I quite like these pots. The better camera I have used to photograph them also helps. Small foot and a narrow neck with the onion shape body is what I have been working towards. The porcelain slip on the body of the two light blue shapes is also very effective.
Archive for October, 2012|Monthly archive page
Composite Throwing and Surface Texture
In Courses, My work on October 28, 2012 at 09:06
I made this 10 lb. pot in two sections, a 4 lb. bottomless ring and a 6 lb. cylinder with a base. I joined the smaller ring onto the larger shape and re-threw the joined pot.
For a long time I have striven to achieve perfectly smooth symmetrical shapes, I am beginning to understand now how this attempt at perfection is denying the fundamental nature of clay. It is plastic, prone to do its own thing and that after you have made a shape and its still on the wheel you have the opportunity to work the shape and use texture as a way of allowing the glaze to run and catch on the surface of the form. I used a steak tenderising hammer I bought for 50p in Totnes to get the diagonal pattern and a wheel on a stick I made from the remains of a drawing board for the banding ring. Both techniques I saw demonstarted by Mark Griffiths during the summer.
My sister brought me a set of ‘Mud Tools’ for my birthday, I used them for the first time throwing this shape, very effective, thank you Judy.
Drawing Workshop
In Courses, My work on October 26, 2012 at 13:32Very interesting workshop run by Andy Lyons at Tor Bridge. Great to do something creative other than make pots. Interesting artist looked at, Alison Lambert, deconstruction and reconstruction.
Wonderful Art Gallery, Hidden in the Rocks
In Exhibitions and Galleries on October 18, 2012 at 11:15Its not very often that I venture out mid week in a gale to visit a gallery but last night was an exception. There were other people wondering along the Hoe, who had braved the elements to see the gale battering the Sound, filling the lido with huge waves. Tucked under the the sea wall literally cut out of the rocks is Trerise Gallery a new and exciting venture being managed by Paula Carnell. Originally the old changing rooms for those brave souls who bathe in the sea, the space have been cleverly converted into a gallery and workshop space. The opening was well attended, the exhibition of work by Peter Orrock is excellently curated and well suited to the unique setting. The walls of the gallery have been left as exposed brick and rock, it gives the space a solid feel. The work is exhibited on ‘floating’ panels that lift the work off the stone walls and gives it a special feeling, a very cleaver idea. The next time your are in town this new venture is well worth a visit as the terrace cafe above the gallery offers some of the best views in town and a great americano.
The Pale Blue Flame of Reduction.
In Day to Day, My work on October 14, 2012 at 16:00It’s taken two attempts but at last I think I have it sorted. The satisfying flicker of reduction.
Mmmmmmm………
In Courses, My work on October 12, 2012 at 19:04Advanced Throwing A Pot. I did no throwing tonight but finished the teapots I made last week. I think they went together quite well and have a distinct shape. I was told by one of my colleagues that they are phallic, I suppose they are if you look at them in that way. I like the very long spouts, the throwing of long narrow spouts is something I have been thinking about for a while as my previous teapot spouts have appeared short and stumpy. I suppose the lids don’t help but I have changed my way of working lids following a conversation during the summer at Wobage. Dan was demonstrating a doubled walled pot, the round heavy looking form is my attempt. I spent the rest of the session using the spray booth. Tenmoku, bring it on. I have a very large charger and a smaller porcelain bowl come through bisque. I have blow up two kiln full’s of work in the garage, it is not my making technique, my kiln gets too hot too quickly. I might glaze fire the kiln this weekend and try to get the reduction to work. Happy days.
What is it about Clay?
In Uncategorized on October 7, 2012 at 09:08
“I took a piece of plastic clay
And idly fashioned it one day,
And as my fingers pressed it still,
It moved and yielded at my will.
I came again when days were past;
The bit of clay was hard at last,
The form I gave it still it bore,
But I could change that form no more.
I took a piece of living clay,
And gently formed it day by day,
And molded with my power and art
A young child’s soft and yielding heart.
I came again when days were gone;
It was a man I looked upon;
That early impress still he wore,
And I could change it never more.
(Author Unknown)
Back to College – Advanced Throwing a Pot
In Courses, My work on October 6, 2012 at 09:17
Back to college and throwing pots on Thursday evenings this term. When I sat down on a wonkying wheel and started throwing I realised how much I had learnt during the summer. The basics have improved significantly, centring and coning, I had a really good go at both making the teapot spouts. The wheel I used was very uncomfortable to sit on and rocked slightly because the floor was uneven. I will have to arrive in time to get onto my old friend from last term. The pots I sprayed with glaze are some of Jack’s out put from his week with us in the summer with one or two of my pieces. I used EC 167 matt white as a base layer and dusted EC 452 over them quite thinly. It will be very interesting to see how the iron content of the Tenmoku reacts with the white matt. Glad to be back being creative, going back to work sucks the energy out of me and make regular creativity much harder. I took in two large bowls for bisque firing, hope they come out next week as I can’t wait to try some of the glaze patterning I saw on Mark Griffiths’s work during the summer. Great fun!
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