Owl

This was made as a closed form from a coil. It's only about 5 inches tall.

Carved pieces

Likely gifts for certain folks.

What I brought home today

Classes at Sawtooth are finished for the session so I am taking advantage of free studio time until the next sessions begin in January. The kilns are very busy this time of year as people complete gifts and the Sawtooth show, Deck the Halls. But I have managed to get a few pieces through the process.

 This is a 9 in bowl, glazed with Creme Brulee and a new glaze, kaki.

 A somewhat larger bowl glazed with Autumn Leaves and Odyssey Celadon on the edge.

A carved 9 1/2 in pitcher, Creme Brulee and Blue Celadon inside and then dipped down to the end of the neck carving.

Creme Brulee looks good over carving, breaking nicely.

There are some small areas where the glaze crazed but otherwise it's a nice piece. I'm proud of it's weight, less than other pitchers I have made.

New work

I brought this home today. It's about 5 in high. Star Brown clay with Goddess Green glaze and top dipped in Orange Street. I am very happy with the shape but the glaze is not as colorful as I hoped. Still, I like the piece.



#274









I brought home a few other pieces but they may be gifts so I will wait for now before sharing.

Sawtooth work

This is my handbuilt pitcher. Quite triangular in shape rather than cylindrical. And I'm not sure why I chose such a boring glaze.
 
This is a small, altered piece. It is hard to see but the color is a rich purple.  Very nice, I think. Unfortunately the glaze ran and stuck to the shelf so the bottom is jagged and broken.

Raku firing

I participated in a raku firing yesterday. I prepared 6 pots, only one of which was what I considered a well made pot. Since I had never done it before, I tried all the glazes saving the best for my best pot. I got 3 cracked pots, one quite lovely though. And 3 not cracked. My best pot came out well. Raku firing often results in pot loss so it was not a surprise but still a bit disappointing.

Raku pieces are not food safe or watertight. They are simply for decoration.

This is my largest piece and has a crack on the other side. But I love the iridescent colors. I think it is pretty.

This is a small piece that was altered. No cracks here. Also pretty colors.

And this is my favorite. I used a white crackle glaze after applying some tape resist. The gold at the top is a bit of flash that could be scrubbed off but I like the appearance.













Also we had a student sale earlier in the month. It was my first time to participate. I took 19 pieces and sold 12 including some of my favorites, the Kohiki slip one and one of my small carved pieces.

Recent work

In class last month, we worked with Kohiki slip. The slip is applied to a cylinder then the cylinder is pushed out into the shape you want. The slip will crack when stretched creating an irregular surface.

I glazed with a matte black glaze that I wiped away from the slip covered surface. To me it looks like distressed leather with a slight green tint. I like it. This is a 7 inch high vase with an opening of 4 inches.

This second vase is 6 inches high. I tried a mocha diffusion technique. I couldn't find anyone who had done this before but I had read about it and watched a couple of videos. You apply wet slip which is an alkaline substance. Then you drip an acidic solution of iron oxide or similar oxide mixed with vinegar or similar acid. The colored acidic solution will branch like a tree. Mine did not quite do what I wanted. I think my slip was not watery enough. I will have to try again.










I need to work on my photography, too. Everything is leaning a bit today.

Sugar bowls

For Shoshie. I am not happy with either glaze. Each is uneven and the red has an area that is matte rather than shiny, likely related to kiln location. Nice shapes, though.

Work

Some of my favorite pieces-

 This is a small piece that was made with chocolate clay and then dipped in a white glaze. I scraped away the glaze on the lower part to show the carved design.

 The picture doesn't do this one justice. This is a larger vase and the glaze turned out beautifully. Lots of gold highlights not seen in the photo.

I am interested in shapes. I made 3 pitchers in this tall, thin shape. I textured and slipped the area under the spout. This is chocolate clay with a white glaze.

This is a small vase in chocolate clay with green slip applied to the top and carved areas. The yellow bird is hard to see but offers a spot of contrasting color.