Thursday, July 16, 2015

Basket Case

Several months ago I made this woven basket and I put it in a cabinet to dry so it wouldn't get bumped since woven pieces are very fragile. I finally got around to firing it. There's a couple of problems with these basket cases which I need to address. First if there is no foot then I can't glaze the whole bottom and the underside doesn't look that great. Second sometimes the woven pieces separate slightly in the firing where they cross. This leaves a spot of unglazed clay showing. I know how to fix the first problem but what about the separating overlapping sections, They don't seem to separate until the glaze firing. What do you think?

This is a small basket I made in the student class as a demo. The glaze is a fern green but it looks like it's over fired in the bottom around the inside edges which has rough little crystals. Two other pieces were glazed with the same glaze and one was fine and the other ran terribly. I fire between cone 5 and 6 and I think this glaze should only go to cone 5. I think I'll dispense with this glaze because it doesn't grab me that much anyway. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

11 comments:

  1. The woven basket is cool, do you score and slip each overlapping piece? As for the underside, you could put very small nubs for feet that could be left unglazed. You said you had a plan for the underside, what are you thinking about?

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    1. Hi Michele, thanks, I was going to make the bowl over a drape mold. In the past I never scored the connecting points and I think the curved shape made the pieces warp up, next time I'll put vinegar and press them down with a dry sponge. I work with wet strips so no need to score and slip since the clay is so wet.

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  2. I love woven pieces. I hope you work out the problems.

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    1. Hi Joanne, thanks, other pieces I've made didn't have this problem, just this one and it's more noticeable since I used a darker colored glaze.

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  3. I often get bubbly stuff or pin-holes where some glazes are too thick. That green is nice for setting off plants. No idea to suggest about the shrinking lattices...but maybe a touch of paint (acrylic, mixed to match a shadow of the glaze perhaps?)

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    1. Hi Barb, thanks, I did put more glaze in the corners since I had put a coil there and wanted to cover it. The glaze was rather thin anyway, I was thinking of paint or something to hide the color.

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  4. That basket looks nice.

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    1. Hi Gigi, thanks, I like the dark colored glaze on it, it reminds me of a lattice top pie too. Ha.

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  5. Love the woven effect. In almost everything. Including your basket.

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    1. Hi Sue, thanks, hope to work out all the details of these.

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  6. I'm sure you'll work out the minor problems in the woven baskets, Linda...and they'll be satisfying, wonderful pieces when you do. I look forward to seeing the positive results of your dedicated efforts. :)

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