Raku Party

I haven't been taking ceramics classes since July. My old ceramics class had a raku party last night and they invited me to attend. In case you are unfamiliar with the raku process, I took some video of the fun part. Raku is a Japanese, low-fire (the kiln is brought up to only about 1,900 degrees) glazing technique. I think it's fun because they take the pieces right out of the kiln when they're red hot. Then the pieces are placed in small trash cans with newspapers and other flammable materials while the piece continues to cool down. It's a lot of fun because the process allows for a lot of variation in how the pieces turn out. It's pretty hit or miss. Either way, it's a lot like Christmas when you finally get to see what the pots look like when they come out.

In addition to the raku party, I picked up three more pieces that had been fired for me. I have one left and then I'll be hanging up my apron for a while. Kinda sad. Here are some pictures of my last few pieces.

Collaboration

Several months ago, I made a deal with a guy in my ceramics class that I would make two donut pieces and if he would do the top and bottom portions of both pieces, he could keep one and I could keep one. He agreed and both pieces came out great. I've already blogged about the one piece I kept, but my ceramics teacher recently took some professional-looking pictures of some of our work, so I thought I'd include some of those. 

This one is the piece we collaborated on:

These two pictures are of pieces that I have completed and posted about previously. It's amazing what a difference a nice camera and backdrop can make!

My Piece of Resistance

I think that phrase sounds better in French. Oh well. I got a piece back from the kiln last night and I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I think it's my best 'donut' yet. In fact, I'm thinking about entering it in a local art competition. I figure that it is different enough that it might have a chance. I guess we'll find out. 

The Big One

I finally got my big piece back from the kiln. It didn't turn out how I expected...at all. I glazed it on the same day and in the same way I glazed the donut piece I posted a picture of a couple weeks ago. It should have been black with white crawl on top. Instead, this is what I got:

Not only is the glaze less exciting than I had hoped, but it's also a lot smaller too. I put it next to my other big piece so you can see the scale of it. Before I put it into the kiln, it was about 21". Now it's about 16". Oh well.

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!!!

Big Piece

I got one of my big pieces back last night. I'm really surprised by the way the glaze turned out (but what else is new?!?). I painted it "Bailey's Red" and then I put "Nutmeg" around the base and the neck of the pot. Wherever I put Nutmeg, it should have been more yellow. However, it somehow had the opposite effect. the middle portion is slightly more yellow and the base and neck are a deeper red-ish brown. Glazing is such a mystery to me. That's why I like Autumn Haze. Anyway, here it is...


You can see how much larger this piece is compared to the stuff I usually do. I put the big one next to a piece I completed a week or so ago. Learning how to combine multiple pieces together in order to get one large piece has really been fun and challenging for me.


I glazed another piece last night. That one is now at about 19". I can't wait for it to be fired!

So Sweet...#2

Just about every morning, when Andy goes to work, I tell him to "Go where the numbers take you." Well, this week, the numbers took him to Massachusetts. He needed to go evaluate the financial records of a company there. He gets back in a few hours.

On Tuesday night, while Andy was gone, the doorbell rang and I was a little hesitant to answer the door. We live in a safe, quiet neighborhood, but...you never know. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I had been doorbell ditched and that there was a plate of cookies, brownies and banana nut bread on the mat!!

I suspect one of my Activity Days girls is responsible, but I'm not sure which one.

In other news, I have been making progress in ceramics class. I have learned how to make really tall pots by combining cylinders together. I've made two pretty tall pots recently and I'm excited for them to be completely done. The tallest pot I've made so far was 20.5" before it was fired. It will shrink quite a bit once the water evaporates, but it's a lot of fun to make big pots. I'll get one back on Monday and the other should be done later next week. I'm pretty excited. In the mean time, here are a couple pictures of some pots I have made recently.

Progress

I realized the other day that it's been a while since I have posted pictures of my pottery. I can honestly say that I am starting to get better now. They say that thousands of pounds of clay have to go through your fingers before you're any good. I'm certainly not there yet, but I'm starting to feel like I'm improving and making some progress.

