atlarsenal
Omono
I’m digging the bowed retanangle as well!
First Hand-Carved Pot
- Thread starter thams
- Start date
thams
Omono
That's my plan with slabs. Carving from a solid block has been a little challenging to determine when the block is dry enough to work with properly. Usually the blocks are leather hard on the outside, but too soft still on the inside when I start carving the walls. I have a few blocks slow drying currently to see if I can get uniform stiffness throughout.
thams
Omono
I'm going to bisque fire with the Alexandria Clay Coop and wood fire with the Monocacy River kiln up in MD (about an hour away from Alexandria without too much traffic). There are a few others around, but they seem relatively expensive (or require a membership). I'll let you know how things go at both facilities or if I hear of other better places. Apparently the Columbia Arts Center up in MD has cone 10 firing capabilities (wood, soda, and reduction), but I don't know kiln space availability or cost there.
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
You remember Mos Def on The Italian Job..about The dogs.....
Thats me and drywall drying....
I had a bad experience!
Shit dried so fast it became test tiles!
I see that shrinking being the problem..thanks Stick. Never connected them dots!
Gotta get over that bad experience!
The kiln Sounds responsible!
Bro...Its kind of stupid to carve bone dry, but thats the time I like doing it.
The only thing that sucks is with small details.. Even the smallest larger particle breaks uneven.
I gotta find a porcelain or something really smooth to do stuff like the one I'm giving you....which....I'm reglazing since I learned enough about it....I will make that turn out as intended!
@Stickroot I'm gonna get a flight of 5 Kentuckies here soon. I forget which but I found 6 that will work for me and exed one of the turtles.
Looking forward to finding a couple clays that work for me...Ill prolly try the few lagunas I like too.
Right now I got 2 half kiln loads of the dark and light that I can't fire at the same time....
Getting antsy!
This info is building my confidence past the suck of the cold!
At least it's above zero and I can be somewhere other than in bed!
Legit the last week I been off, I would be trying to wedge clay like this....
Haven't been able to get anything built!
Sorce
Thats me and drywall drying....
I had a bad experience!
Shit dried so fast it became test tiles!
I see that shrinking being the problem..thanks Stick. Never connected them dots!
Gotta get over that bad experience!
The kiln Sounds responsible!
Bro...Its kind of stupid to carve bone dry, but thats the time I like doing it.
The only thing that sucks is with small details.. Even the smallest larger particle breaks uneven.
I gotta find a porcelain or something really smooth to do stuff like the one I'm giving you....which....I'm reglazing since I learned enough about it....I will make that turn out as intended!
@Stickroot I'm gonna get a flight of 5 Kentuckies here soon. I forget which but I found 6 that will work for me and exed one of the turtles.
Looking forward to finding a couple clays that work for me...Ill prolly try the few lagunas I like too.
Right now I got 2 half kiln loads of the dark and light that I can't fire at the same time....
Getting antsy!
This info is building my confidence past the suck of the cold!
At least it's above zero and I can be somewhere other than in bed!
Legit the last week I been off, I would be trying to wedge clay like this....
Haven't been able to get anything built!
Sorce
barrosinc
Masterpiece
I haven't had much warping on my clay work since:
I dry my pieces under a plastic bag. (doubles the drying time)
And when I use tar paper for the molds and gives extra hardness to mount the different slabs, like this.
I heard that clay has memory... if you bend it a lot while building the pot it will bend in the kiln.
I dry my pieces under a plastic bag. (doubles the drying time)
And when I use tar paper for the molds and gives extra hardness to mount the different slabs, like this.
I heard that clay has memory... if you bend it a lot while building the pot it will bend in the kiln.
Cadillactaste
Neagari Gal
Giving up that sort of information so another can grow in the field...shows your character.
I'm pretty sure you will be hung up on Kentucky MUDs. I don't like the whites at all, but Mulhollun and Brown bear are fabulous to work with.
There is a balance in sharing information.Giving up that sort of information so another can grow in the field...shows your character.
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Haven't found that one Max!
Good stuff!
Sorce
Good stuff!
Sorce
thams
Omono
Another smaller (but larger than my previous pieces) accent pot with indented corners and stippling. I totally freehand carved this pot from a block of clay. The stippling alone took about 2 hours to complete. I'm trying to carve progressively larger pieces until I'm in the solid shohin range. I'd also like to start incorporating other features like fancier rims and feet and maybe some banding. I'm still crawling, but hopefully I can learn to walk after a few kiln runs. Can't wait to see it fired with all the texture.
thams
Omono
I've been messing around a little with carving and pinching accent pots. One is a simple bird skull accent that I pinched and molded. If I make future ones, then I'll add more detail to the beak and add delineations to the skull plates. I just thought it would be fun to have a flowery accent growing out of a skull a la Thor Holvila. The other one is a little curve-legged thing that just sorta happened once I got to carving. Both are still greenware.
Ironbeaver
Chumono
The top one reminds me of these sculpture-water filter things in Toronto. 
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thams
Omono
Hahaha, nice! I've never seen those before, but the likeness is uncanny.
Anthony
Imperial Masterpiece
Thams,
you can try a very plastic clay [ not bentonite, it has no real body ]
and an inert material, say a Soda or Potash feldspar.
Say 70 % Feldspar to 30 % plastic clay by weight
See if than improves your body.
Test fire a standing hand rolled cone for point of melting first please,.
No blobs of glass in the kiln okay.
Good Day
Anthony
you can try a very plastic clay [ not bentonite, it has no real body ]
and an inert material, say a Soda or Potash feldspar.
Say 70 % Feldspar to 30 % plastic clay by weight
See if than improves your body.
Test fire a standing hand rolled cone for point of melting first please,.
No blobs of glass in the kiln okay.
Good Day
Anthony
thams
Omono
I'll be experimenting a little more with clay bodies once I move away from wood firing and to cone 6 gas and electric. I'd like to settle on maybe two clay bodies in the end - one for glazed and one for unglazed.
My ultimate super longterm goal is to use porcelain clay to carve pots and paint. But...I'm not artistic in the least - especially when it comes to drawing. BUT! I've been practicing animal forms using simple techniques. While I wouldn't consider my renderings great, they aren't piss-poor either. I think seeing some painted pots depicting distinctly American scenes, traditions, and lore would be really fascinating.
thams
Omono
Here's my second attempt at a bird skull accent pot. The design is better, and I think I can make the next one even more buttoned up. The pot turned out to be a little too shallow, which will be fixed the next go round. I'm also going to adjust the beak to head transition a little. Watering a plant in it will be a little tricky, but not impossible. Maybe not great for formal display, but something cool to liven up the benches some.
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
You could put a valley in the beak top, and move the nose slits a bit higher and on top so they catch the water and funnel it into the planter.
I like a difficult planting though.
Dig it.
Sorce
thams
Omono
Favorite pot from my first firing. Salt fired in a wood kiln - two sides of the same pot.
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
The first one here looks like a giant's wisdom tooth, with the top cut off, and hollowed out...
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