Week 3 Diary

Week 3 Diary -
Success for the slip pieces! However they are very fragile and still break easily when handled.

The easiest way to further strengthen them will be to fire them to a higher temperature, although this risks them warping when hot. I have glazed a few in the spray booth with a white earthenware glaze, and tried one with oxide to see what happens. The pieces would look very nice in porcelain, however these will definitely warp in the kiln - to get around this I would have to make a pot, possibly on the wheel, with the inside the size of the piece I would like. I would then trail the slip inside and leave to dry. the two types of clay should separate whilst drying. The porcelain should then be removed, the inside of the clay bowl lined with sand and the porcelain placed back in for firing together. This stops the porcelain warping out of shape. This is a process I would really like to try, although have not got enough time to finish now, and will have to be left until next term to try.

The thrown domes, which I turned into non functional tableware last week have come out of the kiln and I have glazed them this week.

I am using a Shino glaze on all of these pieces, in reduction. One of the ingredients of the glaze is Iron, and so I am using an Iron oxide to define the edges. The Iron will darken the glaze in those areas. When applied underneath the glaze the oxide will bleed out into the glaze. When applied over, it will remain a more defined line. On the first two pieces I have applied it underneath, and then sprayed the piece with the glaze. On the second set of pieces I have applied the oxide over the top. I am helping with a kiln packing next Tuesday so will have to wait til then before they are put in for a firing. 

This week i have also made 5 more pieces - 

These four and another jug - the two teapots in this series use different ways of throwing a lid for a piece - the first is a lid thrown the right way up, where the inside of the rim underneath is turned out on the wheel, and the top is thrown. The second is where the lid is thrown upside down, and the base is thrown with a split rim, and then the top is turned into shape. 

I am not as pleased with these two jugs as I was with the other ones, as I don't think they have worked as well aesthetically. 

I now have 10 pieces for this unit, as well as the slip trailed pieces. I glazed the first set with one glaze and have decided to glaze the second group with the Magnesium glaze in Oxidation. I would also like to define the  edges with another oxide, and I will have to look at the ingredients of the glaze first to decide which ones.