Sunday, October 14, 2012

Gold and Black

Drooping Curls
10 x 6 x 3 inches

This pot was supposed to be lavender and black but the outside is more gold with just a few hints of the lavender color. Perhaps I needed to put the glaze on thicker? You wouldn't believe how long it took me to hand brush the rings and the drooping curls; I think about two hours. Not everything is predictable with clay.

As I look at this pot I can visualize it with a single large drooping curl down the front. This pot looked better unglazed;  I think it would have been nicer if I had used a translucent glaze. That's one of the things I have the hardest part with in clay, making glazing choices. Up next the pots with underglaze from this firing and a request for some advice about underglaze application techniques. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

5 comments:

  1. I like the gold and black a lot! Comparing the glazed and unglazed pot, I'll go with the glazed. The gold and black enhance the strength of the pot. The curls are reading in the photo as small uprights or spacers between the circles. This type of glazing is slow and time consuming.....I've never found a way to get around it.

    If you are totally unhappy with it, hide it in a dark place for a month or two. The disappointment is the difference between expectation and reality. Electric kiln are suppose to give such stable results.......HAH!

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  2. Ditto with comment above, expectations from kiln openings are like those in our early dating lives. (At least in mine) It does look very lovely, with a kind of formal tuxedo feel about it.

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  3. It sounds like there was a lot of trial and error involved. It's strange, but many times when we look at our own work it seems like a failure, but to another person's eye it's unique and beautiful. Maybe the finished product was not meant for you!

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  4. I know that when my hands/eyes would let me do crafts I was never satisfied with the finished product. And it could take up to a year before I was. A bit like cooking an elaborate meal - after all that effort I would often rather have a cheese sandwich than the dish of the day. Distance adds a lot of charm.

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  5. Hi Suzi, thanks, well if you love it then perhaps it's acceptable and it isn't as bad as I think the bargello ones turned out in the next post. I am actually pleased that we can get some unusual results with electric since I used to do gas firings and those were so exciting.

    Hi Barbara, thanks, my disappointment stems from the fact that I thought the two glazes would run a bit like the teapot I made several years ago, oh well, best laid plans.

    Hi Ms. Sparrow, thanks, you know you are right about that, the pieces I often don't like the most are the ones that sell the quickest. Ha.

    Hi Elephant's Child, thanks, yes I well remember many a fancy dessert I made much more now than I did when I ate it. Ha.

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I love suggestions, questions, critiques, thanks for your comment