How to Create Intricate Colored Clay Patterns

I need to get some Manson stains and try this technique!

Let's Unload My Kiln

It wasn't until 4PM that the kiln was cool enough to unload and even at that the lower shelves were still very hot to the touch, but it is hard to wait!  Below is a shot of the before and after, interesting...

Pre-fire

Post-fire

I think I have decided that I do not like the look of the darker clay bodies especially with the the glazes that I currently have.  They do much better on a lighter surface.  Luckily I do not have much more of the dark colors.  The darkest brown gets almost black even with a clear glaze.

I feel like the under-glazes on the greenware did well in the bisque fire.  I just need to keep them lower in the kiln where the temps will be lower.  Now I wish I would have glazed more.  One of the drawbacks with glazing on greenware is that they are the most fragile at this stage.  And I tend to make fragile pieces!

Below is my second nested ball - "Quail Run".  I added clay balls on the inside so that it "rattles".  I need to create the "nest" out of sticks on which it will sit.  And of course, I still need to add glaze and quail tuffs. Right now the quail look like ordinary birds... 

For the sphere shape I slumped slabs of clay over a plaster of paris mold I made.  For the first nested ball the one with houses I created the sphere using the pinch pot method.  It is a less refined method, but has lots of character.  LOL

Just went out and found some dead branches.  This is the nested ball concept.  

2 Hours of Troubleshooting!

Yesterday, I spent 2 hours trying to figure out why my blog no longer accepted photos or videos.  I was not the first user to encounter this problem.  Perhaps a "pop-up" box issue?  Well, according to Blogger it was a "browser" issue.  When I thought all was lost, I realized that on Tuesday I upgraded my Adobe Reader.  Sure enough a bunch of junk programs were loaded with it!!!  When I deleted all of the programs that came across on Tuesday (there were 4 unwanteds!) the blog began to work again.  Phew!  So today I will post the results of my firing, including photos!!!

Toasty!

Got up at 4:00 AM this morning and checked the kiln.  Completed in 12.39 hrs. and the temp was dropping 1733 deg. The studio was a toasty 80 deg even with the garage door and a window cracked.  Should be a pleasant temp in the studio all day today for creating!  No need for a sweatshirt. Kiln will probably not be cooled enough to unload until this evening...

All Fired Up!!!

At 3:05PM today I fired up the kiln for only the third time!  Perhaps not the most efficient load.  I had one tall piece, but no quarter self.  So there is a lot of wasted volume.  Not even sure if I can get a quarter shelf.   Anyhow, the picture below shows the load.  I added a few more flat pieces on the top that are not in the photo.

It is mostly greenware, but there are some under-glaze pieces and a few low fire glaze bisque pieces.  I am firing to cone 04 bisque.  In Hawaii the instructor loaded both greenware and low fire bisque glaze ware in the same firing.  I hope it works for me too!!!  I guess I will know late tomorrow or early Wednesday when it is cool enough to unload.  In the meantime I am working on a couple new "crazy" pots this evening...

Ceramic Tile Making

Simple process yet a very sophisticated outcome!

New Works in Greenware

I have been making some more "crazy" plant pots.  I want to get several made so that I can try to sell them on Etsy.  Not sure if they will sell, but they are relatively easy and fun to make.  Not sure what type of glazing I will use. I would love to try and spray on the glaze, but I need a compressor first!  LOL

Cary Weigand

Found this ceramic artist while researching some images on the web.  She was named "Emerging Artist of the Year 2011" by Ceramic Arts Daily.