This is the first of probably many posts dealing with my experiments. This series began because I had been reading about some ceramic materials and wondered what would happen if … so I experimented with some little pieces I had on hand. Temoku glaze tends to be stable and predictable, and is one of my staples. Side note - most of these happened to go through one of Jayson Lawfer’s firings for heavy reduction firing and reduction cooling. Here are my results.

Sauce dish and tiny dish. 2008. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Whiting sprinkled over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 1h, 2.5w; 1h, 3.5w.

Macro shot. Whiting serves as a flux in glazes, so it seemed like a good pick. The whiting came out very dry but can be brushed away with water, leaving a dry pitted surface and some very opaque glaze. I may be able to modify this, mix whiting with water and brush it on rather than sprinkling, but this experiment didn’t knock my socks off, so I’m letting it go for now.

Three sauce dishes. 2008. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Frit3134 sprinkled over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 1h, 3.5w; 1h, 3.5w; 2h, 3.5w.

Macro shot. Another ceramic artist told me Ferro Frit 3134 is nice to work with. I knew it would melt, but didn’t know how it’d look. I used varying amounts of frit; while a little bit does the job, a lot isn’t too much. The frit melted and ran down, making a puddle that resembles an oil slick. This has potential, especially if there are places for glaze to pool.

Three sauce dishes. 2008. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Bone ash sprinkled over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 2h, 2.5w, 3.5l; 1h, 3.5w; 1h, 3.5w.

Macro shot. I don’t remember why I thought this would be a good idea, and I had no idea what would happen. This piece had the least sprinkled on. The bone ash wasn’t all absorbed into the glaze, it showed a lot of potential. I love the crusty surface, and it appeared to be very stable when hit with soda. I’ve applied it on four pieces since then with success on three - the fourth is in the kiln and cooling as I type. Look for an update soon.

Two bowls and a sauce dish. 2008. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Bone ash sprinkled over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 2h, 4.5w, 4l; 2h, 3.5w; 1h, 3.5w.

Individual shot. Granular nickel has the ability to form crystals. What couldn’t be cool about that? So I sprinkled some on (I tried to sprinkle on wet glaze, but sometimes had to spray the glaze with water to get my materials to stick). A little goes a long way; too much gives a crusty metallic surface. That might be good for sculpture but the same effect can probably be gotten with glaze, too.

Macro shot. Where it was applied lightly, I did get some neat little crystal formations. I don’t know how I’ll use it, but this is pretty cool.

Three sauce dishes. 2008. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Titanium dioxide sprinkled over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 1.5h, 3.5w, 4l; 1h, 3.5w; 1h, 3.5w.

Macro shot. Titanium dioxide is the primary component of rutile, which has been a favorite colorant for years - an obvious choice for this experiment. The crystals don’t surprise me and is something I’ve seen before with my Woo Blu slowly cooled. Some of the powder sprinkled on in fine clumps; they melted but didn’t really move. Most of the surface was smooth and glossy; the titanium in combination with iron in the temoku yielded a golden color, deepened by reduction, but creamy in some places. As with the bone ash, the thickness of application seemed to be an easily solved problem. For my next applications I mixed some titanium dioxide with water and brushed it onto the rim of a tall vessel and into huge bowl.

Three sauce dishes. 2008. Handbuilt of Tile6 over stoneware FCSI with incised drawing. Soda ash sprinkled over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 1.5h, 3.5w.

Macro shot. I know soda ash is a flux - we use it in the kiln! Applying it directly to a glaze ensures that it goes where I want it. The pool at the bottom does get a greenish tinge to it.

Three sauce dishes. 2008. Handbuilt of Helmar slip over porcelainous stoneware with incised drawing. Granulated nickel brushed over temoku glaze. Soda fired to c.10. 1.5h, 3.5w, 4l; 1h, 3.5w; 1h, 3.5w.

Individual shot. Because the nickel had potential last time, I mixed some with water and brushed swirls onto more pieces. It turned out well.

Macro shot. The gold flecking is from soda hitting the piece. Very nice.

Backside of the above. Really pretty inky black.

Macro shot. This is nice too.

The “ideas” category seems to have ideas too spread out, and many of my ideas don’t seem to merit an entire post. So I’ve started a static page, located here. This will allow for quick additions and updates, good oranization, and easy linking to images of the finished products. While the blog category may be shelved, the ideas themselves sure aren’t - enjoy.

I did a couple of leafy tiles in Philadelphia for my aunt, my tiny contribution to an architectural installation. This is the first time I’ve attempted the pattern on paper. I can imagine a pretty big installation of them, because the texture’s great. Maybe as fine art, mounted and hung on the wall. Just as easily, and maybe moreso - used as tile. It’s something that clay likes to do. Contact me if you’re interested.

Inspired by last week’s allergy-induced misery, I think I may do a series of vessels upon which I inscribe images of common allergens. Grass, dust, mold, pollens. These things are pretty cool looking on a microscopic level, but man do they wreak havoc on me.

Studio time’s been scarce of late, so I’ve decided to start sketching out my ideas, so I have something more concrete to work toward once I can get my hands on some clay. It’s quick and easy to snap photos with a webcam. If you’ve ever wondered what my drawing looks like, this is it. I draw like an architect. When it matters how something’s put together, I’ll draw little elevations and sections, with notes.

My obsession of late has been with containers. It began with containers for whiskey cups, and may spread to other things. How nice it would be to have a set of things, that are stored together in a matching ceramic box! It would make my day. It’s not just for cups, though. My pile of mail, a zillion magazines. Piles are too unruly; I really like having containers.

My biggest inspiration in the last months is, what do I need or want to have at home? So I’ve developed some plates, made a bunch of whiskey cups. Another project underway is for pinch bowls - a pinch of this or that, but around here, for the ketchup to dip my grilled cheese in, and for soy sauce with sushi. So these are some ideas on forms.

Plus a new development in tumblers. I articulated the joints a bit when I first made them, a couple of years ago then started blending them in, and now want to do some tumblers that are all about the details, as some of my whiskey cups have been. They’ll be more cylindrical, and I’m not sure whether they’ll recieve the ergonomic slashes of previous ones.

With both new ideas, since I have a few styles of work, different choices in detailing and material selections will head more toward one group or another. Someday I may have four discreet lines of dinnerware!

I posted a photo at the bottom of this post showing a few houses stacked up. At the time, I idly wondered how it would be to fire them in a stack like that. After seeing a photo in a ceramics book, where a wall was created out of extruded (teacup) forms, I’m definitely ready to give the house-stack a shot. It also reminds me of Tejo Remy’s use of drawers.

At the beginning of August, I got a bunch of work back from bisque. I’d stacked up a couple dozen whiskey cups inside a pretty big (20″ long, 3″ wide, 8″ high, or so) clay box, set it to get fired. It was so exciting to have a box of work, rather than a handful, that I decided to make boxes to put some of the cups in. It’s pretty darn exciting. Look for some finished results soon!