BROOKFIELD POTTERY

Lazy "Beep!" Expletive Deleted

2011-07-09T15:58:00.002+01:00

I know, it's been a long time. I am still alive...mostly.
To cut a long story short I am remodelling our house this year and, being exceptionally lazy, this is taking longer than it might...
...anyway that's not why I'm posting:
I received a parcel yesterday, opened it up and:

Inside were these wonderful gifts from Cindy at Dirtkicker pottery. Two lovely mugs and a teaspoon rest. All skilfully thrown with lovely attention to detail. I was so chuffed I wanted to share them with you.

You do meet some brilliant and inspirational people on this internet thingy!

You can find out more about Cindy and see what she has for sale through the following links:

http://dirt-kickerpottery.blogspot.com

http://www.etsy.com/shop/DirtKicker

Thanks for being patient with me, I hope to get back to throwing later in the year; and a big thank you to all of you who have contacted me wondering where I am.

Wishing You Health, Wealth And Happiness For Christmas & The new Year

2010-12-22T16:52:00.000Z

Sorry I've got so behind. I'll get back to normal in the New Year (all being well).
So just a quick catch up with a couple of videos I've just posted.
I have been doing other things as well recently, but nothing of any note.
Here are the vids:
This first one is a good example of the glazing I've been doing recently. These cups and mates came out of the kiln last week.

And, as always at Christmas, here's the corn...

Happy Christmas. Thank you for your recent comments one or two have really inspired me.
Mark.

Divide and Conquer...and Divide...and Div...(Snore)

2010-09-21T16:23:00.000+01:00

Two days later and I have finished processing the clay.

There it all is. By this stage it has been divided and wedged 4 times. I do this because it means that it is all evenly soft. I have found if I don't divide and re-wedge when I come to throw I'll have some soft and some hard weighed balls making throwing difficult.

(Just in case you don't realise what I'm talking about: In this case I have 16 lumps of clay. Each of these I'll divide into 16 separate pieces. The next lump will be divided in to 16 and each piece will be added to each of the last 16 etc. Eventually I end up with 16 piles of 16 pieces. These are then wedged and then divided again).

I don't know how potters normally recycle clay. I was never taught so have had to learn from experience. Let me know if you have an easier way. All I know is that I have to end up with all the clay being an even texture.

This next pic shows how soft the clay is:

Nicely pliable, firm enough to hold it's shape without cracking at the edges.

I've ended up with just under 100kg (220llbs). Hard work but well worth it.

And here is the empty bin:

It's a great feeling. This is the first time since I built my workshop that this bin has been empty!

Before I finish I should show you what I found in the clay this time:

Once again a piece of chamois and, like last time, I pulled out a pin. How I've not stabbed myself yet I don't know!

As I trudged back into my house I took this pic:

I've been saving the last of my Wife's tomatoes to make a big batch of sauce. They are mostly ripe; there are still a number on the plants and I expect we'll be fighting over them soon. My Wife for green tomato chutney and me for sauce. I made some a few weeks ago which worked as a ketchup, a pizza sauce and as a pasta sauce and am planning to make a lot more with these, when I can collect enough ripe fruit and find enough small bottles!

You can also see one the tea-light holders I threw is being used.

Thanks for visiting and thank you for your kind comments and encouragement.

I Am Alive....No, Really! I Am....Aren't I?

2010-09-19T12:26:00.000+01:00

Where to start? I'm not sure....I should probably mention the exhibition was not a roaring success and leave it at that, you can draw your own conclusions. I will say that nobody seemed to sell anything, except maybe one or two small pots at the opening. I will know better next time. It has been a learning experience.

Anyway I have been roundly kicked up the bum over these last weeks by family and friends and finally the encouragement sank in and I have spent this week in the workshop reclaiming clay.

All of the clay...

Above is some of the still too wet bench full...

Next is the fairly wet batch.

Above is the almost ready to wedge and knead pile.

And here is the plaster slab still being loaded up regularly.

I emptied my whole bin. No half measures I decided, if I was going to do this I was going to do it properly. I think in total I have about 100kgs (220llbs), maybe more. It's difficult to judge until I reach the stage when I'm bagging it up. It's all just laying around in heaps at the moment, as you can see.

I only went out to the workshop to throw then realised I only had 8-10kg of usable clay left!

I hope by the end of this week to be able to start throwing. Wish me luck and strong shoulders for the wedging and kneading!

Thanks for visiting.

Thoresby Exhibition

2010-07-18T12:58:00.000+01:00

I've had a slow week. I pulled something in my right wrist last weekend, so have been taking things easy, to make sure it heals properly. I have filled half the kiln with some more small vases though and threw a few large pots for carving, so my time was not entirely wasted. I plan to do some more carving this coming week and have six pots set aside waiting.
Yesterday we took a trip over to the gallery at Thoresby to see the exhibition. It was very interesting and not a little daunting, to see the quality and skills of the other potters taking part. Below are the videos I shot as I walked around. There is a great selection of pots on display. I hope you'll enjoy the tour.
Thanks for visiting.

They All Survived!

2010-07-08T16:27:00.000+01:00

The video above includes the pots from the last barrel firing. It was a stressful experience, as you might imagine. All the carved pots went in and I crossed my fingers and prayed to the pottery Gods.

Sixteen hours later....yes, sixteen. It was still smouldering after lunch the next day. I had lit it at 10pm the previous evening. I was able to take the lid off the bin around 2.30pm. By then I had no fingers left, let alone finger nails!

They all survived and because of the slow firing they had in interesting patina. Cue big sigh of relief...

I think the firing took so long because I packed down the wood shavings more than last time. I also built a slightly smaller fire on top to get it started. It's curious how much the results vary by making such small changes.

Thanks for visiting and as always thank you for your comments; they keep me going.

One Hundred Percent!

2010-07-06T16:53:00.000+01:00

I barrel fired the latest batch of vases etc. last night and here are the resulting pics:

1. Here is the bin. I changed things this time, making sure there was a thick layer of shavings on the top layer (approx 2" deep). I also, as you can see, placed a couple of iron bars across the top of the bin to support the lid leaving a gap of an inch or so to allow air to circulate. I also blocked up the holes in the side.

After the last firing I decided the reason some pots cracked was because the shavings on the top layer weren't deep enough and the heat from the fire I build to start the shavings burning affected them. I tried to remember how I had packed the bin and realised that the pots on top were the main ones to crack. Anyway I approached the bin this morning opened the lid and peeped inside. (In case you wonder: I used tin foil to fill the holes and wrapped a sheet around the inside).

I took them out and brushed them down. No cracks!

I gave them a wash...and still couldn't find a fault anywhere.

A good polish later:

You can click on the photo above to zoom in. I'm chuffed with the results.

Today I have packed the bin again. This time with all the carved pots! I'm just hoping for the 100 percent success rate again. Wish me luck.

Thanks for visiting.

A Week To Go...

2010-07-03T22:01:00.000+01:00

...and still busy!
I thought I would pop on and update my blog quickly to show you the pots I have been working on this week.
I have to have something ready for the set up of the exhibition by Friday, so keep your fingers crossed that everything happens as planned. I want to do another test barrel firing before I risk any of the big carved pots so I have thrown some test vases which are just about dry and ready for t.sig and firing tomorrow. So anyway, here are the group from this week:

The test vases are on the left, they are all 1kg (2.2lbs). My throwing is improving in leaps and bounds at the moment. These were actually slightly less than 1kg because I had to take a little clay from each ball to make up an underweight one. When I compare them to the last batch of 1kg test vases they are about a third larger. It just shows how important practise is.

I also threw some balls which I have made into tea light holders and one as a keepsake box:

Above is a close up of the test vases. I have also been doing some more carving, here are some close up's of these:

The above fish pot, shoal? Bait ball? is 5kgs of clay and the biggest one thus far.

If everything happens as planned I hope to bisc fire tomorrow and then do the test barrel firing on Monday night. The important vases will be barrel fired through the rest of the week (fingers crossed).

Thanks for visiting.

Barrel Firing Experience

2010-06-26T23:47:00.002+01:00

...number three. Yes, before you ask you've not missed a post, I'm going to illustrate the third barrel firing and speak about my experiences with the second and what I've learnt thus far. Once again this post will be quite long as I want to catch you up with everything (hope you don't hold it against me). I've not had much spare time as I am still working hard towards my first exhibition.
OK, here goes: I threw another load of 1kg (2.2lbs) pots for this firing. I tried to take a little time over them to make them nice enough to sell if they survived. They were bisc. fired and terra sig was applied.

1. The pots ready to fire.

2.The incinerator was placed flat on the ground to block the airflow from the holes in the base. After the second firing I knew I had to control the airflow to stop the heat from building up too fast (I lost the big bait ball/ fish pot in the second firing).

3. A layer of wood shaving was added and oxides and salt sprinkled on top. The first layer of pots was then laid onto this.

4. Oxides and salt were sprinkled over the pots and wood shavings were then piled evenly in covering the pots completely.

(As you'll see this firing was done entirely with wood shavings).

5. Once again oxides were sprinkled over and the pots laid in place.

6. Next layer of shavings and oxides.

7. Pile on the shavings again.

8. Oxides then pots.

9. More shaving and oxides before another layer of shavings was added covering this last layer.

10. A small fire is built on the top to (hopefully) light the wood shavings and start the firing process. The idea being the shavings will burn slowly and the build up of heat will be gradual.

11. Wait until your neighbours have taken in their washing and the kids have gone to bed (in the UK it is a crime to light fires before 7pm, I waited until 10pm to light this...I should have started a little earlier).

Apply a match...

12. Gaze at the pretty flames...oooh, aahh etc.

13. Stand further back you idiot...what are you trying to do asphyxiate yourself! Your hair is on fire!

At this point I should explain a little more: To start the firing the holes at the base of the bin were blocked up. As the fire on top died down I and my pyromaniac neighbour Simon decided first to open these holes as we thought the fire was dying out. This didn't seem to make any difference so we put the chimney on top. This was a mistake after a minute there was a great whooshing sound (causing Simon to spill his coffee and almost have a heart attack, as he was leaning in close to the bin at the time) as the updraft suddenly kicked in causing a roaring fire to take hold. We hadn't realised that the wood shaving were slowly burning under the surface. So don't assume the fire is not burning unless there is no smoke at all and the side of the bin (barrel) is cold. I will not put the chimney on again. Even with an inch gap between the bin and the chimney the heat was a little too intense.

14. The next morning. Keeping fingers crossed I approached...

15. and removed the chimney...

16. Remove the pots and brush the ash away. Miracle! no smashed or badly cracked falling to pieces pots!

17. Wash the pots in warm soap water.

These are the survivors. No cracks at all.

These are the ones with small cracks:

I still am not completely certain why some crack while others don't. I think cracking happens when one part of a pot is exposed to a strong heat source while the rest is cool, as the pots which crack have a tendency to have a heat mark at the point of the crack. I must find a way to guarantee an even heat throughout the bin.

18. Polish pots. I used a bees wax finishing furniture polish this time and it seemed to hive a better shine. In case you can't tell: The pot on the left has been waxed and polished. The one on the right is as it came out of the bin after washing.

19. Admire the fruits of your barrel firing. I hope next time to lose even less.

I'm at the stage now where I am trying to decide if I should barrel fire the other two carved pots.

