Glazing Other Students Work

Many students sign up to take ceramics at the college and for one reason or another some of them drop out of the class. Sometimes they drop the class early in the semester and other times they drop at the last moment. In the meantime, they have been working with the clay and creating various ceramic pieces. Our classroom has an overabundance of student work which has been saved in case the students came back for their work. Since our shelves were running out of room, our instructor gave us permission to test some glazes on some of the student work which has been left in the classroom for quite some time. We are loading a glaze kiln load so we started glazing as many pieces we could find to completely fill the kiln.

I couldn't believe it when I was searching the shelves for work to glaze, I found some pieces I had made a while ago on the shelf too. I made the three soap dishes above several years ago from slabs. The dishes are three different sizes and stand on three log rolled feet. I experimented with a few more glazes on these three, but my experiments didn't turn out like I wanted them to. One part of the kiln went to Cone 11 or more and I think the glaze color I used washed out. I am going to try reglazing the soap dishes in hopes the glazes turn out more like I expected.

These coil pots were done by past ceramics students in their first class. I can recall making coil pots in one of the very first classes I took in ceramics. Neither of the pots were signed by the students. I glazed the first coil pot with a Tom Coleman glaze Fake Ash. There is some nice color variation in this glaze and I really like it. The next coil pot was glazed with another Tom Coleman glaze, Tea Dust Black. I want to try this glaze on a smooth surface next time to see if the tea dust will be more visible. This is an interesting glaze which contains some coppery brown highlights as well as the smallest flecks of the golden tea dust.

When glazing other's work the other day I found I felt more free to experiment - not worrying so much whether I might ruin a piece I had worked on for some time. I felt the same way with the soap dishes, since I had made them so many years ago. I think I will start making a few extra pieces, bisque them, and then store them for several months. Of course, that means having the room and a safe place to store them till they are ready to glaze. I'm off to do some reglazing today.

Test Fire - Cone 10 Pendants

My pendants just came out of the kiln for my first pendant test firing of Cone 10. The pendants made it through and the glazes didn't run on the shelf. Some of the glazes I don't care for on sculptural or functional ware, look great on pendants. For instance, the Tom Coleman glaze, green to black satin matt looks great on a pendant (lower left in above photo), but looked washed out on a vase I glazed recently.

Feeling the weight of the pendants, I actually think I could make them a little heavier. I also think I could have put a bit more glaze on the pendants, but I didn't want the glaze to run on the kiln shelf. A drawback to Cone 10 pendants is I only glaze the front of the pendant because the nichrome wire won't hold up through Cone 10 temperature of 2350 or sometimes even higher.


The clay I am using, Rod's Mix from Laguna, says it shrinks an average of 14 percent with a plus or minus 2 percent possible. Up to this point for the functional ware I have been making, shrinkage hasn't mattered much to me, but for pendants it makes a difference on how the pendant hangs in a piece of jewelry. I will have to make a few more test pendants and measure them in length, width and depth at the wet stage, the leather hard stage, after the bisque and then after the glaze firing. Well, I am back to working with the clay again.

Drying Cabinets & Shelves for Greenware

Potters are inventive when it comes to finding or making equipment. Some examples of green ware drying cabinets potters I know are using are rolling restaurant cabinets, baker's racks, store display racks, old refrigerators, and many other unique items. Some of their cabinets have doors and some do not. Some have put plastic around their racks to cut down on drafts.


I used to have the perfect green ware drying shelf to use while working at home. I had a large stainless steel roll around rack. My husband has requisitioned the rack for his project in the garage. He is using it to lay out the parts for the Chevy truck he is restoring. The truck is painted Ocean Green, a stock color for 1954. Wouldn't it be a nice pottery glaze? Um... Eventually I will get the stainless rack back. I plan on making a canvas cover to fit over the whole rack with Velcro sides, then I'll have large space to dry green ware.


In the meantime, I have adapted several other spaces to use as drying cabinets for my green ware. My makeshift drying cabinets are working out well. Both of them are out of drafts and keep a fairly even temperature. One of my drying cabinets is my hall linen cabinet. I have a couple of free form platters drying in there now. Since the shelves are solid, I place trivets on the shelf and then put the piece to dry on the trivet. The beauty of this cabinet is that the piece drying is at eye level and I can see right away if the piece starts to warp. I find large platters and plates seem to warp the most. I use bean bags or rice bags placed on top of the piece if it starts to warp.


