August 22, 2016

• Looking at the Final Product

  It has been a long time since I posted any of my ceramic creations. It hasn't been because I haven't made anything. On the contrary, I have been busy. The major hold up has been the erratic schedule of the kiln firings. I have had 2 new orbs completed and several porcelain medallions come out of the kiln. I have 4 more orbs in various stages of completion. I have a turtle and a guinea pig sitting on my shelf drying. So first, here is a photo of my latest orb - a representation of Sunflower pollen.
  

  I had made one like this a long time ago and glazed it in a wild set of colors - purple, blue, green, and orange-ish white. I was experimenting with some new glazes... Anyway I wanted to reprise this one in more realistic colors.

  Clay is a fickle medium. That is part of the charm and the frustration of working in the ceramics studio. The clay comes in different types and each has its own characteristics - lots of grit or not as much, high fire or low fire, stoneware or porcelain or terracotta, not to mention moisture content and shrinkage rates! All of those variables must be taken into account when deciding how to do a project. Assuming you are a clay genius and have mastered all forms of clay manipulation, there is still the kiln. I do not own or operate a kiln. As much as I'd like to think that the kiln is a precision instrument, it is not. It is basically an insulated fire pit. The kiln tech has some control and some expertise but fire is just as fickle and capricious as clay. With the factors of fire and oxygen (more or less) in conjunction with the chemicals in the glazes it is nothing more than a crap shoot if you will get out of the kiln anything that resembles the intention when you put a piece in.

  So far I have struggled with the guinea pig sculpture. First it was the clay. Then it was the mechanics of producing swirls and "cowlicks" in the hair. Now it is the kiln. I have made 4 guinea pigs. The only surviving pig is on my shelf. The first one cracked as it dried. The second one looked OK but the hair wasn't exactly as I'd have liked. It didn't matter - it was handled by persons unknown as it sat waiting to be bisque fired and they put a hole in its side. Pig #3 made it through the bisque firing only to have several chunks of hair fall off when attempting to apply the glaze. I decided I had nothing to lose and tried to reattach the hair using glaze. In all fairness it sometimes happens and sometimes glazing a piece on works. It wasn't my turn for sometimes. So we come to guinea pig #4 drying on my shelf.

  We are between class sessions and normally I would go in on the weekends and work on some of my pieces so that they didn't dry-out before I completed them or to set them back for the bisque kiln or even to glaze pieces that I had gotten back from the bisque. Well, that isn't happening. Not because I don't want to work in the studio but because they are now charging a whopping $10 each time you come in to the studio. They already charge a huge sum for the class and now there is no such thing as free "open studio" time. I might have considered it but they cut the hours from noon - 5:00 PM to 2:00 - 4:00 PM! That is just not enough time for a $10 charge. To add insult to injury, you can't just pay $10 and come in - no. You have to purchase a $60 "punch card" that is good for the month of August - use it or lose it! I will not be going in outside of class. So the guinea pig and turtle will sit on my shelf. The 2 orbs that were waiting for bisque firing will (hopefully be fired by the time class resumes in September) be on my shelf or at least not tossed as they are now doing to "abandoned" work. The two that were glazed and waiting for the next glaze firing will survive and be either on my shelf or still waiting patiently... unlike me.

  • 6:49 am
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