A special request had me researching duck shapes again. The Harlequin Duck doesn't lend itself to being a tall jug so I opted to make him with three wheel-thrown parts, plus a teeny cone for his bill. These shapes wind up imitating the way a duck walks or swims. Then what is the best way to fill him? I decided to put a filling hole…
What did I do in May? When I carried pots down to the kiln shed for their bisque firing on the first of June I was slightly horrified to see that I hadn't fired the kiln since late April. After the excitement of the last soda firing it took me a while to get started on the next batch of earthenware work. I began by…
Generally, when our work is sold in a gallery we have no idea who has chosen the work, where it has gone and why they add it to their collection. Recently it seems I have had more contact with folks who buy a jugbird or plates. I show new work on social media (instagram and facebook) and in my blogs and often somebody…
In a comment on yesterday's blog Lynda asks me to explain why I might like to re-fire a couple of pieces in an upcoming soda firing. Most of the time the heat, flame and soda combine to give interesting, pleasing surfaces all around the pots when the kiln has reached its top temperatures.. in our case cones 10 to 12. Flashing slips can produce orange…
In the previous blog I showed photos of most of the work that was fired in the Shadbolt Centre's Vault Kiln for eleven enthusiastic members of TriCity Potters. There's lots of good colour resulting from a variety of sprayed flashing slips. Some folks thought things were rather grey but that is something to learn about and use or avoid in future firings. Some slips are…