After losing the big fish pot in the second firing because, once again, the heat built up to quickly I'm worried that losing these would be a real blow. I'm not sure what I would take to the exhibition. I may throw another load of small pots and do another barrel firing just to try to get it just right.

Let me know what you think and don't forget to leave tips and suggestions I need them!

Oh, before I forget: here is the small bait ball (which did survive. You can see why I can't decide whether to take the risk with the other pots):

Thanks for visiting.

Replies: Thanks Kim and thanks to Paul Jessop (we're not worthy etc.!) for your kind comments.

Gai, thank you for your comments. I'm pleased you found my youtube videos useful. I say throwing of the hump, but I don't think there is any rule. It's nice to know that you've got a wheel, however I should point out that the first rule when thinking of becoming a potter is to buy (or build) a kiln. The reason is that you can make fantastic pots without a wheel and fire them, but you can't make fantastic pots with a wheel if you have no way to fire them or you have to transfer them to a class kiln and risk damaging them in transit. This is not a criticism, it's just the first rule I was told that I ignored and regretted my choice when I had slaved over some porcelain bowls only to have them crack transporting them to my pottery class. Let me know how your throwing goes and repeat, repeat, repeat etc.

The Barrel Firing Test

2010-06-13T19:45:00.000+01:00

Just a quick warning: This post is going to be quite long as it is a start to finish description of the barrel firing I've been planning. But I remembered to take lots of photos, so you can just scroll down if you get bored with my inane drivelling!
OK, where to begin?

First, I laid out everything:

These first 2 photos show the pots and some little figurines to fire. The box contains: wood shavings (basically the pet bedding I use to line my bird's nest boxes), iron oxide, manganese dioxide, copper oxide and salt. Then I had some newspapers and a load of wood offcuts which I chopped up, a few old chilli plants from last years crop (I've just taken down the old greenhouse!). The garden incinerator (dustbin with holes in it) I was given by my next door neighbour, as well as some duct pipe I'll come back to shortly.

The first layer. Screwed up tubes of newspaper with wood and shavings on top. Then the pot, more shavings and a sprinkle of oxides and salt.

Repeat...

...and repeat.

The only pic I forgot to take was the final pyramid of newspaper, kindling and wood on top.

This next part is where I went wrong. I thought it would be a good idea to create an up-draft kiln design, so I attached ducting to the stubbly outlet on the dustbin lid. I also lit the barrel from the top and bottom, I should have only lit the top and not put the lid on as you'll see.

Here's the bin just after lighting. The smoke drifted everywhere as there was only a gentle breeze. I'm surprised the fire brigade didn't turn up!

After a few minutes it began to burn properly and the smoke died down. My neighbour, who had joined me for this experience, mentioned how hot it was getting. I replied that if it got really hot a flame might shoot out of the top of the chimney, like a kiln in reduction. He laughed sceptically...two minutes later:

I had a jet engine in the garden! The heat was amazing, in fact too much so. The pots began to glow red! All this happened within the first twenty minutes or so, which as you'll see didn't do the pots much good. I estimate they went from cool to between 900 and 1100 degrees C in that time; and although my clay is groggy it can only take so much thermal shock.

As an aside: This design would be very effective lined with ceramic fibre as a cheap up-draft kiln. I might look into this at another time. However next time I do a barrel firing the lid will be removed, or (to take the smoke away) propped a couple of inches off the top of the bin.

So, this morning I went out (after plucking up the courage) to face what I thought would be a bin full of exploded pots. To my surprise this was what I saw. Some had survived. I took them out and brushed them off and was left with the following:

These were the pots which were broken or cracked beyond rescue.

The pic. above shows the pots which were cracked, but not to any great extent. After all this was a test so I needed as many as possible for the next steps.

And so these few things are the only un-cracked remainder. It may sound strange, but I wasn't disappointed. This was a test after all, if everything had emerged perfectly what would I have learnt?

So, things to do differently next time: 1) Don't light the fire from the bottom only light the top. 2) Don't put the lid on unless I want a roaring inferno. 3) Wrap the pots in newspaper with the oxides and wood shavings together, that way I should get the effects all the way around the pots more effectively.

So next I washed the pots. In case you're wondering: with washing up liquid in a bowl or warm water. Some people say you should wipe the pots with a wet cloth but I thought it made more sense to just treat them as normal pots. It worked fine so here's the resulting pots drying out:

So next I tackled the waxing. I'm a lazy man as you know, I could have gone out and bought some soft wax but instead I reached for the shoe cleaning kit and grabbed some neutral shoe polish. My thinking was: "It's a wax polish, what difference can it make?". The answer was...none. Here is one of the pots at the three stages:

1st: Washed but apart from that untouched:

2nd: With wax applied but not polished:

3rd: Polished with a soft cloth:

I am genuinely surprised by the results. I wish you could see the effects properly, there are ox-blood reds and soft yellows as well as the black you can see. I will be buying some soft wax as it would be easier to apply a slightly thicker, more even coat.

This is definitely how I plan to work from now on. Although there is an intrinsic risk in barrel firing the results, too me, are worth it. I can't wait for the chance to try it on my sculpted pots, although I think I'll start with the small bait ball and work my way up! I don't think I'll risk cramming the bin full again, unless I do some small repeat thrown pots. I suppose I could do that and not bisc fire them first. Leave the lid on the bin and see if they fire properly in the inferno...hmmm?

The following photo is of all the finished pots. It is a large pic so you should be able to click it to see it full size (I hope).

Thanks for visiting, here's hoping I haven't bored you too much. Any suggestions or tips are always gratefully received.

Wet, Cold And Frustrated...

2010-06-11T21:53:00.001+01:00

...but still working.

Since my last post it has rained. It has rained a lot. It came down so hard one day that the gutters couldn't cope and it poured from the roof like a waterfall. So I haven't been able to do the barrel firing yet. However, today the sun has appeared again and it is supposed to be around for a few days, so (all being well) I hope to do the firing tomorrow.

I have been busy though carving a couple of ball vases (moon jars? I still can't make up my mind).

This is the first one, into which I carved two layers of leafs. I think this works well and I have thrown another couple of small balls to try an idea, evolving from this, next week.

I've popped this photo in next to mislead you. This is the back view. The next two pics are from other directions:

I like this, which is just about finished now. I just need to refine a couple of areas tomorrow, but I thought I would share it with you. It's difficult to get the lighting right to portray the detail although I'm sure you won't mind too much.

It's supposed to be a koi carp swimming under lily pads. It seems quite successful, I'll see if I still like it next week!

Apart from that I've thrown another couple of larger 5kg (11lbs 'ish) pots today for sculpting next week along with the smaller pots I mentioned.

Keep your fingers crossed for my first attempt at barrel firing.

Thanks for visiting.

From today I'm going to add my replies to previous comments below these posts as I always find it awkward going back to blogs and searching through the comments to see if I've had a reply. So from now on if you leave a comment check the following post and I'll try to answer any questions.

First I would like to thank you for the nice comments about my last post.
In answer to Cindy: I plan to barrel fire the low relief pots, which is why I've started concentrating on them, but not the pots with models applied to them (like the frog pot). I will almost certainly glaze fire these as I'm worried that the models could easily be damaged in the barrel firing, as pots move as the wood burns away and the fire collapses. I could barrel fire them separately; I'll see how long it takes for the first barrel firing and decide then.

To Bin Or Not To Bin?

2010-06-05T21:42:00.000+01:00

Slightly misleading title. What I mean is to fire in my garden incinerator bin or not.
This week to prepare for my first barrel firing I have thrown a number of test pieces. I have just taken them out of the kiln after the bisc firing along with the other pots I have produced over the last couple of weeks.

So here is everything just out of the kiln (well, almost everything as you'll see shortly). The front eight pots are those I threw to use as practise pots in the barrel firing. Fortunately this week has been baking hot so I popped them outside to dry the day after I threw them and they were bone dry after a few hours. The following day I applied terra sigillata and loaded them into the kiln.

I'm happy with the results. From a ball of clay to fired pots in three days!

Here is a close up of the frog and lizard. I'm going to put these to one side for glazing later. I can see a couple of faults which glazing will cure (I hope!).

And here is the small fish pot. I applied another couple of layers of t.sig to it before firing. I'm happy with the result and I think it may well be improved by barrel firing. I'll let you know after comparing the results from the test, which I hope to do in the next couple of days.

Finally here is the big fish pot. I think this is the best pot I've thrown thus far. It is a good weight and feels very good to handle (if you know what I mean?).

At the end of this week I threw another couple of these pots, which I have wrapped up and put on the shelf for next week.

I have had another epiphany this week: My throwing technique has reached another milestone and the pots I'm producing are much better. It's strange how your throwing can evolve. All of a sudden I found I had stopped using my knuckle to lift and had changed to finger tips instead. I'm not sure when it happened; I think, maybe after my stint throwing off the hump. I can't tell you for sure that it's a good technique, but it gives me much better feedback as to the thickness of the pot wall as I raise it.

Anyway, before I start writing a throwing thesis I should stop.

Thanks as always for visiting. I'll show you the results of the barrel firing this next week (If it doesn't pour with rain; fingers crossed). I've also shot another video which I'll probably post in the next couple of days.

I Love Terra Sig.

2010-05-29T16:48:00.000+01:00

As promised, here is an update showing the latest fish pot and the result of applying terra sig to the first.

This first photo shows the large fish...moon jar?..I'm terrible at deciding what shapes are. Anyway I'm fairly chuffed with the result. It's taken some time to finish. I have done a lower relief on this one and I think it's a more finished looking pot than the first...talking of which:

Here is the first pot with terra sig applied. I like the effect it gives, having bright and matt spots accentuates the sculpting. It will be interesting to see it after firing. To give you an idea of scale: The fish on both pots are the same size.

While I was playing around with the t.sig I also applied it to a couple of the plain lamp bases.

I'm reaching the stage now, where I am getting a consistently polished finish.

The more I use the terra sig. the more I like it. So much easier then glazing (which I loath!). I just pick up the tub, give it a quick (but thorough) mix and brush it on. A few layers and a polish and Bob's your Uncle! I've spent hours before now just stirring glaze, trying the get the thick, hardening deposit stuck to the bottom of the tub mixed in properly. It drives me mad! And after all the mixing, I can guarantee to splash it over the floor, me, the table, etc. and get mess everywhere, all for a few pots dipped for a couple of seconds; and after all that you still have to sponge the excess off the pots!

Now don't get me wrong, I still like glaze for practical or decorative purposes..it's just, apart from the tablewares I make for friends, I'm wondering if I really need it at all?

Thanks for visiting and thank-you Kim and Cindy for your generous comments.

Fish And More Fish

2010-05-26T15:20:00.000+01:00

I've spent the last few days carving one pot and starting to carve another. I have had the sketches for this idea for some time and I thought it would make an interesting addition to the pots for the exhibition (If I have my place confirmed...one day!).
As I intend to do a barrel firing shortly I thought that carving into, rather than applying models to pots would be a safer option. Obviously when you barrel fire the pots are going to move as the wood burns away around them and having things sticking out is going to put them at risk of breaking. So anyway, here is a photo of the first pot (sorry about the wonky photography):

I call it a bait ball. This is a relatively small pot (approx. 6", 15cm). The one I have started to work on today is quite a bit larger.

