ok...ive had a lot going on and lost sight of my year long challenge. i had my best show ever, started a new wholesale venture with a new business, and just trying to beat this heat while firing my kiln 4-5 times a week! so, i was feeling very guilty and behind with this challenge and didnt know how i was gonna catch up. then i got the idea to make a set. i know its kinda cheating, but its a compromise. :) its still four bowls, but not four unique bowls because they are similar. anyways...now that my confession is out of the way, lets talk about the bowl. i knew when i started i was going to make a floral bowl set. kind of a bouquet or garden look or feel when they are out and in use. i do think they look asian as well. i love the carvings and think they are why it has this feel. they are simple and delicate.
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ooooohhh ya! this bowl came to me right before bed. i was about to drift off when...BAM!... It hit me. i made this bowl upside down and had to wait, days for it to dry. with all this rain we've been getting everything is taking forever to dry. anyways, i love it. its big, too! about 18" in diameter! i am thinking white for the glaze.
this bowl might just crack apart at any stage of the drying or firing process. its two different clsy bodied carefully wedged. together and then thrown almost like normal on my pottery wheel. i say it could crack apart because clsy shrinks as it dries and since i used two different. clays, they might shrink separately. ..causing stress. ..causing cracking...causing sadness. lol. but i will obviously glaze it clear or not at all so as to show off this awesome technique. props to abbey and sean Kennedy for the idea and faith in me!!!
this blog post has two different bowl in one post. I had my spring studio sale and a new nephew last week so I've been busy! one bowl is a chopstick bowl. the cut outs hold your chopsticks so they don't have to touch the table. the other bowl is the one I demonstrated at my open house!
I am loving this bowl. I have already made more with different designs. I threw this bowl off the hump then trimmed the bottom and carved out the design. I love the floral ish pattern. :) I think the glaze will do some fun things in with the cut outs. we'll see...
man I feel bad! I haven't posted in two weeks! to be honest I'm not as into this years challenge as last years...but that's about yo change. I made an awesome bowl and it's really inspiring me. here are photos of the past two week's bowls and this week's... all caught up :).
I told you it would look better glazed! haha it actually looks like twigs now. I love how you can see through it and how earthy it is. I also love how these two glazes interact with each other. there's a slight iridescence that kind of dresses up the branches! mmmm love when things come out right.
This is a new technique for me : sgraffito. its basically the process of carving slip or glaze off of a pot. I threw the bowl then I trimmed the foot, of course. then I turned it right side up again and re centered it. I used a stain that should be greenish and painted the rim while the wheel spun. this helped me to get a nice, even coat. then, since the clay is still a little moist, I was able to use my metal rib to clean up the line of glaze by scraping some clay off (and therefore any unwanted glaze). I think I'll keep this technique in mind whenever I desire a crisp edge of glaze :). then I just carved the leaves into the rim. :) this bowl is 14" wide so its pretty big :) I like the size and shape. it'll be a great centerpiece.
lol OK...you know its late when I come up with a title like that! haha this will hold a candle nicely and create awesome shadows on the wall. I will sand this bowl once its fired...it's much too fragile right now.
Wow! I know that sounds vain of me to say, but WOW! I am so pleased. Maybe even suprised! I admitted this last year during my "year of the teapot" challenge but glazing isn't my favorite part of the pottery process. Infact, most of the time it stresses me out and I end up putting it off. You see I've worked so hard on the shape and construction of the piece that I fear I will destroy it with the color. I was the same way with painting or drawing. But today was encouraging. I feel that each of these pieces are complete.
A couple of things worth pointing out: The "Nana Bowl" was glazed in ONE GLAZE! This glaze just rocks like that. I chose this glaze because my Nana is weaving a piece to match in the same colors! Isn't that cool? Collaboration!!! The "Wavey Rim Bowl" was glazed in a newish combo that is super cool. I love what happens when they overlap. I named this "overlap" "Cobalt River". The "Flower Bowl" turned out nice. I like how the soft, matte white looks on the "flower". The additions of the purple and light blue splatters complement the liner texture of the petal. Next up is the "Oval Flower Bowl" and I almost want to rename it "Desert Sunset". I tried something new on this piece and for once it paid off! I did not know how the purple and red would interact with eachother if I were to blend them and try to have them fade into eachother....but it worked out beautifully! I love the red drips (trying to recall the red from the base) and the yellow center is a good warm tone to balance the piece and also a little suprise for the middle. The "Floral Texture Bowl" is glazed in a pretty amber color (same as the inside of the oval flower bowl). I chose this glaze because of how well it shows off the texture. Lastly, the "Boat Bowl" was glazed in a powder blue with darker blue spashes and a BRAND NEW GLAZE for me: CHROME! OOOOOoooo I'm in love. My wheels are already turning for more projects to make specifically with this glaze. It isn't food safe, but I can use it strategically. I hope you enjoy looking at these. Just as a reminder...none of the bowls in this blog will be for sale until my end of the year sale! Thanks for your continued support and encouragment. |
Pots In UseI love seeing handmade pots in action! Functional pottery has stolen my heart. I intend to explore that love story a little more with this blog. Follow along if you want to see an talk about functional pottery on a deeper level! Archives
April 2015
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