Whoppers, Humps & Chucks

Another week in the not-so-exciting life of this ceramic artist has gone by!  Overall, it was a pretty good week.  I got to learn how to throw off the hump and I can’t wait to get going on doing that.   I also learned how to make a “chuck” to help with trimming forms.  I could have really used this information this past weekend to aid in trimming my “funky” bowl! 

I had a mishap on Monday with my bowls-R.I.P to the two bowls that did not make transport L  My other bowls made it just fine thankfully.  I will be working on my fear of trimming too much from the next bowls and pieces that I do.  Apparently, at the present state, my bowls are quite bottom heavy.  On the bright side, they will make excellent self-defense weapons!

I got further on my hand building project this week as well.  I can’t wait to see the finished green ware product!  However, at this moment, the “Toy Story” ball looks like a gigantic Whopper malted milk ball!  YUM!!!   Unfortunately, I had to start over on the jack because it became too hard to be able to work with properly.  No biggie-I have fun anytime my hands are in clay!  I also finally found the right size square template for my Rubiks cube!  It only took me “forever!” 

I was also able to get the rest of the supplies I needed this week to begin my glazing project on my mugs!  I feel like a kid on Christmas morning, just waiting to see how they will turn out! 

NEW CLAY!!!

This week has been another whirlwind week in the life of KG Creativity!  Monday, I started researching glazing methods/colors that I want to use for my turtle violin project.  I put some test fire pieces in and got the results back on Wednesday J  Brian was right (as always) the toasted cappuccino is absolutely worthless!  A complete flake job!  So I will be looking into some stains and clear gloss to achieve my final look for the piece.  The research as already commenced.  Updates will come at a later date.

On Wednesday, I was able to make a completely new porcelain with the help of my clay buddy-Jay J  So far, it is looking as though it will be an amazing porcelain!  I plan to try the new porcelain soon in throwing.  By the way, the new porcelain is called JK Porcelain!!  Brian has the recipe and hopefully it will become a staple of the IUS Ceramics department in the future J

I was also able to get a good amount done on my next hand building project.  I am doing a ‘no base’ series set this time for hand building.  It will include a Rubiks cube, a jack (or two) and the ball from Toy Story.  I am really looking forward to making this set and I can only hope that it turns out as nice as it looks in my wild head!

Well, that is all for now.  More exciting updates next week!

Kiln Christmas!

My mugs have turned out pretty nice so far.  The handles have actually made it through the first fire unscathed!  I was quite worried, because most of the handles I made for the mugs are pretty delicate.   I did a few pulled-handled mugs but decided to give the rest of the handles a “twist” of sorts.  I don’t mind pulling handles for the mugs, but I really wanted to try putting a hand building attribute on them.  I really love experimenting with my clay work; whether it be through building techniques, glazing or even firing-it is all exciting!

I also got to help unload my first cone 10 kiln this week!  I felt like a kid on Christmas morning with the uncontainable excitement and nervousness of how all the pieces turned out.  I loved being able to see how different glaze techniques looked compared to common glazing techniques.  My thirteen cylinders came out pretty nicely except for one.  I now know that Hannah’s Fake Ash is a major runner, no matter how quick and light you dip it!  Lesson learned. 

I have started throwing bowls and I am loving it!  However, I am not sure that I will be able to stop at eight!  I am really looking forward to more experimentation with these!

Unfortunately, I am having some technical difficulties in uploading my pictures to the blog tonight.  I plan to be able to upload them tomorrow morning from a different computer-I hope it works this time!  Wish me luck!  PICTURES TO COME J

They are here!  ENJOY! :)

WINTER WEATHER SAVINGS

Wow!  This week has been pretty intense and AWESOME!  It began with a last minute trip to Chicago on Monday to get two extremely important components of my home studio-kiln and wheel.  What I returned home with was an almost mint condition cone 10 easy fire L & L Kiln, an excellent Pacifica wheel, and how about $500 worth of glazes, tools and other supplies!  Even though the trip was pretty long and quite sketchy at times (thanks to the first winter weather wave)-the payoff is tremendous!  After doing the math, I have figured that I saved almost $4000 on the projected estimate for my home studio-SWEET!!   I can’t wait to begin using my new wheel and throwing those last few mugs due Monday, from home.  I also have a lead on obtaining more awesome supplies for my studio at major discount.  I can only hope that this lead will prove as excellent as the first lead. 

My first hand building project of the semester is coming along very nicely.  It is ready for bisque fire.  I will have to do a minor fix after bisque fire (a small chip), but I am not disheartened at this point.  I am really looking forward to completing this piece!  It involves many of my personal passions: nature, music and recycling. 

I also glazed my first cylinder pieces this week.  I had thirteen pieces, so I glazed each one with one of our high fire glazes.  This way, I can have my own “wall of color” for reference at home.  I believe having this will help in my future project planning.