Sometimes I wish the pots were finished when they were freshly glazed because they look so good to me. That's what I was thinking after I glazed this large flower pot yesterday. The surface looks like a smooth soft velvet.
This bowl made me feel the same way. As I'm typing right now I notice my hands are really dry; they get that way while I'm glazing but I don't dare put on any hand lotion till after I'm finished. Hand lotion makes the pots resist glaze.
Right now I'm firing another bisque load because it's taking much longer to glaze than I expected. One of the reasons it's taking so long is because I made a silly mistake. Many times when I glaze ornaments I use colored slip on the edges so I don't have to glaze the edges. I had forgotten to do that before I bisqued these. I started putting slip on the edges yesterday. After I had a whole bunch of them done the slip started drying and flaking off. The slip dried and shrank but the greenware didn't shrink. Ugh It took me forever to scrape and clean up all the edges especially on those xmas trees.
Some of these have oxides underneath or two different glazes.
I hand brush all of my glazes and I have to be especially careful if I use two glaze colors like the basket above. You wouldn't believe how long it's taking me to glaze the rooster bank, the two animal jars, and the cat sculpture. I'm working at ArtWorks again tomorrow so I won't be able to glaze fire till Tuesday or Wednesday depending on if I get all the work glazed. At least I'll have another load to glaze while the other is glaze firing. Well back to glazing. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.
Hi Linda,
ReplyDeleteYou have been busy. Brushing glaze certainly takes a long time (I often have to do this when doing crystalline glazed pots). I also find that a day working with glaze really dries out my hands, and I have to put some moisturizer on after the work is finished otherwise I am woken at 3 in the morning with itchy dry hands and arms. I did spend a few days glazing with gloves on when I had a thumb injury, and that worked fairly well really if I remembered to take extra care when handling pots, but it was difficult holding some things, and easy to get blobs of oxide on the glove and transfer them onto other things! Hope the firing goes well.
Hi Linda,
ReplyDeleteYou have been busy. Brushing glaze certainly takes a long time (I often have to do this when doing crystalline glazed pots). I also find that a day working with glaze really dries out my hands, and I have to put some moisturizer on after the work is finished otherwise I am woken at 3 in the morning with itchy dry hands and arms. I did spend a few days glazing with gloves on when I had a thumb injury, and that worked fairly well really if I remembered to take extra care when handling pots, but it was difficult holding some things, and easy to get blobs of oxide on the glove and transfer them onto other things! Hope the firing goes well.
Hi Linda,
ReplyDeleteYou have been busy. Brushing glaze certainly takes a long time (I often have to do this when doing crystalline glazed pots). I also find that a day working with glaze really dries out my hands, and I have to put some moisturizer on after the work is finished otherwise I am woken at 3 in the morning with itchy dry hands and arms. I did spend a few days glazing with gloves on when I had a thumb injury, and that worked fairly well really if I remembered to take extra care when handling pots, but it was difficult holding some things, and easy to get blobs of oxide on the glove and transfer them onto other things! Hope the firing goes well.
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ReplyDeleteEeeek, sorry Linda for the multiple comments, the Send comment button went mad..., I don't know what happened there! P
ReplyDeleteLove the polka dots.
ReplyDeleteI love that flower pot...amazing!
ReplyDeleteHi Peter, thanks, I once knew someone who only glazed with gloves but I am like you I need to feel the texture and there really isn't a substitute for the naked hand.
ReplyDeleteNo problem with multiple comments, it's like I have a whole new genre of pottery friends. Ha.
Hi Joanne, thanks, those are the same glazes I did with a previous bowl that had a crack in the rim I am hoping to replicate the glaze experiment, fingers crossed.
Hi Turquoisemoon, thanks, I have high hopes for that pot, we shall see.
Great polka dots...I don't think I've ever tried them. Same here with hands...and wearing gloves sometimes helps...but washing with soap and warm water while glazing to get all the chemicals out of my pores is something I'm trying to remember, even with just clay on them. I can't wait to see these pots when they come out!
ReplyDeleteBusy, busy, busy. I am really looking forward to seeing the results.
ReplyDeleteI can't garden in gloves either. I need to be able to feel what I am doing. Which means I get very dirty and pick up the odd nick or scratch...
Hi Barb, thanks, that bowl is a redo of the one that had the cracked rim because the glaze came out looking so nice, hope this one works the same way, one never knows with the firings what will transpire. Ha. I will have to remember to wash with soap and water although the soap we use has oils in it too. so maybe not.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, thanks, when I used to garden I couldn't wear gloves either although pruning the roses I did. something about the hand that is much better and my fingernails are always dirty, used to be dirt, now it's clay, lol. I can't wait to see this work either, I guess I had piled up quite a bit of work since I had enough for two bisque firings and still have a few more pieces that didn't make it in the kiln. It's definitely delayed gratification around here. ha.
That soft, pastel of the unfired glaze. That is the potter’s treat, most other people never get to enjoy the pot when it looks like that. It is so pretty.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried wearing rubber gloves while glazing to protect your skin from the chemicals and all the water you use to wash up your glazing tools?
I am like you, can't stand to wear gloves when working. I try to for some gardening chores but it seems they don't last long. Glazing not only dries my skin, but seems to make my nails split too.
ReplyDeleteHi Michele, thanks, I've always had nails that split easily, even though I keep them short now, well I guess I did when I used to garden more too. I've always had dirt under my nails.
ReplyDeleteHi Lori, thanks, I have some surgeons gloves I may give them a try with the next round, they are pretty close fitting and might not be too confining. The pastel colors are wonderful, the softness is what is so appealing and the dusty matt texture.
ReplyDeleteBusy! Busy! Love the contrast of the polka dots. They work so well with your designs.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I wear gloves for some heavier gardening or wood gathering, rubber gloves when I'm working in my studio give me the creeps!
Hi Suzi, thanks, well I wish I had worn gloves yesterday, sad news forthcoming
ReplyDelete