CHOO CHOO!!!

This week has been fairly productive in the life of this ceramic artist J  Kiln building, slip making and show piece creating are just a few of the endeavors I took on this week. 

The train kiln is coming along nicely.  We got to build the chamber walls up more and we even got to build the arch!  Now I can really see why it is called a “train kiln.”  I can only hope that maybe we will be able to use both class days next week for working on the kiln.  I am so anxious to get it finished and ready for its inaugural firing!  I do wonder how we will be able to get enough of the wood required for its firing?  No worries, we will make it work-like we always do J

Also in preparation for the kiln’s inaugural firing, I was given the privilege of making two flashing slips for the amazing pieces that will go in.  Contrary to other beliefs-hand sieving is not that bad and actually quiet relaxing and therapeutic!  I made 3000g of an EPK flashing slip and 3000g of a Sagger flashing slip, and hand sieved it all J  I will be doing some application experiments this coming week to see how well the slips due on different wares and thickness applications. Can’t wait!

Due to some technical issues with the electric kiln at school-I will be retesting my cone 6 glaze experiment in my home kiln or possibly a different school kiln.  Hopefully, retesting will give me some understanding as to what went wrong in the first firing.

I have also continued in my show building endeavor and currently have two pieces underwayJ  I have also been researching for additional materials for my show pieces so that I will have them handy when the pieces are ready for those materials. (mysterious, eh?)

Here is just a little of the photographic evidence of this week-ENJOY!!

Not enough snow :(

So, this week was not as fruitful as I would have liked.  Mother Nature interfered with being able to continue building on the train kiln.  However, she did not interfere enough to cancel classes at the college L  Oh well.

I was able to help load a cone 6 firing.  Which means, I will get to see my cone 6 glaze test results soon!  So excited!  Hopefully we will be loading the cone 10 this coming week so that I can see the results for that part of my glaze experiment.

This week was also busy with a complete reorganization of my house, including my home studio!!  I am not sure why I insist on piling even more work on myself during a semester-I guess that I am just crazy that way! J  Needless to say, doing that project allowed me the ability to make my home studio more conducive to work and I was able to make my own wedging desk (thanks to my hubby’s help).  Good times.

I have also been working on more pieces for my upcoming Spacelab show.  Only a few more to go J Beyond making show pieces, I will begin my personal project of making new dishware for my home.  However, I am not quite sure what I will do with the set I will be replacing?  Kind of sentimental since it is the set we got when we got married-hmm…

~~GLAZED~~

No doughnuts here!  Only tiles, tiles and more tiles!  I spent my week doing a glaze experiment for two different cones.  I mixed 1600 grams of a cone 10 clear glaze and another 1600 grams of a cone 6 clear glaze-which I created myself. J The experiment is to test the coloring and durability of mason stain when added to clear glazes.  The initial assignment only called for a cone 10 test but I always like to step it up a bit, so I added the cone 6 as well.  Yes, it has doubled my workload, but I believe it will be very beneficial in the end.  Mainly because I prefer to fire in cone 6 and so do other wonderful artists I know (so why keep it only in cone 10?)

The testing is comprised of 100g of dry clear glaze with a 5% (5g) of mason stain mixed in.  I am testing fifteen separate mason stains for each cone.  So, there is a total of thirty individual test tiles.  The cone 10 set will be fired in Big Eddie at a cone 10 reduction, while I will most likely be firing the cone 6 set in my home kiln in cone 6 oxidation.  I might be able to establish a cone 6 firing at school, but it doesn’t bother me to do it at home.  I will be doing a cone 6 firing at home fairly soon anyhow, so why not just add them to it? J

Doing this experiment is giving me the opportunity to practice with the mason stains a little more before I begin my endeavor of making the colored engobes.  I cannot wait to see how this experiment turns out!

Here are some photos of the experiment process so far.  I will post the fired results soon! J

Clay, Glaze and Show

So, I spent most of this week looking and sounding a little like Darth Vader.  I finally got to make my own sculptural porcelain, which I am so excited to begin making beautiful pieces out of!  Not only will I sculpt out of it but I will also check out its throwing quality J  I really do hope it is as nice, if not better, than my white stoneware.  We shall seeJ

I also spent the week prepping and helping with the first Dirt Bags show of the semester.  I will be honest, at first there were worries that we would not have anything besides a couple of pieces to put in the show due to it being so early in the semester.  Yet, I think we pulled it off!  Way to go Dirt Bags!!

To finish the week out, I have begun experimentation with mason stain application and multi-cone firing.  This is going to be a great practice step before I delve into my engobe project.  So far, I have the two different cone base dry mixes ready and have taken inventory of the fifteen lucky mason stains that will be included in the experiment.  This coming week, I will be measure mixing together and beginning application J  I really feel that they will turn out nicely!

Below are some photos for your viewing pleasure-don’t let my “Darth Vader” one scare you!  Haha!