Just a small sample of my latest pottery pieces

a reply to: Krakatoa

Also quite beautiful! Your work seems timeless. I'm not a good judge of pottery, but I know what I like, and I know how it affects me. Really like the off-white cracked glaze and the feel of the piece and the way the sides are sort of canted inward....... very graceful. Goddess-like.

a reply to: argentus

I'm humbled, thank you.

Here is another trencher. This one has a simple clear glaze only. It shows the natural color of the red clay, with the white slip decoration.

a reply to: Krakatoa

Really pleasing work. These are pieces I would buy in a heartbeat if they were available locally. That's assuming I could afford them, of course. ;o)

That symbol seems familiar to me, but I can't immediately place it. Heraldry? No, seems older than that. I don't doubt that it's your own symbol, but does it have roots in something I might be familiar with?

a reply to: Krakatoa

Those are fine pieces.

How long have you been throwing?

What brand of wheel do you use?

What is your favorite clay?

What cone do you fire at? It looks like cone 10?

a reply to: argentus

That symbol is an attempt at a stylized version of a Fleur-de-lis.
Maybe I should setup an Etsy account then?

a reply to: Krakatoa

Yes. And local "Farmer's Markets", if they have them where you are.

Post a link to Esty or send vis U2u when you get it ready.

Best of luck.

originally posted by: BO XIAN
a reply to: Krakatoa

Those are fine pieces.

Thank You

How long have you been throwing?

For about 6 years now, off and on.

What brand of wheel do you use?

I have a Clay Boss Potter's Wheel By Speedball Arts. For the size of clay I throw, it works fine.

What is your favorite clay?

I have used stoneware for Raku pieces (like the white cracked glaze ware I posted), recently I am using a variety of redware earthenware clays to replicate the 17th Century pottery style.

What cone do you fire at? It looks like cone 10?

I typically do not fire anywhere higher than cone 04. Usually, I bisque to cone 06 and glaze fire to cone 07-05 (approx 1800F). When I was in the main studio though, I used stoneware and fired up to cone 10. But, I haven't been to that studio on over a year now.

Very nice pieces!

a reply to: Krakatoa

Oh please do post more! I'd love to see more of your work. Do you do much coil work, and do you do salt glazing? I really like the odd ball outcomes of salting. Seeing your work makes me want to get back into it, and feel kinda young again since it was waaaaay back in college that I took pottery...you know, by candle light, bat filled cave, using a kick-wheel pottery wheel. Groan, sigh....

originally posted by: Rubicon3
a reply to: Krakatoa

Oh please do post more! I'd love to see more of your work. Do you do much coil work, and do you do salt glazing? I really like the odd ball outcomes of salting. Seeing your work makes me want to get back into it, and feel kinda young again since it was waaaaay back in college that I took pottery...you know, by candle light, bat filled cave, using a kick-wheel pottery wheel. Groan, sigh....

I have done coil work, but nor fond of it very much. When I had my spinal issues (before my fusion surgery) I couldn't throw on the wheel, so I started getting into slab work and hump/slump molding (like the trenchers). I've never done a salt fire, too damaging on the kiln interior for me. You should get back to it. I have learned these past couple years that life is too short, and you never know when you will not be able to do it again, so now is the best time before it is too late.

originally posted by: Krakatoa

originally posted by: argentus
a reply to: Krakatoa

Wow! that is fabulous! Really. Exactly like that.

Here is an older piece I posted here before. But, you might have missed it. This one I presented as a gift to the hospital nursing staff after my last spinal fusion surgery.

How did I miss this one? That is just lovely! I love making flower arrangements or putting plants in different vases and containers.

Here is another from that same firing. It is a small shallow red ware dish, with the same iron oxide accents under the pale yellow glaze.

And, of course I need to show the obligatory set of glaze test tiles I fired at the same time. Haaaaa....

Really nice work. Your palette is really gorgeous. Those earthy tones are very new mexico, but oddly even popular here in seattle. I have a few relatives and friends who do some quality pottery and yours is really good. My cousin does pretty good in KY selling really organic dishware in orange glazes. I love those warm tones, so inviting. I paint in oils and use really rich colors and they do well in places that are usually grey

Keep up the wonderful work.

a reply to: Krakatoa

Ahhhh. Thanks. Congrats.

I use a Shimpo whisper wheel. I love the quietness.

I use Laguna Clay's SOLDATE 60 stoneware that matures at cone 10.

It is a very tough clay with a fine sand in it as a grit that can be thrown about 1/8th inch thick if one is VERY careful. LOL.

Though that thin may not be so suitably durable for all uses. LOL.

I like RGH Shino as an underglaze and cobalt blue. I sometimes use Black Mountain White. It does tend to crackle so I don't like to use it on food contact surfaces as it's not all that easy to keep clean and sanitary. No crackle glaze is. All should be avoided on food contact surfaces.

