i often like the look of pots before they are fired...keep testing, this is a beautiful start!
Hi Kip! Looking good! I hope you post your progress on this this work when you've got your own studio space. Like Jeff, I like the unfired work soooo much but that's the same with my own pieces. I'm still searching for a clear glaze that will be more of a matt surface. Protect the piece but not be glossy.
Wow! I can't believe you don't like them. (I agree with Jeff that I like the pre-fired look better...but maybe that's a potter thing?) The tractor is great. Hope you get the results that you are looking for soon. But that's have the "fun"!
Hello Kipster!
John gave me this blog addie and I really appreciate your art and treausre the pieces we traded for too...Becky and I use your ceramics often (when we entertain) I hope you and Aaron have a blessed Holiday season! Take care friend, BigBob. p.s. Find any good recipes for a good PCA red or blue True blue was lost! :(
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