I'm thinking of appying terra sig. to this when it's dry to see if it will take a shine in places. The clay is much too groggy to work well, but it may give an interesting finish (I think if I'm going to run with this technique I really need to throw some pots using a smooth clay body). Then I'll barrel fire it and keep my fingers crossed.

I'll show you the big version when I've finished carving.

Thanks for visiting.

Here I Am Again, Happy As Can Be...

2010-05-22T00:34:00.000+01:00

OK, where to start...above is a video I have just posted showing a few of the pots from my recent firings, now that the kiln is working again. This includes the Udu and the ball pots.
I have been out in the workshop this week throwing pots and modelling to get some stock ready for the exhibition I mentioned previously. I'm still awaiting confirmation of my place, but I thought I really ought to get a move on or I wouldn't have anything ready in time.
I have thrown a handful of pots so far and have tried not to do too many at a time as I intend to sculpt or model onto them.
Today I have been modelling and these are the results so far:

This pic. shows the first pot I worked on with a frog on it. It is going (hopefully) to be a lamp when it is finished. I'm trying to focus on the type of person who might visit the exhibition and what they may purchase. I have thrown a few pots of this type to be used as lamp bases. I intend to pit fire them after bisc firing and will probably t.sig them if I can work out how to get it into all the nooks and crannies. We'll see.

And this is the other pot I worked on today. I hope you can see that it is a lizard? Apart from these two I turned a bowl and sorted out some clay.

I hope to finish another couple of pots over the weekend and as always I will keep you up to date. It's nice to be able to post something interesting for a change!

Thanks for visiting.

Slow Release Of Breath...

2010-05-06T16:37:00.000+01:00

...still here. I have been out today to Corby Kilns (my local supplier) to pick up a thermocouple element for my kiln. I haven't been able to get out for a couple of weeks because I sold my van and have only just got a new car (well, an old car, but new to me).
I shall be in the workshop tomorrow to fix the kiln and glaze the pots which have laying around since the kiln broke down.
I will then be able to start work on a range of pots I am planning for an exhibition I have been invited to. I'm going to take the opportunity to make some large sculptural pieces and I'll need to get a move on to complete everything in time for the exhibition, which is in July.
Thanks for visiting.
p.s: The exhibition has been organised by the Northern Potters Association and is being held at Thorsby gallery. I will keep you updated and will show you the latest firing results, as long as the kiln works, over the weekend.

Kiln And Clay day

2010-04-16T18:17:00.000+01:00

Spent today cleaning up and processing the latest batch of reclaimed clay. I ended up wedging around 30kg. I used some from the last batch to get the consistency right as it was a little firm. It means I have a good amount to play with next week.
I also took the kiln apart to find out why it has tripped out during the last firing. It turns out the thermocouple has died. It has been on it's last legs since I got the kiln, but I have managed to keep it doing it's job by cobbling it together each time it broke. This time I can't. I popped in an old one I had laying around, but even though I managed to get it working it was giving false readings. When I heated the kiln to around 70 degrees it thought it was 220! Slightly out!
So I'll have to try and find a cheap secondhand one if I can.
Before I sign out I'll just answer a couple of questions relating to my last post:
First Nu Kua: The udu drum's sound with t.sig: Even though I've only used it on the little test drum it sounds very good. It has a reasonable ring (considering it's size) and a good resonance from the sound holes. I think t.sig is likely to improve the sound a little as burnishing compresses the clay and the t.sig seals the surface enhancing the compression. It's only clay after all, it's not glaze. The large drum was too loud for my camera to record. It maxed out the microphone. NB That's before it's fired!
Cindy (Dirtkicker Pottery): The writing on the ginger jar: "Love is not finding someone to live with, it's finding someone whom you can't live without". Other jars had other proverbs. I printed out hundreds last year with a view to using them on my slipped mugs.
Thanks for visiting.

The Good Is Bad And The Bad Good

2010-04-14T19:54:00.002+01:00

Where to start? I did a bisque firing yesterday and opened the kiln this afternoon. It had tripped out before then, fortunately in the cooling period. I'll have to take the side off and find out why tomorrow. Anyway, from he pic. above you can see that I had some success. The terra sig. came out very nicely. Exactly as intended, which was a surprise! But (and here's the point of the title) the sig. and the other test pieces are fine, however the ginger jars (which I had planned to sell) are not so good.

I hope you can see what I mean in the picture above. The pot on the right was sgrafittoed (is that a real word?) when leather hard, not long after the oxide was applied. The one on the left was decorated when it was very dry. They both looked as if the decoration was of the same width, depth etc. before they went into the kiln, but not when they came out. I don't know why this happened but it did. I'll know better next time. Unfortunately most of the jars where decorated dry!

To cheer me up here are the handled bowls, which survived the firing and feel very nice to hold. I'll be glazing some time this week, if the kiln works.

Before I clear off I thought you might like to see the big udu drum. I decided to terra sig. it and it's looking good. I didn't have room in the kiln for it this time, but I'm hoping to get it fired very soon.

Thanks for visiting.

Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave

2010-04-03T23:21:00.000+01:00

WARNING THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS NERD SPEAK!

Thought I had better update you as to my week...where to start?
You've probably noticed that I've updated the look of this blog recently. I liked the new look so much I thought it would be a good idea to give my website an overhaul (while I am starting to get ready to sell) and match it to this blog. Seems simple? So I thought...
I should start by saying I have sworn to do all my online web stuff for free. This may sound strange, but I have learnt from experience that you can spend a lot of money on the web and achieve nothing (I used to do flash web design and games programming so I have some experience). Anyway I downloaded various free website design programs before realising that this blog uses quite advanced techniques, which such software just can't handle. To put it into nerd speak this blog template uses CSS (cascading style sheets) coding which I have never used. I also have never needed to use anything but the most basic HTML commands (html is the basic language used to make web site).
Putting it simply: I discovered that unless I spent a lot of money on web design software I couldn't achieve what I wanted. Or, I could learn how to write code...
Three days later:

Here is my new website layout. It's only a test at the moment but it's getting there. You can see it by clicking the link on this page.

I learnt how to code. Then I loaded it onto my free google sites page and discovered that google sites won't allow CSS content! I then had to learn how to rewrite the code to work within these limitations! I uploaded it today.

It's not exactly the same as this blog, but it's close enough.

You may wonder what this has to do with being a potter...the answer, nowadays, is: everything. If you don't have a web presence how will people (other than locally) ever discover you? Or buy your work?

If I had gone to a web designer and asked them to do what I wanted it would have cost a substantial amount. I know people who have spent a lot of money on web sites without getting the return such an investment requires. Plus you have to pay for your site space and name every year.

Anyway I've managed it, the web site code was written in notepad! I haven't spent a penny. However I haven't had much sleep either!

Thanks for visiting.

Wedge, Wedge, Wedge, Wedge

2010-03-28T16:26:00.000+01:00

I've been reclaiming clay again for the last few days. The picture above shows the mountain before I started dividing and wedging. It was still very wet, but my plaster slab was so waterlogged I couldn't use it any more, so I cracked on regardless.

This pic. shows the result so far. I'll need to let it dry out for at least another day before I wedge and knead it again. Hopefully by then it will be firm enough. The sun is out again which I hope will help.

So far as I wedged it I've found a clay stamp and a piece of chamois leather. I believe somewhere in the bin of clay is a mounted pin...I'm not looking forward to finding that!

Thanks for visiting.

You Do That Udu Two

2010-03-24T13:59:00.000Z

Thought I would share some pics of the udu now I have managed to burnish and pattern the surface.

I'm quite pleased with it so far. I'll just have to wait and see how it fires. I can't decide if I should apply terra sig. to the surface when it is dry.

Anyway, apart from finishing the udu I've started recycling another load of clay...joy! (sarcasm). I can't believe how much I've let build up over the last six months. Still once it's done I can start throwing again and it's a nice sunny day today, so it shouldn't take too long to dry out if the weather holds.

Thanks for visiting.

You Do That Udu

2010-03-21T17:01:00.000Z

Another brief update: I thought I would post a few pics of some of the handled bowls and a couple showing a large udu drum I'm halfway through working on.

Thanks for visiting.

Throwing Condiment Bowls The Video...at long last!

2010-03-20T11:08:00.000Z

Just a quick note letting you know that I have posted the condiment bowl video I have been promising for ages.

Thanks for visiting.

I've Got The Hump

2010-03-19T17:01:00.000Z

Spent this week throwing again. I had the urge and it was irresistible. I made a load of handled bowls (a la Dirtkicker Pottery, thank you for your inspiration Cindy) and then threw off the hump yesterday after turning the aforementioned bowls. I had a lump of clay laying around which was getting firm, so I thought I had better use it up. I also wanted to test myself and threw some lidded ball pots, which I turned today after slicing the tops off.

As you can see in the pic. above I've had fun modelling onto a couple of the pots. In front of the "jars?" are a couple of the umpteen condiment bowls I threw at the same time. I have been thinking about throwing some more condiment bowls since I had to throw away the last batch. They are a great shape to throw from the hump, as they force you to repeat the simple opening sweep over and over again. I may post a video showing the process, if I can find the time to edit what I've filmed.
The jars are only small; the pig jar is around 4 or 5" high, to give you an idea of scale.

As you can see the modelling is only loose as I wanted to work as fast as possible. It suits the scale of the jar (maybe I should call them keepsake boxes? What would you call them? Remembering to be polite!).

Anyway I was going to model a human figure onto this last pot, but decided to be base and popular and turned it into a bear instead:

I know it looks rough, but that was the idea. I just tore up pieces of clay and used them to quickly create the form. I think it works well, but let me know if you think I'm misguided. You know I always appreciate creative, honest feedback....up to a point! No swearing please!

Thanks for visiting.

Still Working

2010-03-13T17:12:00.000Z

I have only managed to do one frog pot in the end as the ginger jars dried out so fast I couldn't do any more. As it is the one I did had to be patched here and there as the frog cracked a little as the water was sucked out of the clay by the jar. So I made one of my fat prehistoric type ladies to go on another one and have been sgraffitoing (is that a real word?) the others.
I have posted a video on YouTube today which I filmed this morning showing my progress with the t.sig. It may be useful to those of you who are trying terra sig. for the first time like me, as it illustrates what I am doing to get a better surface shine.
I only have one large pot left to decorate now, which is wrapped up and waiting for Monday as I am busy 'till then.
I'm planning to throw some pots next week as I have had one of my epiphanies and want to test my idea. I will keep you updated, as always.
Thanks for visiting.

Rub-A-Dub-Dub, I've Scrubbed and I've Rubbed...

2010-03-08T15:08:00.000Z

...and I'd rather be kissing a poisonous grub.
In a tub,
In a pub,
With an acid filled glass.
While a very large goat shoves it's horns up my....

In case you didn't realise I've finished tidying up the workshop. I really should work harder at keeping on top of the clearing up at the end of each day.
By the time I had finished I found I had a bucket full of clay to recycle. I knew I had loads of slops and one thrown away pot, but I forgot how much turning I'd been doing. There was clay everywhere. You can see what I mean about tidying up!
All the ball pots are now turned and awaiting decoration etc.

I also took a little time out and applied terra sig. to a couple of pots:

I've placed them next to the little test goblet you have seen before to illustrate the difference in their surface finish. Both the bowl and the mini udu drum were burnished prior to the application of the sig.