Another drying cabinet I use is a closet. I purchased some plastic shelves at a local lumber supply warehouse. You'd normally see these shelves used in a garage. (Gee, maybe my husband and I can trade?) The plastic sections snap together and just fit inside the closet. The shelves already have open grids, so the air can circulate around the piece nicely. I have a one of my triple serving dishes drying on the shelf. The grids in the shelving are a bit large, so if the piece I'm drying is too small I place some screening material over the shelf and weight it down on the ends.

I may let my husband keep the roll around rack so I won't have to make the canvas cover. That way I'll have more time to spend working with the clay. How's that for a justification?

Inspiration...

Yesterday I noticed three bird nests in precarious places in my garden. The first nest is fairly low to the ground in the lemon tree and now has downy baby birds in it. The second is, again, low to the ground against the potting shed balanced on the rose trellis and last time I looked there were eggs in it. The third nest is woven among some silk flowers I had placed in a copper wall pocket hanging on the side of the gift shop. I had to stand on a ladder to see in the nest and there are eggs in this one too. I worry about the ones low to the ground because I have a garden cat. When the babies are ready to fledge I will keep my cat indoors. The copper wall pocket nest is hung with one nail and swings in the wind - sometimes we get some heavy winds here and the wall pocket falls to the ground. Perhaps I can hammer in one more nail to make it more stable.

Getting back to inspiration, I'd like to make something in clay documenting the bird nests in the garden. I realize I could have a whole series of nests: lemon tree nest, rose trellis nest, wall pocket nest, swallow in birdhouse nest, grackle in willow tree nest, blue heron in sycamore nest, and I am sure if I look around I will find some more nests. Since its still dark I can't take any photos of the nests, so I started a few rough drawings. These drawings will go in my journal.

Several years ago, I found a nest on the ground when we lived in the mountains, and I saved the nest in a decorative tin box. When we moved here I unpacked the nest and placed it in a manzanita branch I propped inside a clay pot. I purchased some artificial eggs to put inside the nest. I just love the moss and bird feathers which were used to make this nest. This sample nest will help me to construct my own clay nest.

Functional Ceramics for the Kitchen

I like to cook and often find I have a need for another serving platter or other useful utensil in the kitchen. The Triple Serving Dish is just such a piece. It measures 17 x 6 inches and is 2 inches tall. And this dish's glaze rewarded me with a rich variety of colors, red, green, gold and blue.

If I want to serve three different dips at a party or I have a few leftovers but don't have room for three large serving bowls at the table then the Triple Serving Dish comes in real handy. It fits three different food items in a compact space. Often while I'm cooking in the kitchen, I'm thinking of how I will serve a particular type of food. Sometimes I think "I wish I had a serving dish like that". Then I go into the studio and try to create just that type of kitchen ware.


You can't have too many colanders in the kitchen. You probably can't see it but this colander's glaze has some nice crackle to it. Of course colanders are useful to drain pasta. But they are also useful for rinsing fresh vegetables or fruits and displaying them right in the same container. I often carry a colander out to the vegetable garden, pick some of those bite sized tomatoes right off the vine and put them in the colander, rinse them off and leave them right in the colander. Crackle Colander measures 9 inches in diameter and 2.25 inches tall.

I'm already thinking of the next colander I want to make, a smaller one with larger holes at the bottom, maybe an individual size with a tray below to catch the excess water - perhaps a free form shape. Can't wait to work the clay today.


Wouldn't this Grape Leaf Plate be a nice spoon rest on the stove top? Or perhaps to serve some cheese and crackers or maybe a cluster of grapes. If you cook you know, like I do, food tastes better when it is presented well, so I like to use handmade functional ceramics to display my cooking creations. The Grape Leaf Plate is 5 x 6 inches.


How about a dish just for serving biscuits fresh out of the oven? My grandmother would have appreciated this one. She made the best baking powder biscuits I have ever tasted. The beauty of ceramics is that they hold heat well, so if I warm my Biscuit Bowl, the biscuits will stay warm while they are at the table. The Biscuit Bowl measures 11 x 5 and is 2 inches high.

