Sorry folks, but this piece doesn't have permission to leave my house!!!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
I've turned a corner...
So I've been feeling that my ceramics work has gotten a lot better over the last couple of months and tonight, I have proof. Of course, most of the quality and allure of a piece comes down to the glaze--which is a huge gamble. Glazes rarely turn out the way you anticipate. The good thing is that sometimes, the glaze goddess smiles upon your work and you end up with something totally unintended--yet absolutely beautiful. The piece I got back from the kiln tonight is proof of that. It was supposed to have a black base coat with white "crawl" glaze on top--which means the white should bubble up on the surface. This is what I got back:
Sorry folks, but this piece doesn't have permission to leave my house!!!
Sorry folks, but this piece doesn't have permission to leave my house!!!
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9 comments:
It's gorgeous--take credit, say you did it on purpose!
wowe, that is cool! m
Ohhhhhhhh! Jamie....I am lovin it. That looks *awesome.* I haven't even read what you wrote, because...uh...the picture is ENOUGH. Great job on the glazing! Ok, I'm going to admire the pic some more now. And maybe drool a little.
That piece is stunning! I love the contrast, and even if it isn't intended, the final product is beautiful! I love the glaze! I'm glad the GG smiled upon you. Wouldn't it be cool to know exactly how the glaze will come out each time? I think I like how it's somewhat unpredictable though! Very nicely done! (And it's too bad it won't be leaving the house! haha!)
There's got to be some glaze manual that says something like "if you try X glaze, the result will be Y". Is it really that random??? That would make me way too nervous. What if you throw an awesome pot and the GG has a headache that day?? Seems too risky.
Nice work, though. If it goes missing after our visit this year, it will probably be those nosy neighbors of yours!
I guess it's not TOTALLY random. They do have "Test Tiles" (small slabs of clay with the glazes already fired onto them). Those are supposed to give you a good idea of how a glaze will turn out. But to make my point, last night, I also got a bowl back that I had painted "cream breaking red" which is supposed to be a yellow-ish glaze with orange/red tones where the glaze is thicker. I had a hard time finding my piece because it turned out to be a blue-ish green!!! What?!?! Blue/green is neither yellow nor orange/red. There are all kinds of variables, like did someone dip a piece from one color to another and the chemicals have changed the color? Did the kiln not get hot enough? Did the GG have a headache? Glazes cannot be trusted.
I haven't checked blogs in a few days so I was on Google Reader scrolling my way down through everyones blogs. The picture of this piece was half way on the screen as I read about the black and the white. And then I scrolled down! Amazing.
All of your pieces lately have been amazing! They are just gorgeous. I wish you still lived out here so you could make me something.
Jamie I love this piece! Wow! I am really impressed. I love the vases too. You are so talented. I'd love to learn that. Way to go!
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