Need opinions on my pot

[Forsoothe!]

I can easily erase the wavy lines and the dots before bisque with a gray scrubby . I also could make the lip 1/2 as wide. Let me know if I should do that

Don't do it. Sell it to me.

 

[Anthony]

Peter,

my brother-in-law grows the bonsai, I water , weed and
can work from a diagram.
K, brother-in- law is a Fine Artist.

We make our pots and trees are grown from seed guided by
a drawing.
It is easy for him to draw a pot around a tree.

Pots here are made to go with a tree [ when the tree is ready ]
No pots are just made for the sake of making.
He has been in pottery since he was 15/16, he is 58 in February.

You can ask a few of the guys to help you.
@sorce - can you help Peter ?
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Forsoothe!]

Peter,

my brother-in-law grows the bonsai, I water , weed and
can work from a diagram.
K, brother-in- law is a Fine Artist.

We make our pots and trees are grown from seed guided by
a drawing.
It is easy for him to draw a pot around a tree.

Pots here are made to go with a tree [ when the tree is ready ]
No pots are just made for the sake of making.
He has been in pottery since he was 15/16, he is 58 in February.

You can ask a few of the guys to help you.
@sorce - can you help Peter ?
Good Day
Anthony

So, let's see some of these pots!

 

[Anthony]

@Forsoothe! ,

group has seen this before
Anthony

Pear skin finish
Slab built
earthenware vitreous 08

 

[Forsoothe!]

Nice color, nice Shimpaku, too.

 

[sorce]

can you help Peter ?

All the points made here are valid.
None of them are Bible.

Everyone is viewing this pot with their own tree in mind. One needs it deeper, one needs it wider, one needs it without stripes, etc.

The insight is the 5 similar pots that folks already stated they'd like. That's 5 pots with similar or less work, with people to pot em.

Just like the hairline crack gets the hammer, we move swiftly into producing the next 5 pots.

Anthony brings up shrinkage which is a wink to the change, a nod to the fact that this is a product still unfinished.....
Even the most finely tuned future vision can not fully see the future thru the alchemy that is the kiln, let alone someone untrained in that vision, with their own tree in mind.

The only thing that needs Bonsai Pot consideration, is the wall profile.
Which Bolero is speaking about.

That is the only part that makes or breaks this as a sellable bonsai pot or cereal bowl...

Truth is,

We haven't seen a good enough view of that straight on profile to make that judgement.


Sorce

 

[Anthony]

@sorce , I am not too sure @Forsoothe! ,

believes that down here we can make pottery similar to the Yi Xing style.
See the shimpaku comment on a f ukien tea.

Do you think letting him know, I built a test kiln for k to do glass eutectic
tests evry day for 3 years, as well as hand cleaned clays from all over
this clay rich island as fired bodies. [early 90's]
Later writing to enamel making companies on your side and the UK
to fuse earthenware pottery and enamels.

Also since I was not sure if you did science in school, no mention
of the pottery science books were made to you.
Science makes life easier.
We make our own glazes, body frits and use a gas fired 4 x 3 foot
kiln as well as several electric.
Have a ball mill and sifters up to 600 mesh.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[_#1_]

I think it's lacking defined feet. And I think adding stuff like rivets to an already large lip puts too much in the design. Like too much ingredients in a soup. I see lots of rivets incorporated onto mostly liplesss drums.

Here you go @Peter44. Included is the original for comparison.

 

[Mike Hennigan]

Ben Oki juniper styled by Ryan Neil in a Sarah Rayner “spaghetti bowl” style bonsai pot

 

[August44]

That was pretty amazing what you did with that comparison. I'll make another one, same mold. Remember I hand build and your original one is wheel thrown. Hard for me to do elaborate things with hand builts. I just made an oval today about 17 X 8 X 1.75 with a band around the top and rock art deco. I love it but I'm sure it will be called disgusting by most. It is just like me...very unique and original all the way through. I appreciate the input from everyone, even the dancer.

 

[August44]

I did ask a question back in this thread somewhere that did not get answered...they say not to have shiny glazes for conifers and that the pots need to be dark red/brown, dark brown, dark gray or something in that order. Is it ok to use underglazes and matt glazes the right color. And are washes acceptable? It is tough to find a clay that will fire by itself to be the right color without some help with colorants. Suggestions appreciated. Thanks, Peter

 

[Anthony]

Joseph,

to change the colour of clay,you can add underglaze or
get a body stain from - Mason Stains.