You can see how shiny the udu is. This was brushed with the t.sig. first and had at least 4 layers applied. It was buffed with a soft cloth and then rubbed with a piece of thin plastic bag.
I have tried using a plastic bag before, without success, but this time I used a thinner bag and it worked much better. Although buffing with the cloth brought up a good shine on it's own.

The bowl was the second attempt and has a better finish. You can see the difference in shine between it and the original test piece. You can just make out the reflection of the goblet in the surface of the bowl, as well as the white shelf it is stood upon.
I applied 2 coats of sig. before I buffed with the cloth and rubbed with the bag. I then applied one more coat and repeated the buffing and rubbing.
I'm very happy with the results. It will be interesting to see how they fire.
If all go's according to plan I'll be spraying the other pots tomorrow and modelling some frogs etc.
Thanks for visiting.

Turn, Turn, Turn

2010-03-04T15:22:00.000Z

I finished turning the ginger jars today. I've ended up with nine I'm fairly happy with. There is also one ball vase and one biscuit barrel (the barrel is on the far left of the photo). The ball shape you can see sticking up in the middle of the second bat is a mini udu drum (search YouTube to find out more and see them being played). It was going to be another ginger jar, but it flew off the wheel as I was turning it (too fast). When I picked it up I noticed, apart from the few bumps, it was slightly rounded on the base. So I rolled it to round the base properly, coiled a neck onto it and put a hole in the centre. I'll burnish it some more over the next couple of days and will show you it when I've finished.
I'll start putting animals onto the pots next week. My wife is off to Israel this weekend and I'll be taking her to the airport, so I won't have much spare time until Sunday. I'll just work on the udu and clean up the workshop until she's away.
It's been a lovely sunny day again today. I'm hoping it stays like this for the foreseeable future. Still cold, (the bird's water has been freezing overnight) but we can't have everything.
Thanks for visiting.

Cleaning....hmmm.

2010-03-02T23:00:00.000Z

Just a quick update. I went out to clean up today and ended up throwing instead.
I walked into the workshop and the wheel was coated with clay as was the area around it and I though "what the heck, I'll throw some more big ball vases. It's not as if I can make more mess!".
So I did. I only saved one of them, because I was throwing large amounts of clay. But it was a learning experience. The one I saved was around 6kg (about 13lbs, the smallest weight I threw) and looks pretty good.
I also destroyed the large ball vase I threw previously. When I looked at it today I noticed that after I had turned it, it had slumped slightly. I could have saved it but I thought it would be interesting to see how well I had thrown it. Surprisingly well, was the answer. It had a good even profile all the way up, which was encouraging.
So tomorrow I'll clean up....I'm sure. Probably sure. If nothing more interesting turns up!
Thanks for visiting.

Balls!

2010-03-01T16:18:00.000Z

I've been throwing some more ball pots today. I have a reasonable amount thrown, along with their lids. Almost all are 1kg ginger jars, although I have thrown a couple of larger ones (and a bowl to test the terra sig.).

Above is pic of most of them.
I started off the other day throwing the lids normally. Today however, I switched to throwing them off the hump and found it much easier. They'll need to be trimmed quite a bit, but I prefer that to them being to thin.
When I trimmed the lids from the end of last week, over the weekend, I lost a couple of them. This was just because I threw them to thin and split them taking them off the bats. At least when I throw off the hump I can make sure I leave a good foot below them (as you can see in the pic) so that they will be easier to handle when I come to trim them.
The reason for the problem, I believe, is because I've spent so much time throwing mugs that I open small amounts of clay the same way, just with a thin base (I don't turn my mugs).
The workshop is a mess now, so tomorrow I'll have to do some tidying....sigh, forward to the fray!
Thanks for visiting.

Frogs?

2010-02-25T23:09:00.000Z

Managed to get throwing today. Couldn't get out yesterday, so I was starting to go cold turkey!
Threw some ball vases/ginger jars. Some at 1kg (2.2lbs) and one at 4kgs. I wanted to throw some larger ones, but I threw the large vase without a bat on the wheel, so I couldn't move it without risking damaging it.

You can see it above. It was just to thin in profile to risk it.

Here is one of the 1kg ginger jars with it's lid:

I have been thinking: I really should get some pots made to sell. I'd been planning to do lots of repeat throwing to sell locally, but I decided to make some more frog/animal pots first and get them onto ebay to see if I can sell anything. It seemed a bit daft to throw, glaze and fire hundreds of pots before I have enough stock to take out to sell; when I can relatively quickly make some sculptural pots.

Maybe I'm wrong...let me know what you think.

Thanks for visiting.

The Need To Knead

2010-02-23T22:37:00.000Z

I had to throw away all the bowls I made the other day, because I left them for a couple of days before I went out to turn them and they were completely dry. This meant that turning them would have been more trouble than it was worth so I threw them all into a bucket and steeped them in water for a day to recycle.
Anyway, this got me thinking that maybe I should take this as a sign and do some recycling of the clay slops that have been sat in a large bin in the corner of the studio for too long. So I got off my lazy bum and cracked on..
Yesterday I got out my large slab of plaster and began spreading out and turning some of the slops. I managed to get quite a bit partially dry by today so I took it and began incorporating it into some old clay, which was getting rather firm.
This sounds easier then it is. If you're a potter you'll know that this is a tiring job. By the end of my day I had managed to wedge and knead approximately 60kg (130lbs) into usable soft lumps.
It shows how unfit I am at the moment, as most of me is now aching! Who knows how I'll be come the morning. That being said I intend to throw some more pots tomorrow as I have some more ideas and don't want to wait. So even if I have to hobble out to the studio on my stick, I'll be there.
Thanks for visiting.

I'm Alive, Alive!

2010-02-18T16:37:00.001Z

It seems as if I survived the trip to the dentist. Or something terrible has happened and I've been reborn as me! I suppose there could be worse punishments, but I'm not convinced.
Anyway, I sat down to edit the video I had shot of the condiment bowls and it is all terrible (half of it is of the back of my head!). I'll shoot some more in a couple of days as I am enjoying the throwing practice.
Before I forget: I popped outside this afternoon and took a couple of photos of some of the bowls. They haven't been turned yet, but I hope you can get an idea of how they'll look.

You can see that they aren't all the same, but I am getting some consistency of form. I wasn't trying to repeat throw as much as I was trying to replicate the technique.

In the close-up you can kind of see how they are thrown: Thumb straight into the centre and then swept outwards, the other hand supporting the shape.

And above is what I walked out into to take the pics. The snow is starting to settle again. I hope it doesn't stay for long.
Thanks for visiting.

Throwing Condiment Bowls Part 2

2010-02-17T19:53:00.000Z

Back outside again today, throwing more of the condiment bowls (and shot some more video as well). I've saved around forty of them and plan to get out and do some more tomorrow. However, as I'm having that blasted wisdom tooth out in the morning I'm not sure I'll be up for it. Will keep you posted. If I don't: I'll try and take some pics of the completed ones from today.
Wish me luck.
Thanks for visiting.

Throwing Condiment Bowls Part 1

2010-02-16T20:23:00.000Z

Just a brief update today. I was out in the studio throwing dozens of condiment bowls earlier. However there are none left now. At the end of my time throwing I squished everything I made. They are all now a reconstituted ball of clay sitting on my work table waiting for me to throw again tomorrow.
Why? Well, I decided to use them as a throwing exercise. I want to be able to throw a small flat bottomed condiment bowl in one fluid movement. Come the end of throwing today I had just about mastered the technique and I felt that by going through the same process tomorrow I may end up being better and more consistent.
Repeat throwing is the one area of pottery I know I need to put more work into. Hopefully come the end of the day I'll have lots of little bowls I can be pleased with. If not, they'll all be recycled again!
Thanks for visiting.

Become Immortal

2010-02-15T20:55:00.000Z

Most of today was spent playing around with this video. It's me discussing the immortality of ceramics and how to search for a unique identity as a potter. I have been planning it for some time. I shot one version of it the other day but my wife said I looked like the phantom of the opera, because my face was strongly lit from one side and it looked bleached out. So I thought I'd better remake it while the ideas were still flying around my mostly empty head! Also, I am going to the dentist this week to have a wisdom tooth removed (joy!) and I was afraid I may be looking like a lopsided chipmunk for some time afterwards. Not necessarily the best look for my YouTube videos (all of you who just thought it might be an improvement: shame upon you!).
I hope to get out and do some throwing tomorrow. I want to make some condiment bowls. Will, as always, keep you updated.
Thanks for visiting.

Secrets And Lies

2010-02-14T21:14:00.002Z

I suppose I'd better start by showing you the video of one of the secrets I've been working on. It hasn't really been a secret as it is not an original idea (hence the lies) but it has been one of the things I've planned to make for ages and has been an interesting project. If you are a potter who doesn't own an extruder this is a very cheap and effective option, which I can recommend trying.

Ok, next: Secret glazes! Woo-hoo...or rather, flat laughter. These have not been successful. I thought it was a great idea to see if could use recycled glass to make glazes. You can see the logic, can't you? But here is the result:

All the little white bobbles you can see is where the glass melted (strangely). I'm not sure if this result is down to the firing, the recipe or the glass itself (I just smashed and ground up a glass jar). I may experiment a bit more before I give up on the idea. It would be great if I could use normal household recycled glass and it would be a good Green selling point.
I also fired a whole load of other glaze tests, searching for a good slipglaze combination. I'm not there yet, but am getting closer. I didn't want to bore you with dozens of extra pics.

Above is the little beaker I used to test my T.sig mix. It fired well and I am satisfied with the result. If I applied it to a smoother finished pot it would work very well. Here is a detail showing it next to another unglazed fired pot:

The surface of the T.sig pot is noticeably smoother and shinier.

Here are two pics. showing the big vase I spoke of in my last post. You can see just how badly it cracked and how much the glaze ran. I still like the colour though. I'll put this down as a successful failure.

Finally I thought I would take another pic. of some of the brush rests; this time in daylight. I'm still pleased with these. I know that they are incredibly simple but that is often the way isn't it? Simple is best.

Thanks for visiting.

Oh Dear...

2010-02-13T21:01:00.001Z

Hmmm...where to start....I unpacked the kiln this evening. Not very successful. However, this was mostly my own fault, so I can't complain.
I only have a few pics to show you today, because it was dark when the kiln finished and I haven't had much time to check everything out yet.
The first pic below shows just how wrong things went:

You may have seen this vase before, but when it came out of the kiln before Christmas there was a small patch missing glaze. So I touched it up yesterday and it went in for the firing. Unfortunately it was near the very large vase I had loaded with glaze. Really loaded! This vase was at least 2 inches away from it, but the glaze from the large vase still bloomed out so far it left the patch you can see on this!
So both vases were ruined. However, the glaze looks really good. It was created when I poured a copper glaze and a manganese glaze over the large vase. They have combined in the firing and created the swirly blue-green effect as you can see. I'll take some better pics tomorrow of this and the large vase so that you can see just how stupid I have been.

This next pic shows one of the beakers from a set of six. These came out of the kiln looking very nice. They had been sat around for some time waiting to be glazed because they were made for a spouted pitcher which was damaged when another pot exploded in the kiln before Christmas (see earlier posts) and because of this I had no reason to glaze them until I had spare space in the kiln.

These are a selection of the brush rests I spoke of in the last post. They came out well and although very simple, will be a useful addition to the studio, as well as gifts for artist friends (who, I'm sure, will appreciate them).

