There were some outrageously wonderful pieces in this firing. Greg's work never fails to amaze me. Susan' pieces, pitchers and lidded jars, were exquisite. The way she works with glazes is remarkable. John had some very cool results with a combo of Spotted Shino and Amber Celadon. The shooter marbles he uses make for a very unique treatment when they melt. I like the way he described it -- "Bubbles captured in time. " Nice! No one can burst them. (Note to self - TRY THIS!)
I had quite a few pieces in this batch, including these.
The lidded casserole turned out better than I'd expected. All but one of the mugs shrank too much and I'll likely take a hammer to them. No need to keep pieces I'm not fond of but no need to waste them either. Last week I decided to recycle my less than pleasing forms. Smash 'em. Save the usable shards in a box. Make a mosaic. Line a birdbath basin, a cement bench, some terra cotta pots...who knows? I'll keep you posted on that scheme.
And then there were the creature pieces. These pix don't capture their finer points. But I admit, despite high hopes, that they just didn't do it for me. I really liked the blush that this side of the pot picked up.
Still, this fella's head isn't as distinct as I'd like. Nor are his antlers. Not really the fault of the blush though. Almost all of the underglaze lines on this piece ran a little. Sometimes the effect works. Sometimes it doesn't. I'll have to revisit.
The red horse wasn't what I'd hoped she'd be either. But the pink line that traverses the pot just in front of her was an unexpected treat. You can't tell from the pic, but it's a vivid crackled pink. And I have no idea how it happened. Also, the inside offered many clues to future pots. (I was experimenting with Malcolm's Shino, Temmoku and Amber Cel and I loved the results).
Lastly, the unassuming little pinch pot. Elaine likes the way the cave art images marry with the pinched form. And I have to agree with her. All in all, I think it's my favourite piece from this firing.
I can't get a decent pic of the finished results for the cave art pendants shown in an earlier post. Their images blurred a bit too, but I was pretty happy with the results overall. I have some time between the end of the Winter session and the start of Spring classes. I'll use it to create some jewelry. And finish the Spanky piece.
3 comments:
Lessons learned? I like the horse cave images and the cassarole look nice from this angle. I photograph everything from several angles before discarding anything. Good to remember the disappointments, the successful pieces will always live on in your heart. Still very satisfying.
It was a strange day, LLS. Such mixed feelings. The reindeer image was the one I truly hoped would shine. In some ways he did, but in many others he didn't. The piece didn't. So, yes. Lessons to be learned. Many many many many many of them.
Great blog, I enjoyed reading it
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