I have made a few teapots. But mostly I make berry and cereal sized bowls, large mugs, plates, some platters and a few casseroles with lids. I don't put pics on the net as I'm not eager for certain enemies to vent their vengeance on me for my net pontifications against them.

Pottery is good therapy as it gets me out of my head and into something that I can see tangible progress on fairly quickly. Besides, every kiln opening is like CHRISTmas! LOL.

These are really nice. The art of pottery making is more difficult than it looks. I tried a while back, and made a mess, but at some point in the future I'd like to try again. Perhaps with more patience this time.

It's a wonderful hobby.

a reply to: ladyinwaiting

It DOES require a lot of patience and persistence.

I threw with a lot of bad habits for 9-12 years. Have done a lot better the last 10. LOL.

Centering is a VERY critical skill to learn early. As is RE-CENTERING.

I and even some of the best potters FREQUENTLY get the clay off center when opening the hole in the middle. Taking the clay as a doughnut in both hands--both hands held close together wrapped around 3 sides of the doughnut and FORCING the clay doughnut to RE-CENTER by holding the hands rock steady and slowly to rapidly getting the speed back up to centering speed--is a very worthwhile thing to learn. I don't recall if there's a youtube on that, or not. There probably is.

There was a San Diego State U master potter professor who would not let his students do anything the first semester BUT CENTER. Relentlessly he'd have them center, cut it in half, critique it etc. etc. His students ended up very skilled potters.

I don't think THAT'S QUITE necessary but it is a super critical skill.

I encourage beginning students to center it as well as they can--take the bottom of their palm and knock it off center and re-center it again 12-24 times. When they can center it quickly within 30-90 seconds, they are more ready to go to the next stage of opening it.

Then, I encourage them to practice RE-CENTERING similarly.

After that, pulling the clay up--the major error to avoid is getting too thin too quickly--usually starting near the top of the bottom 1/4th of the piece by being too much in a hurry with insufficient skills to do it that quickly.

And, of course, it's good to have the bottom of the inside level and 1/4" to 5/16th" or so from the bat.

I HATE wiring things off a bat. I virtually never do a good level job of it. Particularly with a thick wire. A super thin fishing lure wire is best. But I use the WONDER BATS that are made of billboard composite wood sawdust and a water porous resin. When the piece gets dry enough (but still leather hard) it releases naturally from the bat with a clean flat bottom. I can get bottoms that are functional about 1/8th to 3/16" thick that require little to no trimming.

One does have to be careful of the rims drying too much, however, with the Wonder bats. I often turn the piece upside down and wrap plastic around it while the bat it's attached to dries to the point of releasing. And, I may spray the rims a bit in that process.

Also, I often throw with a thin sponge between my fingers and the clay or just above my finger tips. The new blue artificial flat sponges in the rough shape slightly of a kidney are great for that. It's a way of insuring that the clay is suitably moist without too much water. And, with the gritty Soldate-60 clay--that can be good toward decreasing too much drag.

And, I use a paint peeling heat gun liberally--particularly when I'm throwing thin mugs and other tall thin pieces. And, with platters and larger thin bowls. It's much easier to save a risky piece with a heat gun--drying the piece to a bit firmer state while it spins on the wheel at about 1/4th centering speed.

A really fun piece to throw for me is a bulbous pot from a tall cylinder. Throw a tallish to tall cylinder--about 8-16" tall. The walls should be 5/16" to half an inch thick and very even though maybe a bit thicker in the center of the height. The diameter should be barely enough to get your hands down in the piece to the bottom. You almost need to use Soldate-60 or a similar very stable and forgiving clay until you get good at it. After you've got it to height--maybe using the heat gun to help firm it up if it gets too flexible and sloppy--then use the heat gun to dry the outside--not beyond leather hard--but until it's much drier to the dry fingered touch.

Then, very carefully, with it spinning--maybe slowly at first and never too fast--with a small curved rib held somewhat off the perpendicular--begin to push out from about 1" or so, up from the bottom. Push out slowly but firmly AS IT SPINS--slowly working your way up to about half an inch from the top. The goal is to make essentially a ball. It may take 4-8 or so passes depending on how fast you go. When learning, I suggest doing it in small increments until you are comfortable and reasonably good at the task.

Toward the last few passes, you can go all the way to the top and shape the top as you wish. You can leave it big enough to get your hand in. Or, you can make it into a tiny vase type top that is a good contrast to the big bulbous pot.

You may need to use the heat gun to keep the piece firm, several times when pushing the sides out to the desired shape. And, it may be necessary to touch up the shape with targeted passes at various levels of the pot.

SAVE shaping the bottom for the last. That's to avoid the pot falling down around it's ankles. And heat the bottom 1-2" before shaping that region--to insure it's firm enough to bear the weight of the whole pot at such an angle.

One good potter I know shapes the bottom 1/3 of his bulbous pots with a fairly sharp--about 45* or steeper angle and a very small bottom for such a large pot--of about 2" in diameter--or so. The bottom 1/3 to 1/2 of the pot looks like an inverted cone except for the small flat bottom.

