Bowls

The last couple of days I've been throwing bowls, small and medium, with the hope that they will nest.  I got five of each size finished.  I plan to throw larger and even LARGER bowls before I start on mugs and pitchers.
First I'll take a couple of days off to be a grandma (skiing with two of the youngest grandkids!) then Easter.  Another ski day on Monday, then back to clay.
Somewhere in the next few weeks, I want to get three or more birdbaths made for the Spring show at the Guild.

Goal Completed!

I have completed the work for the juried show, Flow and Control for the Fourth Annual Conference of Encaustic Painting in Beverly, Mass.  There have been lots of first steps taken to get to this point but I am very proud on what I have accomplished, both in terms of the work I submitted and in the supporting effort that needed to be taken to get this far.  The photographs I had taken did not all turn out quite like I had hoped but the three most important pieces photographed well.  I am working with the photographer to improve the outcome of the photos...attempting to build a relationship that will be benificial for both of us.  So although some of the photos had problems, I want to continue to work with her and both of us will develop as artists.
This is the third time you've seen this pot.  It is 6" x 4" and I flowed the wax off of the top edge by hanging the pot upside down on a rod.  It is one of the three pots I submitted to the Flow and Control show.

Another important project at this time of year is making chalices for the first communion kids at my church.  I have sample bases and bowls and glaze samples so each kid can design their own chalice.  I'm pleased to do it and I think it adds a lot to this important milestone in their lives.  Those chalices are in the bisque kiln, will be glazed and fired tomorrow and ready for them to use on Maunday Thursday.

Now it is time to look toward the Spring Show and Sale at the Guild that takes place in late April.  That means birds and birdbaths!
I also plan to continue work on the "Optical Illusion" and "Insomnia" pieces.  Those tiles are in the bisque kiln with the chalices.  And I look forward to getting back to throwing functional pieces, the usual mugs, bowls, salt pigs and all the other 'useful and unusual' pots that I make.

New Tool, Not Enough Power

I bought another griddle, one that is square that I thought would be great for more colors and for keeping brushes warm.  I also like to mix small amounts of color on the griddle and it would be great for that too.  Only problem is that the room I need to work in (because it has the vent) doesn't have enought power to run those appliances.  It trips the breaker whenever I try to turn on both griddles, never mind the heat gun.  I'm not sure what I am going to do about the problem.  When it is warmer I can open a garage door and set up a fan and work away but in the mean time I'm a bit stuck.  I did manage to get in about two hours of work today.  Enough to finish all of the vessels I have ready - about six, maybe eight counting the smaller ones.
The photographer will be at the studio tomorrow to take the 'official' pictures for my submission to the "Flow and Control" show.  I am very pleased with the way several of the vessels came out.  Funnily enough, the one that I struggled with the most came out the best!
I'll post pictures as soon as I have them - most likely Sunday.

Ceramic Tiles for Insomnia and Optical Illusion

I let the pots rest today...I am fearful that they aren't as good as I hope.  A bit of doubt in myself.  So I worked on the tiles for other projects.  I plan three or four panels (ceramic tiles, 27mm x 30mm) for the Insomnia series.  I finished two of that size.  I also want two panels for the Optical Illusion series and made one.  I made one tile of an odd size which I will use for a commission for a 'bugs and flowers' piece.

I contacted a photographer to take the pictures for submission to the "Flow and Control" show at the Encaustic Conference in Mass. so I feel really good about that.  I must have the work ready by Saturday or Sunday lest I run out of time.  That means hit it every day!

This is one of the pieces I feel is finished...this is not the final piece but close.  It is about 5" tall, raku fired with encaustics flowed over and allowed to drip off the top edge.  Obviously, I fused it upside-down so the wax would run 'up'.  It is small but quite interesting.  I hope to use the same techinque on a larger vessel...we'll see. 

Adolescence

There seems to be a point when many of my pots where they are gawky and ackward - like children when they get their first permanant teeth and when they move into adolescence.  All of the parts don't quite fit.  At that point I feel like giving up on them (the pots, I never gave up on my children) and taking a hammer to them so as to spare us all from more bad work.  But I normally push through that point and give them my best shot at being.  And often as not, maybe more often as not, they come through for me or I am able to come through for them and they become something useful or interesting, worthy of keeping, of setting out in the gallery for someone to discover and take them home.
The pots I worked on today were in that ackward, adolescent stage.  I believe that three of them have made it through that and are now 'works of art'.  They are not quite 'jelled', the wax was still warm when I quit working on them and they may need a bit of polishing up or touching up but I was pretty pleased when I turned off the wax and put things away.  I'll shine them up and take pictures tomorrow.
I have five pots ready to raku fire tomorrow and begin waxing, using what I've learned from these early pots.  It's been fun and frustrating and finally satisfying.

More Progress

I am still working on the same three or four pots but I feel I am learning how to work with the pot and wax.  There is a fine line between getting the pot warm enough to put more wax on and getting it too hot and having the wax just slide off. The dark band on the one on the left has gotten too warm and the wax moved away from that area.  I scraped off the wax on the bottom and reheated and reapplied wax on the bottom third.  I plan to add more wax mostly in the top 2/3s and heat and allow the wax to flow down over the bottom.  At some point I may scrape through the layers of wax to the raku glaze below.  I'll be working on this pot and others tomorrow.
I have more pots in the bisque kiln, one with glaze, fired to cone 06.  Maybe I can get them glazed and fired today or tomorrow.
I want two or three pots finished to send off to get their pictures taken.  Not sure where to do that yet.  I need to submit photos for the juried show in Mass. before April 1.  I had hoped to have them ready and off by now.  I made other choices though so it didn't happen.  Soon!?

Waxing Encaustic

Just a quick post to put up some pictures.
Can I resize the pictures?  Seems like I read about doing that somewhere.
I tried clicking on it but no luck.  Maybe before I get to this step.  I'll try again.
At any rate, this is one on the smaller pots with some wax and oil paint stick on it.  I've since worked on it more and like it less.  Oh!  Ah!

Encaustics on Raku...Finally!

I am attempting to add pictures in a row across the top.  It shouldn't be so hard.  And I want the text to be left-justified.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  This is one of those times that it doesn't!  Oh!  Ah!  Well, I just moved stuff around, inadvertantly deleted one of the pictures.  Reloaded it, highlighted the text and told it to be left-justified and wa-la!  Oh, except some key stroke just deleted the picture again!  And now it is back...but in the wrong place.  I want the pots to be on the bottom.  And I have a third picture I want in here between these.  What are the odds that will happen.  lol  Now I have the pictures the way I want them.  Wonder if they will stay that way.  (No they didn't - what you see in NOT what you get.)  But the text doesn't quite match the pictures.  I have this big gap which I am now fillilng up with text.  I have only put medium on the raku-fired pots and just a little bit of color on the pot to the far right.

What you see here is the setup for my first foray into putting beeswax on raku-fired pots.  The four pots are tests of the different meduims I am using; beeswax with no resin, beeswax w/resin and not-refined beeswax. 

Raku Firing

I fired six or eight pots this afternoon.  None of the pots came out like I expected but that is raku for you.
I figured out how to reply to comments - I think!  I just post another comment...lol.  I'll have to check out whether it worked like I think.