After The Fact

This time the mad scientist really messed up. The copper carbonate turned black, really black. Who wants a black xmas tree? Not sure what will happen if I put a clear glaze over them. I also have lots of black stars, actually they're really dark green and black, from deep in the cosmos I guess. I do have a few nice yellow stars, the ocher worked nicely.

The cobalt and copper carbonate aren't bad on the piece above but it seems I've transferred finger prints of cobalt to the fronts and backs of many of the other pieces I loaded in the bisque.

Like the back of this rooster platter. and the inside of several bowls and the reverse side of several bowls. It might have been a design element but they are too random to look good. It seems that the oxides also stained my kiln shelves. Even after firing I am still getting cobalt finger prints every where. Perhaps some frit added to the stains would alleviate that transferring after firing?

Just yesterday I read on Midori's blog where she puts deep sand on her shelves to protect them from oxides. Too bad I learned that trick after the fact. It also would have helped if I had loaded the pieces with oxide and then washed my hands before loading the other pieces. Is there anything I can do to get the oxides off the pieces? And how to clean the shelves. Probably sand them? And I have a glaze load I wanted to fire.

On top of that I hurt my knee the other day, (I think it's the lateral collateral ligament) and have to walk stiff legged on that leg which means it takes me three times as long to walk anywhere or go up and down the stairs. Then yesterday I developed a tooth ache in my lower front teeth. Actually it's feels like the gum. I read a bumper sticker that said old age isn't for sissies and I'm not even old yet. Heaven help me. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Relay Repair & Basket Weaving Workshop

My kiln is a Skutt 1218-3. Yesterday early in the morning it showed an E 1 error which means the temperature is increasing less than 12 degrees per hour during a ramp for more than 22 minutes. I stopped the kiln and let it cool down naturally. I also unplugged the kiln in case there was an electrical problem. Yesterday I unloaded the kiln and did a diagnostics by pressing the menu button on the kiln. The diagnostics told me the error occurred at 815 F, the volts of the kiln are 245/246 and on full load volts are 242, the amps for section one are 14, section 2 is 0, and section 3 is 14. I thought the amp at 0 might mean I needed an element.

After talking to the Skutt technician he said I needed a relay or the wires to that middle section or section 2 are burned or need to be replaced. See the red controller above; I have to remove the screws and open up the cover and look inside at the electrical parts. Yikes, but I think I can do it. Yes, I can do it. I will muster my confidence and go forth with courage. Stay tuned for more about the repairing.

Yesterday I was gone during the day and today I'm going to a basket weaving workshop with the Nature Coast Basket Weavers so I won't be able to tackle the kiln till Friday. I'm excited to have found a local Basketmakers group I can join. Basket weaving is the process of weaving unspun vegetable material into a basket or similar form. It's that process of using what occurs in nature in it's raw form which I'm drawn to. I'm hoping to incorporate some weaving with some of my pottery as well. Stay tuned for more about that.

When I unloaded the kiln I noticed a black dusty soot on some of the shelves and black spots on some of my pieces. I had used some copper carbonate on some leaf plates. I thinned the copper carbonate down this time but the leaves are still coming out black instead of the copper green I was hoping for.

If the soot is causing problems for my other work and that's what it's doing in my kiln I'm not sure I want to use it any longer. I hope all the work I had in the kiln isn't ruined with black soot or spots. We shall see. Keep in mind the kiln only got to 815 F so perhaps all that soot would normally be burnt out when I open the kiln after a bisque. There's never a dull moment and always something new to learn working with ceramics. Stay tuned for more about the kiln repair coming up soon. Thanks for reading and for all your help and comments.

Arts Business Institute & Ornaments

A big thanks to the Arts Business Institute for choosing my cart with green wheels for their Handmade Holiday Gift Guide. The Arts Business Institute is an educational nonprofit that partners with regional art guilds, educational institutions and development organizations. They give practical business education to creative entrepreneurs. I've also opened a Big Cartel shop where you can see some of my sculptural work for sale.

Two posts ago I mentioned the copper carbonate which I put on some of my holiday ornaments not being so appealing for ornaments. The good news is most of them turned out just fine after I glazed them.

I've strung them on ribbon I had left over from my lavender farm gift shop. It's amazing how much time even a small ornament takes to make. Cut it out, stamp it with texture, brush oxide on, dry it, sand it, fire it, glaze it, fire it again, string ribbon on it. There they are in the kiln, seems they shrink quite a bit since they were almost touching before firing.

Yesterday Gary went to a local church sale and sold a few pieces of my pottery. Many locals are repeat customers. Next Saturday I'll be at Christmas in the Hills in Beverly Hills (Florida) which is right around the corner from us. The event is put on by the Parks and Recreation Department and the Lions Club. Donations will be accepted for Toys for Tots. There will be a parade, car show, and arts and crafts sale. Hope the weather is good. There's frost on the pumpkin this morning. Up next more experiments with color on plates. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.

Faux Extruders & Black Copper

Here's how the copper carbonate stain came out on the ornaments, dark brown/black and not so appealing. I mixed copper carbonate with frit. I didn't get a very even coverage either. Any ideas about that? I glazed them anyway, we shall see how they turn out with glaze over the top.

All is not lost however, because I think this stain would much better on a different piece of pottery like one of my stacked towers. It has an ancient sepia tone look to it.

The other day I drove past a yard sale and stopped and picked up two cookie presses. I hope to use them as a clay extruder. Four dollars for both, not bad. The glaze load is almost ready to unload so stay tuned for some photos real soon. Thanks for reading and for all your comments.