That's all for today. As a mentioned I haven't had time to check everything yet, but I didn't want to let you down and not share the results. I'll post more pics tomorrow, which I hope will be of better quality (it was too dark to get any properly focused pics tonight, without using the flash).
Thanks for visiting.

Results?

2010-02-12T20:25:00.000Z

To my surprise the bisc firing went well. Nothing exploded! So this afternoon, after the firing had finished, I began glazing the results. To be honest I went a bit bonkers and glazed everything within sight. I had a dozen mugs laying around from last year, the copper glaze on which hadn't taken, so these were re-glazed and went into the kiln along with a few other pots which I wasn't happy with after their previous glaze firing. I don't know whether the glaze will take on these pieces, but I decided it was better to give it a go rather than just throw them away.
In the end I managed to fill the kiln and, as always, it is firing now as I write this.
Before I forget, I should mention that the glaze tests which went into the bisc firing were not successful and they have gone into this firing to see if they take at the higher temperature.
If the firing finishes early enough I will post pics of the results tomorrow.
Thanks for visiting.

Kiln Is Firing Right Now

2010-02-11T21:17:00.000Z

Well the kiln is on and the first batch of glaze tests is in. The thermocouple is working (which was a relief) and everything else seems to be working properly (fingers crossed). I am also firing the big vase I mentioned in an earlier post as well as the little goblet I applied terra sigillata too; so it will be interesting to see how it fires.
This afternoon I made a load of brush supports to fill the extra space in the kiln and dried them out in front of the fire before loading them. I know a few people who wanted one so at least they'll be of some use.
There are only four glaze tests in this bisc firing but they are the most interesting experiment I am attempting. I'm looking forward to seeing how they emerge. I just hope nothing explodes and ruins everything! Wish me luck.
Thanks for visiting.

Glazing

2010-02-10T20:58:00.000Z

Almost forgot to update you on my progress this week: I've been mixing and making up glaze tests. I've ended up with twenty five mixes, four of which will be fired at 1000c and the rest at 1120c. Hopefully they will all turn out as I intend. I will post some pics when I finish the firings. Probably by the start of next week.
I've also been doing some more of my secret project....exciting 'aint it? No...probably not...wait and see. I've been making things to be fired for the project today.
I only have a couple of pots to fire that were left over from last year. One is very big and I've had it drying out thoroughly for the past couple of days so that, hopefully, it won't explode in the kiln. If it does it may ruin the glaze test so I'll have to pack the kiln carefully.
That's all for today, will let you know how things go.
Thanks for visiting.

Throwing Curious Glaze Testers

2010-02-05T18:22:00.000Z

I've thrown a whole load of curious looking glaze testers today:

I know this seems like a strange picture. The reason I threw these shapes is because the glaze recipes that I plan to test are liable to run quite a lot. This is why I have thrown these shapes with a little gallery foot, (I normally make small test tiles to try glazes) so that if the glaze does run, it will pool in the foot and (hopefully) won't run onto the kiln shelves. I left the surface rough so that I will be able to see how the glaze holds the surface.
I know this seems like an unusual post, but hopefully those potters who, like me, want to play around with making glazes may take some inspiration from this simple idea. I'll be talking some more about glazes over this next week.
Thanks for visiting.

Back In The Saddle Again

2010-02-04T22:55:00.000Z

I was back working in the studio today...at long last. All the tidying is finished, shelves are up, kiln working and floor mopped umpteen times.
I wasn't out for long, but I managed to complete a batch of terra sigillata and used it to do a test on a small pot I had laying around. You can find a video showing the process on my YouTube page.
Terra sigillata is a thin slip suspension which is used to give the surface of the pot a shine without glazing. The theory is that the particles in the slip are so fine that they seal the clay body. I used about five parts water to one part clay (just slops I had in a tub, I wasn't particularly scientific! Around five litres in total) and mixed in three or so teaspoons of calgon (until the mix felt slippery). Then I mixed the whole lot, like mad, with a plasterers mixer attached to my drill and left it to settle for a couple of days. The mix divides into three layers: A top watery layer, the middle layer which is the terra sig. and a bottom layer of large heavy particles. I just took a tube and siphoned off the middle layer. It seems to work well and is definitely something I will be using this year. I think it should work well on bowls and similar open shapes and is another notch on my list of single firing techniques.
I also have been working again on my extruder idea. Hopefully I'll be able to post a video soon (If everything goes according to plan). It all seems to be going well, but I have some important parts to make tomorrow from clay. I will keep you updated. Sorry to be so cryptic but I don't want to spoil the surprise.
I'm going to be doing some exciting glaze experiments over this next week so am throwing test pieces tomorrow. I've had one of my crazy ideas and will find out if it's viable or stupid only by testing and finding out....keep an eye out for updates!
Thanks for visiting.

Nearing The End...

2010-01-29T17:51:00.000Z

...of the studio clean-up!
Almost done now. Got the shelves up and re-arranged the layout of the studio to make as much space as possible.

So the picture above shows the shelves I have put up above my work table. I recycle everything (If you hadn't realised by now!) and the first two lower shelves are made from a kitchen worktop that I split lengthwise.

The shelves above were already in the studio, but I have moved them around and put the doors and etc.s form the kitchen units across them to make extra space. There isn't much left of the kitchen units I removed from our kitchen, but they have been useful.
Anyway, apart from faffing around with the shelving I have had a good clean up. And have tried to move everything around to make as much space as possible. I'm getting there.
I have also been installing a themocouple into my kiln. This has been a pain, but a self inflicted one! I bought a thermocouple and pyrometer from a well know auction site for a very small outlay. However I have had to take the old and rusted solid, thermocouple from my kiln and using it and parts from the one I had bought, make a working unit and install it in the kiln. (A thermocouple is a probe which sticks into the kiln and sends the temperature to the pyrometer).
To cut a boring story short: I managed, after various combination attempts to get everything working. I also now have a separate working thermocouple and pyrometer that I hope to use later this year in another project.
So there we are. Only another day of tidying left now. I'll be back in the studio throwing on Monday (touch wood!).
Thanks for visiting.

Still Here.

2010-01-18T20:29:00.000Z

Just a brief update to let you know that I have been out in the workshop today for the first time this year. Didn't do much; just cleared out all my books, as I am going to put up some more shelves. But at least I made it out there!
Everything froze in the New Year (including the clay) so there was nothing I could do. I have been going slowly bonkers for the last couple of weeks so it was a relief to actually be doing something again.
I have some videos planned for the next week or two, which I will do, as I do the work needed to get the studio in a fit state for the amount of throwing I have to do to get selling.
Will keep you updated. Here's hoping the thaw continues and we don't get more snow (fingers crossed).
Thanks for visiting.

The Clock Video I Promised

2010-01-02T19:17:00.000Z

Hello all, I hope you had a great Christmas.
Well at long last here is the video I promised showing the making of the clock for my Sister's Christmas present. It turned out better than expected and I think I may make some more this year. It is curious that through her request I found something that I never would have thought of making before. I always felt that clocks were a bit twee but I found making it in my style worked without being kitsch.
I have a long list of things to do this year and I hope you will enjoy sharing my experiences as I work to start my business.
Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a great 2010.

My Christmas Video Message On YouTube

2009-12-23T15:21:00.002Z

So How Did The Firing Go?

2009-12-22T15:01:00.000Z

The answer: Not bad. The teapot survived, it is a little patchy again but I was expecting that anyway. The big vase has a patch of unglazed clay showing inside, but that was my fault for glazing it when it was getting dark. Apart from that everything else came out well. I can't tell you about them as they are presents for my family. But I will update you after Christmas.
Anyway here are the pics:

So here are a couple of pics of the teapot. No matter how many faults I can nit-pick at it is still a good, functional, fun pot. I guess I shouldn't be so hard on myself, still it is better to aim high than to be happy with failure (isn't it?).

Next is the 5kg vase from one of my videos. I used my oxide mix on the outside of this (partially burnished at the top and bottom) and a 7.5% iron oxide clear base glaze for the inside. As I wrote earlier I am happy with this. I think the combination of the matt outside and dark glazed interior work well.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

Why is there a bird on this potter's blog? After taking the previous pictures I walked past my aviary and one of my Bourkes Parakeets was whistling at and watching me, so he got his picture here too. He's looking a bit cold but he has a heater in the inside flight so it's his choice to be out. He likes the fact that there is lots of greens, fruit and millet outside. He's the closest I have to a picture of a robin so you'll just have to use your imagination and believe it is a Christmas pic.

This will be my last post this week so I would like to wish you a very happy Christmas and I hope Santa brings you everything you want, or at least everything you need! Oh, and if you don't celebrate Christmas I send you season's greetings and I hope you enjoy the day off!
Thanks for visiting.

Wish Me Luck...

2009-12-21T18:48:00.000Z

..the last firing before Christmas is on the go. Managed to get everything sorted out and glazed today. The kiln is firing as I write this and I am hoping nothing breaks this time. To be honest I'm only concerned about the teapot as it is an order from friends for Christmas. So wish me luck and no breakages tonight.
Thanks for visiting.

I've Kept You Waiting...Sorry.

2009-12-20T12:58:00.000Z

I have just started another firing and I thought I really ought to keep my promise and take some photos of the results from the previous one. I have been busy this last week getting the house in order for Christmas. I have had to take half the kitchen apart to do so, so I'm not feeling too guilty! My wife is happy with the result so I can't ask for more!
Anyway, back to the point: The last firing. In it were two casseroles and a load of mugs. Only one of the casseroles survived as the second cracked. I have not had much luck recently and I think this is down to the cold and damp affecting the pots. I am checking them to make sure that they are dry but obviously they are not completely. The casserole that cracked, I thought, was fine after the biscuit firing, but after the glaze firing it had some crazing in the glaze which turned out to be cracks that ran through the whole thickness of the pot. This is it:

As you can see at first glance it looks fine. It just goes to show how careful you have to be at this time of year. The pots that have gone in for the latest firing I bought inside for a day and placed them next to a radiator to make sure they were fully dry before risking them in the kiln.

The above pic. shows the a few of the mugs from the firing. About half of them have blemishes from the copper glaze on them, but as a whole I suppose I should be grateful they didn't all explode!

Lastly I thought I would show you a couple of close-up pics of the black on black vase. You can see the faults better in these photos. The biggest issue is with the thickness of the burnished oxide layer. I should have sprayed it another couple of times to get a more even coat. The terracotta shows through a little in light bands. It wasn't possible to see this before firing as the clay is dark and the vase colour appeared even, as you may have seen in the previous photos I have posted. I shall know better next time. After all this is the point of experimenting.
Before I finish this posting I should tell you that I have had some success with a clock which was in these last firings. Unfortunately I can't show you it yet as it is a Christmas present for one of my sisters and I don't want to spoil the surprise for her, as I know she reads this blog. I have a video of the whole process which I will post after Christmas.
Thank you for visiting.

An Update On The Black On Black Vase

2009-12-15T22:43:00.000Z

Sorry for not updating you sooner. I haven't taken any pics. yet, but promise I will. I have unloaded the kiln again this evening after the glaze firing, most things seem ok, but will look again in the cold light of morning and see if I still think so.
The video above shows the black on black vase you may have seen in a previous post. It shows the whole decorating process from start to finish. It also shows the vase after firing. I hope you find it interesting.
Thanks for visiting.

Another Explosion!

