First Glaze Firing at the Studio

This weekend I kicked off my Kickstarter campaign to raise $2000 in tuition for an eight week workshop I will be taking this spring at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina. It started out with great guns. By Monday I was at the $1770 mark with 25 backers. Not too bad. It has dried up a bit today with no backers. However, I am not going to push it out until the next weekend. Kick starter allows you 30 days to receive full funding. At this point, I feel hopeful and inspired that the goal will be achieved. Thanks to all those who have supported me thus far. 

The inspiration got me in the studio this weekend for my first glaze firing in the kiln. I glazed 33 tiles with variations based on the Glossy Base 1from Ron Roy's book Mastering Cone 6 Glazes. I varied oxides percents, then combined two at a time for the results in the picture below. I am trying to keep it simple. But I can see the next glaze firing I am going to trying three combinations of oxides.

 

Unfortunately, all the glazes caused the Baja mason stain in the slip trail to fade. I wondered if this would happen. Upon further research I am now trying a saturated 25% red iron oxide in my slip and 5% rutile in another. From the 33 tiles, I  picked nine that I will try to limit to three for the next glaze firing. I have a nice yellow, blue, and green. I also tried a standard variegated blue glaze that came out looking great.

 

Another pottery blogger known as Art by Fuzzy experimented with Rob Roby's clear liner glaze and oxides. Since I knew I was going to make a batch of the clear liner in bulk, I figured I would half the batch and add my favorite mix from his color palette. I chose 1% cobalt carbonate, 1% copper carbonate, and 5% rutile. While I like the blue color, unfortunately the Baja mason stain brittle stars were buried on many pieces. If the slip was built up, then you can make out the brittle star. Over all the glaze looks nice for a first trial, and I really like the liner. Behind the cups and mugs you can see a picture that is the result of the 100 gm test glazes mixed into one bucket. This a pleasant combination of greens and browns. The urn in the back is glossy base 1 with red iron oxide washed brushed on the bisque ware. It looks nice.

 

While I waited for the kiln to hit the cone 6 mark Sunday I threw a dozen cups, a couple of bowls, two pitchers,  and a bottle. On Monday I pulled handles and trimmed. I really got to appreciate the pulling of handles when you have so many to do at one time. It actually helps you achieve a better handle. I found myself making subtle changes and being more intentional about the form.

 

Meanwhile, I found myself subbing on Monday and Tuesday and enjoying our first snow fall. Subbing helps me financially to keep playing with the clay and firing it. It is a process that takes time and some money in order to keep improving. The hope is to get better and have people appreciate my pieces and want to enjoy them in their homes.

Until then, I keep practicing.