I gave one about 12-14" in diameter to a net acquaintance in Sedona. He was holding it about 18" or so off the carpeted floor. I think the carpet was over cement but might have been OSB or some such. Anyway--he dropped it--AND, it BOUNCED and he caught it--the piece none the worse for wear. We were all a bit chagrined. I don't recommend dropping it. I think that piece was about 3/16" to 1/4" . . . maybe 5/16" thick as finished with a glaze.

Oh, in making a bulbous pot . . . it may be tempting to let the top opening droop down in a reverse slant or curve. DON'T. Such a pot is the dickens to clean. It is a bit different and may be worth doing because of that--but they really are the dickens to clean. I don't plan to ever make another one again.

When the cylinder is finished and you are ready to push out--you can take sodium silicate and brush it on 2-5 times--drying it fairly dry to a dry-fingered touch between each coat. THEN push it out. The surface will crackle in an attractive pattern. It can look almost like a reptilian's skin. You can also mix colorant and even dried, powdered glazes in the sodium silicate before using it. Mix it fairly thick--about half silicate and half colorant/powdered glaze.

Anyway--so much for my pottery pontifications this morning.

Happy throwing.

a reply to: BO XIAN

THANK YOU!!!

These are excellent tips. As I am getting back into throwing (after a major surgery) I am whoafully out of practice pulling. Your advice on not pulling the wall too thin is my exact problem. I will use your advice going forward from now on, thanks.

a reply to: Krakatoa

You are quite welcome. It is a common problem for beginning potters. And I still did it after 8 years! Sheesh.

You merely have to concentrate on your first pulls at being more gentle with the clay and not pinch your fingers too close too early and particularly not in the bottom 1/2 to 3/4ths of the pot the first few pulls.

Please let me know how it goes.

It's better to leave thinning the bottom 3/4 of the pot to the last 2-4 pulls.

I assume y'all know about using a thin needle tool to trim an uneven top when throwing? Use a biology lab frog excising needle tool. They are much thinner than those that come in the pottery tool kits and much better to use. They usually come with a brown wooden handle. I think Bailey's has them.

It is common to have uneven sides from an uneven or off centered opening that has not been RE-CENTERED . . . and with careful pulling, one can pull the unevenness up to the rim and trim it off. Take the thin needle tool with the piece spinning slowly but not tooooo slow. Hold the needle tool very rock steady very close to the rim and slowly tilt it into and through the wall of the spinning piece--and immediately after breaking through all the way around--lift off with the needle tool, bringing the rope of trimmed clay up with the tool in one swift, smooth move.

It's easier than it sounds. Practice, if needed.

Oh, about handles on mugs. I used to be REALLY OCD about handles. I'd pull them and form them and let them get more or less the exact leather hardness as the mug body. Now, I don't wait--right away after trimming, I score the top connection point and the bottom connection point and the top part of the handle--I score them with the thin needle tool 2-3 different directions--wetting maybe between each direction. I might use vinegar. Some use slip--I essentially make slip with the wetted scoring and wetting. But I have used and sometimes use vinegar based slip.

Then I mush the top of the handle on. Then I take the hanging down pulled handle and adjust the bend, shape of it to what I want and then mush it into the scored and wet bottom connection point. I don't score the handle side of that join--at least not very often. After mushing the bottom join into the mug, I pinch off the left over that hangs down from that. Then I finger push the bottom bit into the mug in 3 spots to insure a good secure joint that looks and feels good.

Then I review the shape of the curve and adjust it as needed.

I used to pride myself with the old way that I could hold a leather hard mug 15 minutes after joining the handle--I could hold the mug by the handle without any problem. I don't risk that as often with the newer method--but it still works to do that. I'm just a bit wary about the bottom join because I don't score the handle side. I have never had a mug handle come off at the join unless it was dropped and landed on the handle at an angle. One was dropped and the handle broke but not at the join!

THEN I wrap it all in plastic and let it sit over night before carving the finger indentations in the handle. And it's done, except for name and whatever other decorations.

You can get a small cookie cutter heart shape from Hobby Lobby. Most of my mug handles at the top, I now leave rather large and clumpy as I join them--and flatten them out a bit--eventually, with carving--to about 1/4" thick. Then, AFTER IT IS LEATHER HARD, I mush the smallest heart shaped cookie cutter into that flat top of the handle as a place to put the thumb for a firmer grip. I also tend to add a bit of clay about 1/4" in diameter about half an inch or less long about 1/4" down from the heart shaped hole as an added aid to a firm grip for different sized hands etc. Folks seem to like both.

I think there is a flower shape and a star shape that would also work. I just prefer the heart shape.

Cheers.

a reply to: Krakatoa

MAny years ago, I took a ceramics class in college....everything made from hunks of clay.
So, I appreciate the talent needed to make those items.....really quality stuff!!!!!
I'd love to see more