2009-12-13T22:25:00.000Z

Sorry I haven't kept you up-to-date for a few days, surprisingly I've been too busy! I know, don't faint or anything!
On Friday we went to a friends wedding and had a lovely time. Before the wedding, as were in the area, I arranged to meet Steve Booton (see links) a potter I have been communicating with through YouTube. He's a really nice chap and a talented and inspiring potter so it was great to meet up. I could have spent the day talking and as it was we ended up arriving a few minutes late for the wedding! Still, nobody noticed.
Anyway I loaded the kiln yesterday...
...and scraped it out tonight!
Ok, maybe things weren't really that bad. I had loaded half of it with cups and crammed the medieval pitcher, the black on black vase, a clock and the three casseroles into the rest of it. One of the casseroles exploded. I had concerns about firing them but they felt completely dry and sounded it when tapped. But I also knew it had been cold and wet here for a couple of weeks and things had been taking ages to dry. However I knew if they weren't fired now I would struggle to get everything finished off in time for Christmas. Fortunately I had thought ahead. The casseroles were for a friend, and they had only asked for two. I threw three just in case. However when it exploded it also broke the medieval pitcher and damaged the black on black vase, but these weren't orders, only experiments so I can live with that.
I'll try to remember to post some pics. tomorrow.
Thanks, as always, for visiting.

Still Working

2009-12-09T16:45:00.000Z

Just a brief update today, to let you know that I am still busy. I worked on the clock again yesterday as well as starting to shape another couple.
Today I have been doing a test construction of an extruder. When I get it right I will post some more info.
Thanks for visiting.

Tick, Tick...Tick?

2009-12-07T15:56:00.000Z

Out in the studio again today, working on the clock. I realised I had thrown the walls to thick to mount the clock mechanism, so I had to carve away the clay inside to mount it properly. After finishing I decided to throw another couple of clock bodies just in case the first one fails. It pays to play it safe, I have found. You never know what will happen in the firing, as was the case with the big bowl (if you have been following this blog for a while you will know that the big bowl exploded!).
So I threw the extra bodies and I will shape them tomorrow, if they have dried out enough by then. It's still cold and raining hard right now, so we will have to see.
Thanks for visiting.

More Tea...Pot

2009-12-05T13:32:00.000Z

Just a quick update. I've been out in the studio this morning working on the clock and teapot again. The teapot is finished and the clock I've left to dry out a bit after spraying it.
Here is the teapot today:

As you can see it's just as bonkers as the last one.

Once again it is a large two handled one. I hope it fires well. I will post pics after the firing which will probably be next week.
Thanks for visiting.

Pots And Clock

2009-12-04T15:45:00.001Z

Still busy. Been out in the studio turning and putting the spout and handles on to the teapot today, as well as working on the clock. Got to start modelling the face for the teapot tomorrow and start to sort out decoration on the clock.
It's still very cold here and I have been using my little fire to speed up the drying as I work. I have to careful because if I don't keep an eye on things they dry out completely. Rolled some clay balls for feet popped them in front of the fire for a few minutes and they were rock hard!
Anyway, back to the grindstone tomorrow.

The video above is the one I posted yesterday showing the Medieval Stamford ware pitcher. It has had some nice feedback so I thought you might like to see it.
Thanks for visiting.

Medieval Pitcher

2009-12-03T19:14:00.000Z

I spent today finishing off a medieval spouted pitcher and six cups for it. I have posted a video showing the process. It has been an interesting project, attempting to make an accurate copy of a medieval shape.
I also started tidying the studio, as I don't have any throwing to do for the time being; I have no shelf space left!
I had planned to work on the big teapot but it still hasn't dried out enough to turn. Maybe tomorrow.
Thanks for visiting.

Frostbitten Fingers

2009-12-01T19:40:00.000Z

Was out in the studio today...freezing. Not the studio, I have a heater which works well enough, but the clay and the water were very cold. I threw quite a lot today which meant wedging up a load of clay. I had to stop every minute just to give my hands a chance to warm up. It was frosty last night, and still so this morning, so it was no surprise that the clay was cold.
Anyway I threw another large teapot for friends as well as a shape which I plan to alter to build a clock. Then I threw a medieval spouted pitcher and a set of drinking cups for it.
I will take photos of them all tomorrow, if they have dried out enough for me to turn and finish them.
Thanks for visiting.

Decorating The 5KG Vase

2009-11-28T12:32:00.000Z

I spent this morning decorating the 5KG vase you may have seen me throw in one of my recent YouTube videos. I sprayed it with the oxide and clay mix yesterday but it wasn't dry enough to decorate (it's cold and damp here at the moment so everything is taking twice as long to dry. It's around 5 degrees C today).

I thought, as I am experimenting at the moment, that it made sense to use a combination of decorative finishes. So I burnished the top and bottom and scratched my swirl pattern into it. I intend only to fire this once and not glaze it. The plan is to use it for dry storage, pasta etc.
It should give me a good idea as to the practicality of this type of ware. We will have to wait and see how it fires.
Thanks for visiting.

Casseroles And Vase Pics

2009-11-27T15:08:00.000Z

I finished off the last casserole today and sprayed another vase ready for scratching some decoration onto it. But as promised I remembered to take some photos.

The first pic. shows the casseroles today after I had finished turning the last one. They are a good size (probably 12" across). Just have to wait and see how fast they dry out before I can fire them.

And here is the vase I promised to show you. You can see the pattern very clearly even though it is the same oxide mix as the burnished surface. It will be interesting to see how it emerges from the kiln.

And here you can see a close-up of the painted decoration. I've tried to keep it simple for this test piece.
Thanks for visiting.

Turning And Burnishing

2009-11-26T22:22:00.000Z

Been busy today turning the casseroles I threw the other day and experimenting with decoration on one of the vases.
I turned, attached lug handles and knobs on two of the casseroles. I couldn't do the third one as it is still too wet. I hope it will be dry enough tomorrow.
I took one of the vases I thew and burnished the surface, I then painted decoration on to it using the same oxide mix that I had sprayed over it before burnishing. The effect is that you have shiny and dull contrasting surfaces. I will post a pic. tomorrow (I forgot to take one today). It is based on a technique used by a lady in New Mexico call Maria Martinez who died some years ago. She had developed it after being asked, by archaeologists, to try to recreate some antique pottery they had found, to discover the technique used. I don't do the same as her, but her "black on black" pottery has inspired my attempt.
Anyway it will make more sense when I can show you a picture. I have videoed the process but will wait until the vase is fired before posting it.
Oh, and I posted a video on my YouTube channel showing the completion of the casserole (part 3).
Thanks for visiting.

Been Throwing Again.

2009-11-24T22:36:00.001Z

Spent this afternoon throwing some casseroles, you can find a couple of videos showing one being made on my YouTube channel. Everything turned out pretty much as I had hoped, so had a good day.
I shall be turning them and their lids tomorrow if they have dried out enough. It's wet and very windy here at the moment so I guess I will wait and see. If not I shall decorate one or two of the big vases I threw a week or so ago. They have been stored under bin bags to stop them from drying out so they should be fine (now I have said that I am suddenly feeling paranoid, wondering if they will be completely dry and unusable!).
By the way, I'm afraid I forgot to take a photo of the sheep before it was taken. Will have to ask the new owner to send me a pic when they have some free time.
Thanks for visiting.

Last Two Days

2009-11-20T18:11:00.000Z

Spent yesterday tidying up and shot a video highlighting the last two firings, which you can watch on my YouTube channel.
Today I finished the sheep. I will post a photo of it over this weekend. I had planned to do some throwing, but circumstances meant that I had to focus on the sheep instead. I have some pots I have to throw next week, so I'll have to get off my lazy bum and crack on then.
Thanks for visiting.

Hold On I'm Feeling A Bit Faint!

2009-11-18T19:02:00.000Z

Success! Opened the kiln this evening and everything had fired properly! I had expected things to have exploded again, so I opened the kiln feeling nervous; and was surprised to discover that everything was intact.

The first picture shows all the mugs. NB This was a single firing. On one or two I noticed the glaze was a little thick, but apart from that they all seem fine. These are all 400g small mugs.

Here is one of them close up. You can see that even the stamp looks nice and clear. I will see if I still like them in the morning, when the light is better.

Next. This is the carved vase which I also single fired. I sprayed the glaze on this. It has left a speckled effect as it pushed the white slip around when I sprayed it, but it looks pretty good and it didn't explode! So it goes down as a success.

This is a tile (I made a load of these ages ago for glaze tests). It doesn't look very interesting but I used it to do a salt glaze test. I wondered if I mixed up a solution of two parts water to one of salt if this would work as a glaze. It hasn't, but you never know unless you try.
I should point out that salt is often used to glaze pottery. However it is normally thrown into the kiln to glaze. What happens is when the kiln reaches the top temperature the salt is thrown in and the resulting reaction leaves a layer on the pottery (and the inside of the kiln).

Here, though, is a surprise. This tile was glazed with bicarbonate of soda. One teaspoon bicarb. to one of water. I'm amazed how well it has turned out. I will see if I can damage it tomorrow to test the usefulness of this technique. If all goes well I may well use it again.
Once again soda is normally thrown into the kiln, but I thought it was worth a try. I read that both salt and soda need a temperature of at least 1090C to work and as I am firing at 1120C I knew the theory behind my experiment was viable.
Anyway, that's all for today.
Thanks for visiting.

Just A Note...

2009-11-17T21:19:00.000Z

..to let you know that I finished the mugs from yesterday. I got all the handles on and tidied them up by lunch. After that (in between making a stew) I sorted out the mugs I had loaded into the kiln, as a few of them had flaked glaze onto the kiln shelves. I then mixed up a couple of glaze tests to fire. Tonight I have turned on the kiln. This will be a single firing, so we will see how everything comes out tomorrow.
Thanks for visiting.

Cup...

2009-11-16T19:53:00.000Z

...cup. Errr, cup?
Guess what? I spent the day throwing cups again. You might think I'd be going bonkers by now, but actually I had a good day. Come the end of the clay I had left from last week I was throwing well and may have started to get the technique correct. It's not that I couldn't throw cups before, but rather that you need to have a good efficient technique to throw as quickly and reliably as possible. The leftover clay was starting to get a bit firm, so I lost a few of the cups but ended up with enough to fill half the kiln (which was what I wanted).
I didn't fire the cups from last week this weekend as I wanted to use up the leftover clay and get the handles on todays cups before I turn on the kiln as the heat dries out anything laying around the studio. But all the cups from last week are loaded up and ready to fire. Should get the handles on these last cups tomorrow then I have a few more pots to throw for friends before I can do some more modelling.
Thanks for visiting.

Update

2009-11-13T16:53:00.000Z

Brief update: The last couple of days have been spent finishing the mugs, putting handles on them and today I have glazed them. I also turned a couple of the large pots I threw earlier in the week and spray glazed the carved vase I have been working on.

I hope to fire the mugs this weekend, if they dry enough in the meantime.

The other day I passed 2000 views on my YouTube channel! I have been amazed at the interest and great feedback I have received.

Thanks for visiting.

Mug, Mug, Mug, Mug..