Hollyhock Vase & Miscanthus Leaf Vase

Hollyhock Vase is another inspriation from my herb garden. This is a substantial vase with an oval shape almost rectangular with full size hollyhock leaves attached on either side and measures 6.5 inches tall at the top of the leaves and 5 x 3.25 inches wide. The vase was slab built with applied leaves and the clay is brown stoneware. I was pleasantly surprised at how the glaze turned out on this dark brown stoneware clay and I just love how the veining in the leaves is still noticeable. I am finding each clay body affects final outcome of the glaze color differently. This dark brown clay has a smooth texture and stays workable when handbuilding.


Miscanthus Leaf Vase was made with Russian River stoneware clay and measures 7.5 inches tall and 3.25 inches in diameter. Here again I have used a different type of stoneware clay and it has affected the color of the glaze in a unique way. This vase was inspired by the leaves of an ornamental grass I have in front yard. Russian River clay has a firmer texture than the Dark Brown stoneware clay and is a firmer clay with more grog for handbuilding.

Luna Moth & Long Leaf Plate

When we lived in Arkansas, I was amazed to see a luna moth one day. What an incredible camoflauge they have to protect them against predators. The dots on their wings look like eyes so the luna moth appears much larger than they really are to a predator. Luna Moth plate is 9 inches square, hand built stoneware. Lead free glazes in warm tones are used to accent the luna moth in its natural habitat.

Long Leaf Plate was inspired by the taller native grasses which grow in the oak studded savannah where we live. In the Spring many varieties of grasses grow quickly eventually setting seed before the heat of summer turns them brown. Long Leaf Plate is 14 x 5 inches. Lead free glazes are reminiscent of the olive and gray green leaves and background color shimmers as if the wind were blowing.

Tidal Pool & Ikebana Dragonfly Vase

Tidal Pool was inspired by a trip we took to the ocean this past winter. The wall hanging represents what would be seen looking down into a tidal pool - a couple of starfish, shells broken by the crashing waves, seaweed swirling around in the currents and the bright sunlight reflecting on the ocean's surface. We love going to the ocean and have some long time friends who live in Cambria. We had such a nice time visiting with them, taking long walks on the beach, perusing the used book stores and shell shops in near by towns. Tidal pool is a wall plaque 9 x 8 inches with lead free glazes in orange, tan, and blue.


Ikebana Dragonfly Vase is another in the garden series. I'm facinated by dragonflies when I see them in the garden especially the ones with fluorescent colors. This dragonfly has stopped to rest on a vase meant for a simple floral arrangement in the Ikebana style. Ikebana Dragonfly Vase is 5.5 wide x 2.25 tall with lead free glazes of shimmery blue green and red accents.

Fairy Plate & Hollyhock Platter

I couldn't wait to share the garden series pieces which have just come out of the kiln today. So the next few posts I'll be talking about the pieces from this series with applied decoration. I posted these two plates a few posts back, wondering if my hand drawn and carved decorations would survive their glaze firing. Both of these plates are handbuilt from slabs of stoneware clay. I am happy to report all of my applied decorations have come through the bisque and the glaze firing just fine without lifting and without breaking free. Now I will be making more in this garden inspiration series with applied decoration.

The idea for a Fairy Plate came to me one day when I was daydreaming in the garden. Thoughts of fairies flying around the garden at dawn and dusk inspired me to make the plate. This fairy is reaching to catch a star. Fairy Plate is 9 inches in diameter. Lead free glazes are used in colors to accent the fairy as she would appear hovering in the garden.Hollyhocks grow in my herb garden and I just love this old fashioned flower. This year I have more hollyhocks about ready to bloom but I have no idea what colors they will be. I'm hoping to make more hollyhock inspired pieces this Spring. Hollyhock Platter is 13.5 by 10 inches, handmade from slab with stoneware clay. Lead free glazes are used in tones to accent the flowers and leaves.

Test Tiles

We opened the kiln today - what a great firing! I wanted to take a photo before the kiln was unloaded but was visiting my father-in-law in the hospital and got to class early but after someone had unloaded the kiln. The witness Cone 11 was melted flat, so we were a bit hot, but the glazes turned out wonderful. I got home at 7 p.m. made dinner and showed all my fired pieces to my husband. Later I started to hang the test tiles temporarily on the wall so I could take a photo. Then I discovered glaze had filled the hole on two of the tiles. I started drilling the holes out and broke a drill bit, next one of the test tiles broke (I can epoxy it back together again).