Raku Party

Two weeks ago, when "Hurricane Hannah" struck, my ceramics class had to postpone its Raku party till today. After spending about 8 hours around a whole lot of smoke, I came home with a bunch of cool pots and I smelled like a campfire. Essentially, we put our pots in a propane kiln until it got up to about 1,850 degrees. Then each piece is unloaded into a small garbage can containing newspaper or other flammable materials. You let it burn a little and then you cover it and let it cool off for a while. It was a lot of fun and I am quite satisfied with the way my pieces turned out.

There was one piece that my classmates wouldn't let me throw away. A few weeks ago, when I was trimming my pot, I accidentally turned the wheel on full blast and it went spinning into oblivion! It broke and my classmates all thought it looked really cool. I decided to keep it and I think it looks very interesting. I think I'll probably try an sell it and I'll have to keep myself from laughing if anyone buys it.

I'm including a slide show of the pieces I have made this "semester". Not all of them are Raku. The more shiny/metallic and the crackle pieces are Raku. Enjoy!

Long Over Due....

I have been meaning to post some pictures of the ceramics pieces I made prior to leaving California. I found out that there is a community class here in Wilmington and the next set of classes start in July. I think I will probably sign up for the evening class.












Arick and Bri helped pick the hydrangea in that one vase and I'm surprised at how hardy they are. They have lasted well over a week. My favorite piece is the black donut-looking one. If anyone wants a bowl or something let me know.

I wanna be sedated!

I went in to the hospital this morning at 5am and had surgery at 7:30am. Andy has been such a sweetheart to take me to the hospital so early and to be so attentive to what I need. There have already been several impromptu dance sessions--featuring some of his best work, in an effort to cheer me up. He's a good kid.

I've had to spell my first, middle and last names more times than I care to remember (every nurse who came to check in on me had to have me spell my name and state my date of birth). I got some sweet hospital jewlry too. Those bracelets are so sassy. It was fun to be anesthetized. As soon as the anesthesiologist started the good stuff, I remember the lights in the O.R. started moving around and I was out! The next thing I remember was a bunch of nurses milling about waking me up and I wanted them to go away so I could keep sleeping. It was bad enough that I had to be there by 5am. I also started coughing and trying to clear my throat. It's awfully hard to cough when there's an oxygen mask on your face.

I was taken up to a recovery room where Andy was able to be with me. The room had a beautiful view of the ocean and it was a beautiful day! That helped a lot. I stayed there for about four hours so they could make sure I was not going to hork or anything. The medication they've had me on, Codeine, has made me really sleepy. We got home at around 2:30pm and I slept for a couple hours. So far, it hasn't been too bad. I'm sad that I can't have Jamba Juice (fruit juices are too acidic and would hurt my throat). But Andy's out getting me some Slim Fast shakes now so I can get some nutrients in me rather than just eating Jell-O and popsicles all day.

In other news, I went to my first day of school on Saturday and it was kinda fun to be in a school environment again. It really is nice to be back in school and not feel like I can't afford the supplies I need. Some of the other youngins' in the class were a little overwhelmed by the long list of things we needed to buy. Anyhow, since I had enrolled in Ceramics II, I was able to throw on the wheel (make pots etc on the wheel). I quickly remembered how difficult it is to center the clay and keep it centered. My first try was a total flop and then I made two other pots and some pieces I will use to test the glazes.

It was a lot of fun to get back into the ceramics groove. It's such a fun, creative release for me. I still feel a bit rusty, but it's fun anyway.

I also haven't mentioned that I had to drop out of the OC Mormon Choir this term because I won't be around for the concert due to our trip to China. It also doesn't help that I got my tonsils out and would have had to miss a practice or two anyway. I hope to get back into it for the Spring term.

School

I registered for school today. You're probably thinking, I didn't know Jamie was going back to school?!?!? Well, yes, but not really. I've registered for a Saturday Ceramics class at Golden West Community College. I enjoy doing ceramics and it's really cheap to take classes at a community college--only about $100 for 16 weeks. Not too shabby. Andy and I are going to watch for a Saturday Golf class that we can take this summer once he's done with UCLA.

So, if you are in need of a pencil holder or toothbrush holder or ceramic bowl or a plate or ANYTHING, put in your orders now!!! I don't intend on keeping everything I make because a household can only have so many toothbrush holders--if ya know what I mean.

The class doesn't start until February, but if you want anything, let me know now so I can plan accordingly.