2009-11-11T19:01:00.000Z

...(scream), mug.
Guess what? I've been throwing mugs today!
Fortunately a friend came round and sat with me for a while otherwise I would be going bananas. (Large camel, small haddock, petunia, unwashed cabbage!) Who? What?
To be honest, when I'm throwing well I enjoy repeat throwing. Today though, was a bit of a struggle and didn't get through as much clay as I had intended. Only threw about forty mugs in the end, about half the amount I had planned. Still, it's good practice. More tomorrow. Joy! (sarcasm).
Thanks for visiting.

Still Busy

2009-11-10T20:32:00.000Z

Just a brief note to let you know I have been busy again today. Threw another big vase and wedged up around 70 balls of clay for throwing tomorrow. These are for some more of the smaller mugs as I have been asked for some more. Thought I should do a load at once rather that faffing around doing just what has been requested.
I have also uploaded 3 videos to YouTube, checkout my YouTube channel to view them.
Thanks for visiting.

Firing Results

2009-11-09T20:45:00.000Z

Had a busy day again today. I have been throwing some more big pots and have emptied the kiln. The following pics are the result.

This is just a little ball vase. White slip was applied and then mostly scraped off.

This is the bowl which I sprayed with combinations of slip and oxide. It didn't emerge from the kiln as I would have liked, but is ok.

This is a large bowl I have had laying around for a while. It has white slip on the rim which you can just about make out on the photo. I poured copper glaze thickly over it. I'm quite pleased with the result.

This is the vase I had doodled on. It has not been successful as the clear glaze has partially obscured the drawing.

Here is the little vase I used to test spraying slip. You may have seen it on my YouTube site. It has fired ok, but some of the slip seems to have vanished... curious, not sure why.

This is a bottle which featured in another video. It has fired nicely.

This is another large bottle with copper glaze applied.

Here is the vase I applied oxides to. Again this is from a video. After the first firing I really liked it, now I'm not so keen. The glaze has clumped a bit thickly in places, especially on the rim.

This is a bottle which turned out really well. I've made a video about this which I will be posting as soon as I have finished it.

Lastly, a little tea set. I'm chuffed with this. The tea bowls you may have seen before. I glazed everything with the copper glaze which has fired very well.

I also popped the single fired mugs in because the glaze hadn't melted enough when I did the single fire test. They have emerged well, so next time I do a single firing I will make sure I fire at the higher temperature.

Thanks for visiting.

Remains Of The Clay.

2009-11-08T17:27:00.000Z

Did the glazing, as planned today and cleaned out the kiln. The picture below shows the remains of the big bowl left on the shelf (minus the few larger chunks). I though it would be good to leave a reminder of my mistake. This is what I get for rushing.

You can see just how much it disintegrated.
I'll take some pics of tonights firing tomorrow, or maybe shoot a video as I have a new camera to test.
Thanks for visiting.

Where am I?

2009-11-07T20:06:00.000Z

Just to let you know that I still alive! I spent most of this week finishing of re-arranging the workshop, but came down with a bit of a bug at the end of the week just stinking headaches and a temperature so probably not dying!
Went out this afternoon to see Kerry Newell working at a local garden centre (see the link to her website in my links in the right hand column). She was working on a picture of a wolf and was also selling her prints. You should go and have a look at her website it's well worth a visit. The only thing I would say is you don't get an impression of the size of her prints online the ones at £95 are well worth considering as you get a really good sized print for your money.
Anyway that's enough of the sales pitch. I plan to do some throwing next week and want to practice some more large wares as well as throwing some mugs and other orders. Tomorrow I hope to glaze the surviving pots from the explosive bisque firing.
Thanks for visiting.

Explosion!

2009-11-03T18:31:00.000Z

Accident in the kiln last night. The big bowl exploded! Unfortunately when it did it took two pots with it; one of which was the polar bear biscuit barrel. The lid survived so I think I will keep it as a reminder to make sure all the pots I load into the kiln are thoroughly dry. I thought the bowl was, but didn't check it to make sure, which I do normally. Basically if the pots aren't dry, when the water boils off them (which it does even if they are dry, but not as much) it doesn't turn to steam quickly enough and falls back as water cracking the surface. If there is a lot of water the pots can explode and disintegrate which this did leaving a pile of dust and small shattered pieces on the shelf.
Some pots survived though and here are a few highlights:

You may have seen the pot above before as I filmed it's creation. It's come out of the kiln very well. I like the contrast between the dark oxides and the natural clay.

The next pot is one I featured in a previous post which, again, has turned out well.

The pot above you've not seen before. I thought I would use the dark oxides as a canvas to doodle on. It's a bit mad (but so am I!).
Anyway I have also been out in the studio tidying and rearranging things. I have almost finished and will take the photos as promised when I have.
Thanks for visiting.

Still Busy

2009-11-02T19:51:00.000Z

Thought I had better let you know what I have been doing for the last few days: Over the weekend I have been working on a vase which I have used as a test to carve into the surface.

Above you can see a pic. of it. It is a fair size approx 10" and the carving turned out as I wanted (which is always a positive sign that I am starting to get to grips with my materials). Over all of it I sprayed white slip and at the bottom at lightly at the top I have sprayed a thin layer of white slip with a small copper oxide addition. In theory this means that it should be slightly green at these points after it is fired.

I have loaded the kiln today and all the vases, the huge bowl and various other things are being fired right now. The above vase would not fit into the kiln, which is probably just as well as it hasn't completely dried out yet.

For the rest of the day today I have been cleaning up and re-arranging the studio. I, with the help of my neighbour Simon (I would have killed myself trying to move it on my own, so a big thank-you to Simon) moved my huge bench from under the window. I will take some pics. tomorrow when I tidy up. I needed to move it so that I can take better advantage of the lighting within the studio. When doing sculpture I have struggled recently as the light was behind the objects I have been working on throwing them into shadow. I just hope it was worth it!

That's all for now. Will take phtos of the latest firing and let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Thanks for visiting.

More Spraying, Less Work.

2009-10-30T20:00:00.000Z

Just a quick post today. I spent a little while out in the studio earlier today spraying a couple of pots, but didn't get around to modelling on the one pot I have left. I have shot some video of today's progress but am waiting until the pot I filmed has been fired before I post the vid. The second pot I worked on is this one:

While I have been spraying this week I noticed that the mess left on the wheel head left an effect rather like stone, so I thought I would use this effect on a pot and see what it looks like.

On the pic above you can see a close-up of the detail; I think it may turn out to be an interesting experiment. I will have to see how it looks after firing.

Will keep you updated.

Thanks for visiting.

Oooh...

2009-10-29T21:33:00.000Z

...I took the bit between my teeth this evening and signed up to Facebook (scary stuff!) I'm not very confident when it comes to this kind of thing but a friend encouraged me to do so.
Apart from that I was out in the studio for a while today doing some more experimental work with oxides again. Will show you the results after the next firing.
This afternoon a friend popped around for a chat and to pick up the big bowl I fired last weekend (which they liked very much). And, I'm pleased to say, they placed another couple of orders. It's nice to know that my work has reached a standard which means that people want to pay for it!
Anyway, that's all for today. I'm planning to do some modelling tomorrow, which may be interesting if it turns out as I want.
Thanks for visiting.

Mmm...Oxide!

2009-10-28T20:34:00.000Z

Another quick update today. I spent this afternoon working on a couple of pots, using an oxide mix to spray their surfaces and then scratching patterns through the sprayed oxide revealing the clay beneath. To get a bit nerdy for a moment: I took 50% Iron Oxide and 50% Manganese Dioxide and mixed these together with enough water to spray (this is as much for me, as I often forget these experiments!).
You can find a video of my work on one of the pots on my YouTube channel. It only lasts a minute, so hopefully you won't get bored!
I'm looking forward to seeing the pots after they are fired, as I think they may be interesting.
Thanks for visiting.

More Modelling

2009-10-27T16:50:00.000Z

Just a quick post to let you know that I have been doing some modelling today. You can see the results on my YouTube channel. Apart from that I have been having another look at the sheep, if it turns out well I will let you know.
Thanks for visiting, hope you enjoy the latest video.

Video Showing Latest Pots

2009-10-26T15:17:00.000Z

Just a quick update letting you know that I did make a quick video today showing the pots from this weekends firing. Apart from this I have been in the studio modelling and working on the sheep. Will keep you updated as to the results.
Thanks for visiting.

Results From The Latest Firing

2009-10-25T19:25:00.000Z

I've just unloaded the kiln from last nights firing and the following photos are just a quick few snaps I took to show you the results. I plan to make a short video tomorrow showing them again, in more detail as I have been asked by my YouTube visitors to keep them updated.

The large bowl made for a friend.

This has turned out better than expected.

The first frog pot. Now glazed inside.

This is one of the tea bowls you may have seen me throwing.

It was glazed and single fired. The glaze was sprayed on.

A vase, again with sprayed decoration.

The lizard pot. Unfortunately it lost two toes as I glazed it.

But the glaze looks lovely.

The large teapot with a chocolate brown glaze.

The Lingam with lovely thick copper glaze.

Another spray decorated vase.

And finally the last frog pot with a clear glaze.

Well there you are. That's a brief look at what emerged. As a whole I'm pleasantly surprised. Some things could be better but as most were experiments they turned out well. The animal pots I chose to glaze three ways. One with no glaze, one with clear and one with a thick dark glaze. I like the unglazed and the thick dark copper glazed lizard pot. You'll have to let me know which you like and which of the other pots appeal (and those which don't).

Thanks for visiting.

What's Happening Today?

2009-10-24T20:19:00.000+01:00

Just a brief update to let you know what I've been doing for the last couple of days: Had a good tidy yesterday and processed another few bags of clay, ready for throwing next week. Today I have been glazing the pots fired last week and have loaded the kiln. It is firing up as I write this. In fact the temperature is rising quite fast at the moment. I know this because the lights in the front room dim slightly every time the kiln switches on its elements, which is happening regularly right now.
Will let you know how the firing goes.
Thanks for visiting.

My Last Day..

2009-10-22T20:16:00.001+01:00

...at physio today! Not, you understand, that I'm magically cured; but I'm a great deal better than I thought I could be. I talked with the senior physio about moving up to the advanced class, but as I can only just manage the one I'm in it seemed unnecessary. So we agreed that today should be my final day. I should mention that I have done eight weeks when generally people only do five or six, so they have gone out of their way to help and I can't praise them enough. I'm pleased as I have been planning my week around the class and have missed out on some of the things I should have done in my studio, just to make sure I would not be aching too much for the physio classes.
Anyway, when I got home today I went out into the studio and did some finishing that had to be done. This took up all my time today so I'll be back out again tomorrow to do some modelling.
While I was outside I took a couple of pics showing some of the things I've been working on:

The first pic (above) shows the pot I sprayed yesterday (see video) now it has dried, as well as some tea bowls and teapot, the bottle you may have seen before and a tiny dip bowl.
You will find a new video of me throwing the tea bowls at my YouTube channel (see link on the right).

Above is the very large bowl you may have seen thrown in a video I posted last Friday. I found the time the other day to turn it and apply slip to the inside; I'm pleased with the result.
I also turned some other good sized pots today but couldn't take a pic as they are covered, to stop them from drying out, so that I can put models onto them. Will show you the results asap.
Thanks for visiting.

