Not so happy about this one

Yesterday I shared some cute vases which just came out of the kiln.  In the very same firing were a couple of "learning opportunities."  There were good things, and not-so-good things in the glazing.

First, I wanted to have a bluebird, which I carefully painted.  But the colors I sellected of Mayco Stroke & Coat came out garish, and not at all the way I intended.  I need to mute them quite a bit.  Blue should be close to the color of yesterday's vases, kind of light sky blue.  And the orange on the breast needs to be just a pale hint of orange, not traffic cone orange.  So those are things to correct on my next one, and there sure will be another one.

Second, the crawling of the glaze from the lip.  Oh my.  I had just finished this before the firing, but it was completely dry, and well covered with glaze.  I even had waited quite a while before dipping the exterior for final time because it was slow to dry.  However, apparently my mistake was either 1) putting glaze on the inside and not waiting until it was completely dry before starting the outside, or 2) the edge was thin and dried faster than the rest of the body, somehow that caused the glaze to crawl away from it.

Today's quote: (I've decided how important our words are, and thus am again sharing some thoughts which I believe are worth considering, as well as pottery!)

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.

Ralph Waldo Emerson