A Semester of Pottery

These are the results of an amazing, adventurous semester of ART 148 - Fundamentals of Pottery. I can't wait to do more! Clearly my photography still needs some work, apologies in advance. (click an image to view a bigger version--bigger not guaranteed to be better).

First Mug

Title: "my new favorite mug"
Clay: Long Beach, cone 10
Glazes: Jed's green inside, purple eggshell matte outside. Transparent over royal blue and cactus green underglazes for the badge.
Character meaning: "tree"
Key facts learned:
  1. Throwing pottery is an activity of uncanny delight.
  2. What I imagine coming out of the kiln and what actually comes out of the kiln are two very different things.

Second Mug

Title: "catfish mug"
Glaze: Transparent
Key facts learned: Underglazes with similar colors must be layered thick for good contrast; glaze applied too thick leads to crazing.

First Bowl - One Pound

 

Title: "unbelievabowl"
Clay: Long Beach, cone 10
Glazes: rutile blue inside, angel eyes outside.
Key fact reinforced: the kiln is magical in its ability to defy expectation (true with every piece yet completed).

Second Bowl - Two Pounds

 

Clay: Long Beach, cone 10
Glazes: Coleman's purple over blue speck
Key fact learned: Remove both lifters at the same time and a clean split will develop with drying.

Third Bowl - Three Pounds

Title: "pretty ugly bowl"
Clay: Long Beach, cone 10
Underglaze and slip: Voulkos blue outside applied with a skunk-hair brush, dysfunctional violet inside.

Glazes: Non-iron blue celadon airbrushed base with rutile blue on the rim and Coleman's purple on the base.

Fourth Bowl - Black and White

Title: "Jupiter bowl"
Glazes: Miami Beach over transparent.
Key facts learned: Vaporized copper can migrate amongst items in the kiln, lending unexpected color, though more exploration is necessary to see if that's what happened this time. The coldest part of the kiln is at the top; temperature and the rate of change thereof contribute significantly to the outcome of a piece. Bubbles can form in the glaze when overheated, and certain things such as oil transferred from fingers can cause the glaze to run away from a spot thus leaving it bare. (yes, this was an educational bowl).

Pitcher

Title: "impractical pitcher"
Clay: Long Beach, cone 10

Glazes: Coleman's purple over angel eyes.

Handbuilt 1 - Leaf Dish

Underglaze: cactus green
Glaze: lion yellow (pictures taken pre-application)
Comment: remains to be fired.

Extra-curricular 1 - Food Dish

 

Title: "dish for pickles the cat"
Clay: Long Beach, cone 10
Glazes: rutile blue undercoat, teadust black inside, Coleman's purple outside.

Extra-curricular 2 - Tea Mug

Title: "Tildy mug"
Clay: Long Beach, cone 10
Underglaze: pink around rim, handle, foot and symbol.
Glazes: Coleman's purple inside, angel eyes over rutile blue on the symbol side, with Farrell 2-A on the handle side.