July 24 - Altering a pot

Tuesday I altered the two-piece pot by pulling up the neck which made it go a bit wonky.  I like the curves it made so I pushed it a bit further and added some stubby handles.

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June 3 - More pots

Saturday I made some new pieces, decorated some others, and carved the big pot.  The new pieces have some looseness to them, which I've been working toward.  I sometimes want my pots to be a bit looser and more organic and it's an effort when you've been working at making them clean and precise for so long.

I put some wonky handles and decorative banding on the two phoenix pieces destined for raku and I'm planning on slipping them before the bisque to start with a white canvas.

I carved the big phoenix "castle" pot to remove some of the weight from the bottom third and also add some visual interest and remove some of the rigidness from it.

I made two pots from recycled clay and had fun playing with them, putting four accent handles on one of them.  I have some interesting plans for the glazing on those.

The last pot I made has a simple form.  It is made with craggy crunch and I wedged vermiculite into the clay before I started.  It's destined for the raku kiln and while I want the pot to be blackened with carbon, the vermiculite should add some gold highlights.  We shall see.  In the meantime I have something to add to that pot in the near future.

It's all about the process...

Mess 'o pots.

Two decorated pots and one pleasantly wonky one.

One traditional, one wonky, and one simple.

As if the craggy crunch wasn't rough enough,
the vermiculite adds more.

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2009-10-01 Thursday - Lids

I went to the Clayworks on Thursday with the sole purpose in mind of making some lids for the casseroles I threw the other night. I was also thinking about attempting some more of those flattened bottle shapes and I wanted to finish the lid for my crackle pot.

I threw one of the casserole lids three times because I kept ruining it. I guess third time's the charm... I wasn't overly thrilled with them, but I think they'll do better with a little finishing work. At least they are thin and light.

I had some clay left over so I threw some small, wonky bottles. I hate putting wedged clay back in the bag --it's like I failed or something.

The winning lid.
It raises the pot up whereas the crackled lid
didn't do anything beyond "ending" the pot.
(I'm going to fire the crackle lid too.)

(Beer bottle included for scale reference.)

Lid foreground, casserole background.

Same lineup, different pots.
On the right is the latest flattened bottle that ruptured.
I pushed the break back together.

Wonky bottles.
I hesitate to tell you that I started with an attempt
to make a small, traditional jug with a handle...
Oh well, at least they're light and even.