A Busy Few Days At Brookfield Pottery

2009-10-21T16:55:00.000+01:00

Don't seem to have had time to stop for days now. Today I have been doing some slip tests, the results of which you can watch in the video above this. As well as this I have been turning and finishing some more pots. Wanted to find the time to do some more modelling but, although I finished early today, I decided to put it off until tomorrow after physio.
I also have to get around to glazing the pots from the firing the other day, which I must do quickly as there is almost no space left on my shelves. Still, I suppose that is a positive thing as it means I have been busy.
The first couple of days this week were spent throwing some more vases as well as some tea bowls, lidded jars and another teapot. I have been throwing well and my technique is improving, which is why there is such a range of pots laying around at the moment. Although, saying that, I have thrown loads of pots away as I have been practising some different techniques but didn't want to save everything, so only kept the things I found interesting.
Anyway, just thought I had better keep you up-to-date as I haven't posted any video for a while and haven't had the time to write anything here for a few days.
Thanks, as always, for visiting.

Results From Todays Kiln Opening

2009-10-18T20:56:00.001+01:00

So above is the results from a firing this weekend. Most of it was successful with a couple of exceptions.
The vases and the large bowl all came out well. The lingam, which you can see just sticking up at the back, looking like a giant lemon squeezer has a crack accross it. However I knew this when I put it in and hope when I glaze it this will be filled in; we shall have to wait and see.

The sheep:

Cracked. However it has stayed together so I may be able to rescue it, either by painting or dark glazing. It's a pity as the parts I thought may crack (the ears) haven't I can only assume that the crack happened because of differences in the thickness of the shell or if it was not completely dry (even though I had tested it and it seemed fine before I loaded it into the kiln).

The teapot:

Is fine. And it seems a good weight as well. Will have to wait and see how it comes out of the kiln after glazing.

The frog and lizard pots:

Both are good, even though I thought these were the most at risk. I've found a couple of hairline cracks on the toes of the lizard so I will probably glaze the whole pot. It will give me a chance to compare the pots with and without glaze on the outside.

That's all for now. Not a bad firing, just dissapointed with the sheep, but that is the nature of working with clay, you can never be sure of the results.

Thanks for visiting.

Crazy Big...

2009-10-16T17:19:00.000+01:00

..pot. I attempted to throw a large pot today you can watch the results below.
Thanks for visiting.

I Died Today...

2009-10-15T18:43:00.000+01:00

...well, almost. Ok, not at all. But I felt like I could after a tough morning of physio. Asked the physios if anyone had ever had a heart attack because they worked them too hard. They said not, but I'm not sure I believed them. Especially as they pointed out that they did have a defibrillator in a corner.
We did the same circuit as last week, where we did a circuit exercise for one minute and then swapped onto either bikes or treadmills. As always I worked as hard as I could so as not to let the side down and after one round of the circuit, after I had lost a pound or two, I asked the question about heart attacks.
Hi,ho...still I shouldn't moan it's made a great difference to my fitness and my leg has improved in leaps and bounds. They are now talking about putting me into the advanced class, but I'm not sure I would hack it.
Anyway, this afternoon I was back in the studio turning the vases etc. that I threw yesterday and made a short video showing one of the techniques I use for finishing the surface of the pots. You can watch the video on my YouTube channel (see link in the right hand column).
Hope to do some modelling tomorrow as I didn't have time today.
Thanks for visiting.

Still Working...

2009-10-14T19:18:00.000+01:00

Spent today throwing some more vases as well as turning those thrown yesterday. Shattered now and not looking forward to my physio class in the morning. I took a couple of pics of some of the vases just to keep you up-to-date.

I'm not sure which I will use to put models onto it depends which have dried out too much by the time I get back from physio. Anyway just a quick update.
Thanks for visiting.

Day Of The Vases..(they're coming fast!)

2009-10-13T18:43:00.000+01:00

Spent today throwing vases. Not a lot to say apart from that. See the short video below for the process.

Oh, and I've discovered my YouTube views are almost at 1000! There must be some sad, desperately lonely people out there, or maybe I should stop watching myself a hundred times a day!
To be serious though, the fact that people have taken an interest in my struggle to throw a few pots has been an inspiration and a genuine surprise. So a big thank you too you all and, as always, thanks for visiting.

Frog Part II and Lizard

2009-10-12T19:02:00.000+01:00

Just a quick update today. I've been in the studio doing some more modelling and shot the short video above to show you the two pots I worked on.
I may do some more throwing tomorrow so that I have some more pots to work on. Let me know what you think of the pots. I'm trying to decide how much time I should spend on them. The two today took a couple of hours each so I could spend a bit more time on them and achieve more detail, but will have to bear this in mind when I come to sell them.

Emptying The Kiln Again.

2009-10-11T19:48:00.000+01:00

As promised I emptied the kiln this evening and remembered to take some photos.

So the first pic shows the contents of the kiln after firing. There are all sorts of experiments here so will highlight a few things. But, in a nutshell there are biscuit fired objects, single fired mugs and glaze fired pots. I fired the kiln at a mid earthenware temperature of 1060 degrees C to achieve this.

The pic above shows the single fired mugs I threw. They are divided into two types: The front mugs have a brush of slip on their rims and a clear glaze and the mugs to the rear have a honey glaze from a white base glaze which have not fired succesfully, but that was the point of the test, to find out what I could expect to work. Below is a close-up of one of the clear glazed mugs which I think are very succesfull.

The following pic shows the frog pot after it has been biscuit fired. I intend to glaze fire it too, but only apply glaze to the inside of the pot.

The next pic I have included to show those of you who have been following my progress how the stamps have emerged from the kiln.

I'm very pleased with them. The detail is very good and I look forward to using them.

The pic above may have come as a surprise. Often when I have finished for the day I will sit down and doodle with the leftover clay and I thought it would be fun to fire some of the little figures I made. If you are thinking I am a bit over keen on large boobs you should do a google search for the Willendorf Venus which is a small prehistoric sculpture; my little figures make a lot more sense when you know a bit about prehistoric art. I'm not fixated (no really!).

These last two pics are not from the firing, but are of a bowl I have been working on for a friend. I have included them so that they are able to see the progress so far. I'm thinking of only glazing the inside, leaving the natural terracotta burnished and smooth as you see in the pics. The bowl doesn't look shiny because it is wet, but rather because the clay has been burnished.

Anyway, I don't want to waffle too much...Thanks for visiting.

I'm A Large Teapot!

2009-10-11T12:26:00.001+01:00

As promised I have managed to cobble together some more video shot over the last week. This one shows the processes involved in making a teapot:

Friends (M&D, you know who you are!) asked me to make a large teapot for them some weeks ago. I threw a number but none were, as I thought, suitable. So this week I had another go. Hope you enjoy the video it's very fast and a bit loopy.
I did another firing last night and will show you the results when it has cooled down.
Thanks, as always, for visiting.

Still Busy (Scarey isn't it?)

2009-10-09T19:50:00.000+01:00

Been non-stop in the studio for the past couple of days, but this evening I finished processing one of the vids I shot and have just uploaded it. The quality is not very good because it is so speeded up, but it's fun to watch.
I've also finished the big teapot I was working on and thrown some pots to use for modelling animals onto. Some of these I have turned and burnished (basically burnishing is making the surface of the pot smooth, compressed and a bit shiny) and I have started to model a gecko to go onto one of them.
I hope to finish turning the pots tomorrow and finish the model. Will keep you updated as to the progress and will try to remember to take some pics.
Thanks for visiting.

Too Busy!

2009-10-07T19:35:00.000+01:00

Non-stop today, have shot some video to show you but haven't finished processing it yet.
Spent the day throwing some pots which I had on my list and started to make some for my animal pots.
Physio again tomorrow so will only have half a day to work which meant that I had to try to get as much as possible finished today, fortunately I managed to get all the important things done, but didn't finish until this evening.
Anyway I'm about to collapse so I'll finish now. Will get some more video up ASAP.
Thanks for visiting.

Busy Day..

2009-10-05T17:48:00.000+01:00

Finished the sheep this morning; you'll find a video showing the making process below. This afternoon I've been struggling to throw a large teapot, but have managed to get it done in the end. Will keep you updated as to it's progress. Tomorrow I have to get another couple of things on my list thrown and then I can start to plan more sculptural pots.

Thanks for visiting. Hope you enjoy the short film.

Day Of The Sheep (number 2)

2009-10-04T17:37:00.000+01:00

Hello all, I've spent another day working on the sheep and the following pics show the result:

I'm pretty pleased with it as is, but may do a little more work on it tomorrow.

Will keep you updated.

Thanks, as always, for visiting.

The Sheep Is Born Again...

2009-10-03T19:26:00.000+01:00

...but hasn't got the strength to get up.

As you can see I've started to have another go at the sheep for my brother in law. To play it safe I thought it best to have it lying down. It meant that I didn't have to build an armature to support it, which has been an easier project to attempt.

It's not looking bad at the moment but needs a lot of work yet. The biggest problem I have is that the reference pics of sheep lying down I'm using are of various breeds and I am trying to do one in particular. Next time I attempt a project like this I will have to go out and take pics of the animal from all angles first. Anyway I am trying hard to get the right feel to the piece. I think it still needs to have more weight to it's form, so it's just a matter of working at it to try and get it right. Parts of the modelling are fine and others not so much. Will see how it goes tomorrow. Hope for the best.

Frog On A Pot

2009-10-02T15:44:00.000+01:00

As I have had a lazy day today (at least in the workshop) I thought I would just post a few close-up pics of the frog on a pot I made yesterday:

I plan to have another go at the sheep (see previous posts) ASAP and will keep you up-to-date with the results.

Let me know what you think of the frog and any other ideas it has given you would be welcome....as always thanks for visiting.

Handbook Update And A Frog On A Pot

2009-10-01T18:37:00.000+01:00

Just a short video today giving an update as to the author of the Potters Handbook you may have seen me talk about in a previous video. And also a quick look at a sculpture I worked on this afternoon after returning from physio (the group was just me today!) and a visit to the dentist (oh joy!).

As always, thanks for visiting.

Handles & Glaze

2009-09-29T19:08:00.000+01:00

Hello all. I've been applying handles to the mugs I threw yesterday and I have uploaded a video to YouTube showing the process. At the same time I did another video showing how I make a small extruder and how to use it to extrude handles.
This afternoon I glazed the mugs for another single firing test (see the Opening The Kiln video for the first results) and they are finished and waiting to fire. I also mixed up five or six litres of clear glaze (which takes longer than you may think as it all has to be pushed through an 80 micron mesh) and have done some more work on my stamp so that I can have some made and ready when I do the next firing.
So all in all a busy and productive day. May have another go at some sculpture tomorrow, will let you know.
Thanks (as always) for visiting.

Cup, Cup, Cup, Cup....

2009-09-28T18:11:00.000+01:00

Been out in the workshop repeat throwing mugs today. You can see the video on my YouTube channel.
Am shattered, but have to get out first thing in the morning to extrude and attach the handles before the mugs dry too much.
More tomorrow. Enjoy the video.

Firing Results

2009-09-27T17:43:00.001+01:00

Hello all. Another quick update today. The video above shows the opening of my kiln after yesterdays firing. You can see if it was a success or not.
If you have been following my progress I thought you might like to see how my stamp has been going. As you probably know I started to make a new one of my brookfield pottery logo in a video recently. Here it is after working on it some more today:

I still need to do a little more work on it, but it is coming along fine. It's hard to judge scale from a picture so it is about 2.5cm or just over an inch high.

I hope this finds you fit and well. Thank you for visiting. Don't forget to leave suggestions for things for me to sell (see previous post).