Copyright and other blogs currently being worked

ALCHEMY OF CLAY: Art and life connect! This fabric design is by Amanda Richardson - British fabric & textile artist in Penberth Valley, Land's End, Cornwall, England, UK

My info

Showing posts with label firing notes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label firing notes. Show all posts

Friday, June 28, 2019

The clay bends as it fires




When this was dry from being made, all the tendrils had  separated on the outer ends, and curled up away from the body where they were meeting it as I made it.  They had only been attached on the inner ends.  Some of them even broke off (thus the wider spacing between some.)

After bisque firing, they remained separated on the outer ends...about a quarter to a half inch away from the body.

So I dipped them into white glaze, and voila...they moved right back down and reattached to the body.

Clay also becomes very fluid in a hot temperature.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Changes happening

I just got new sketch book...the old one was used up going first one way, then coming back the other.  I tend to write mainly on one side.  There are sometimes exceptions.




I keep track of my glaze tests, my pots that are glazed with whatever...by sketching each with just it's basic shape and what glaze was applied where, and how.  Notes then say whether it worked or not.


I used to re-glaze things that had problems that could be fixed with a re-glaze.

But yesterday someone else's bowl blew up all over the kiln, including over most of my wares...thus they are all scattered with glazed-on shards.  Of course her bowl was a total loss as well.  Unfortunately a lot of things that I was really counting on were ruined.  So I remade them, and am rushing to get them finished.


And the result of this is that our studio manager has said he won't 'refire' any more things.  So I've got one piece that's been waiting 2 weeks to refire, and I guess it's just trash now.

I hope I get enough of these pieces out without problems.  I have gifts that are to be given in a week.  I will really feel badly if I don't have enough finished.

There's nothing to do but try.  I can't blame anyone for this happening.  We've been really lucky that most of the problems with new potters or children haven't been close to our own work, up till now.

The reason it blew up?  Nobody knows.  The pieces have evidence of bloated clay under the glaze that remains.  I've only had bloated clay on refired pieces with a clay called P-5.  This might have been the same clay body.  Have you heard of this, or experienced it yourself?