Test tiles are all Rod's Mix stoneware clay. Here is my quick line up of the test tiles from from left to right, top row first. Masterson Orange, Celadon, Autumn Brown, Lyon Tan, Autumn Yellow, Aegean Blue, Tan Matte, Transparent, Jensen Red, AK Plum, Sun Valley, Artificial Salt, Tea Dust Black, Fake Ash, Speckled Gray, Non Iron Blue Celadon, and Green to Black Satin Matte. Tea Dust Black, Fake Ash, Non Iron Blue Celadon and Green to Black Satin Matt are Tom Coleman glazes.

Some of the test tiles are hard to see and would show up better if I had taken a photo of one test tile at a time. But for now these will have to do. Next I'll be posting a series of photos of the pieces I have glazed with each of the glazes from above. You will be better able to appreciate the glazes shown on a larger piece of ceramic. There are several promising glazes which I will be using in my next glaze firing.

Firing, Glazes & Ceramics Classmates

This semester I am learning more from my ceramics classmates than in previous years. Other years I was concentrating on developing my techniques working with clay. This year I am finding discussions with classmates is stimulating me to branch out into areas I might not have gone. Also I am looking at other students work to see what they are doing. With the greenware photo I took in the classroom, I noticed that one of the pots has a pencil drawing on it. When I get back to the classroom next week, I will be checking to see whose work this pot is so I can ask them how they plan on glazing the pot.


Unbeknownst to either of us, one classmate made test tiles and I did the same. We decided to compare our glazing notes and test tiles. Now another classmate has made up raku test tiles. On Monday, I will get my test tiles out of the kiln to see how the glazes turned out. Since I had a lot of pieces to fire I also tried some of the glazes on the pieces even though I have no idea what they will look like. At the college we only have so many firings for the semester, so I don't have the luxury of firing my test tiles to see how the glazes turn out before I glaze my work. If I waited I might not get all my glazed pieces fired. The turnaround time for bisque and glaze firings is also very short, so there isn't much time to get all my bisque glazed before the glaze firing. Yesterday I found myself looking at the kiln firing and wishing it was done so I could see all of my work.

Three Rivers Studio Tour 8

We spent Saturday on the Three Rivers Studio Tour and thoroughly enjoyed it. Three Rivers is located east of Visalia on the way to the Sequoia National Forest. The town is graced with the picturesque Kaweah River which tumbles across huge granite boulders as it makes its way along the Highway 198 corridor. It was a perfect Spring day and wildflowers were blooming everywhere as we drove through the countryside to meet each artist in their studio.

I was pleased to finally meet Carole Clum, the featured artist on the tour this year. Carole's sculptures are shown on the cover of my catalog above (a little worse for wear). Unfortunately, my camera batteries were dead and the extras I brought were also dead - so I wasn't able to take all the photos I would have loved to that day. I had seen Carole's work in Visalia at Arenas Gallery last year and wanted a chance to see more of her work. Carole's beautiful studio, built by her husband, is nestled among her gardens at the 1800 foot elevation. Carole described her property as a wildlife preserve and bird sanctuary. Carole makes unglazed clay sculptures and uses two different sculpture clays. The Black Mountain clay she uses is beautiful unglazed and has a primitive quality to it. I was amazed when Carole said she doesn't wedge her clay and only fires her sculptures once to Cone 10 - no bisque.

I also met Nancy Jonnum of Big Rock Pottery on the tour. Nancy's studio space was uniquely hers with a path of mosaic clay tiles leading to the interior. I had seen Nancy's whimsical sculptures in magazine articles before, but was amazed when I went into her studio and saw "Coyote Woman" and "Coyote Man" in front of me . Nancy's sculptures are much bigger and more fantastic than they appear in magazines. I realized photographs of ceramic pieces can be deceiving even if the size is posted with the photograph. I think I can better appreciate ceramic work in person rather than a photograph.

Have you ever seen a gourd made into art? Well I met Lynne Bunt on the tour and she does just that. Lynne makes lamps, vessels, fountains, masks and more from gourds. Lynne embellishes each one with beads, paint, stain and lots of other ways to create one of kind sculptures. You can see some of Lynne's wonderful creations at her website, Gourdland.

The more artist's I meet the more I see that "rules" are meant to be broken. Each artist not only develops their own style but their own method of working in their medium. Whether it be paint, clay, or gourds, every artist seems to stretch the boundaries of tradition, creating new methods of working in their medium and finding or developing a process that works for them.