If you have the time see the Back in Time machine and
look up ClayArt - a list for professional potters.

Also there were two suppliers for bonsai pot makers -
USA pigment and Chinese ClayArt.
Memory here,
One was in Chicago and the other West Coast.

Chinese ClayArt supplied Yi Xing materials, clay,
the horn etc,.

Look up Attic Ware - Terra Sigillata.

Additionally in the 80's if you wrote to Tokoname,
they would send a very large catalogue of their pots.
You can study, copy, create etc.
Yi Xing also produced a book in English with body
formulas and finishes. Has chemistry if you
can do it,

Press moulding information would also help.
Good Day
Anthony

* you might also look reduction firing in an electric
kiln. It is in the body / glaze - not smoking and damaging
electric elements.

Also 1970's solar firing

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I did ask a question back in this thread somewhere that did not get answered...they say not to have shiny glazes for conifers and that the pots need to be dark red/brown, dark brown, dark gray or something in that order. Is it ok to use underglazes and matt glazes the right color. And are washes acceptable? It is tough to find a clay that will fire by itself to be the right color without some help with colorants. Suggestions appreciated. Thanks, Peter

Generally, conifers go in unglazed pots. Understated clay colors suggesting earth or mountain. Shapes suggest strength and stability, or precarious pockets. The beauty of unglazed pots is the simple elegance and perfection of the clay and construction. There are always exceptions to the ”subtle” rule, but they’re rare and it will work boldly, or it will flop.

 

[Mike Hennigan]

There is a rather wide variety of commercial clay colors. It shouldn’t be too tough to find a number of reds, browns etc.

 

[Bolero]

I think it's lacking defined feet. And I think adding stuff like rivets to an already large lip puts too much in the design. Like too much ingredients in a soup. I see lots of rivets incorporated onto mostly liplesss drums.

Here you go @Peter44. Included is the original for comparison.
View attachment 278419

I love the comparison, the reduced height and exposed footing is also a plus, amazeing how adding a tree to these pots totally transforms them from Spaghetti pot to Casserole pot...
Also i commend Peter44 for his efforts and am sure he is a first class potter in the making...

 

[Bolero]

Early Sunday Morning here...Think I will go to Church to say a Prayer for Sorce, he is deserving and well meaning but could use some Devine Intervention of some sort, I would contact one of my ET friends but it will have to wait....

 

[August44]

I think it's lacking defined feet. And I think adding stuff like rivets to an already large lip puts too much in the design. Like too much ingredients in a soup. I see lots of rivets incorporated onto mostly liplesss drums.

Here you go @Peter44. Included is the original for comparison.
View attachment 278419

How deep inside is the original pot in this comparison if I can ask. I made mine from a plaster mold that I poured and can cut it down to get a better size. Thanks

 

[sorce]

Hard for me to do elaborate things with hand builts

The Chinese tend to use slump molds so they can adorn the outside with decoration.

This is why Chinese pots are a bit more elaborate than Japanese pots.

I figured he answered that question when he said..."you can put your tree in a neon pink pot if you want".

People accept stains and washes but IMO...
Hopefully it is a fad. I can't stand it. It looks worse than blackface. It's ridiculous.

There is a rather wide variety of commercial clay colors. It shouldn’t be too tough to find a number of reds, browns etc.

This is true, however....
Most of them won't have proper absorption numbers.
Plus, shipping more than doubles cost.

We're usually left with 1 good clay if we're lucky.

@Peter44 you guys don't have good clay in Oregon?

We only have sedimentary clay here.

Sorce

 

[Anthony]

@sorce ,

a little magic

sedimentary clay - sticky - low firing - iron coloured ?

---------------------------------------------
calcined kaolin - 1400 deg.C
sedimentary clay - 960 to 1050 to 1140 deg.c How plastic ?
[ ckeaned to 325 mesh ?]

Can 10 / 20 / 30 % of sed. plasticise the Kaolin ?
Does the kaolin raise the temperature to 1260 / 1280 ?
Do you need say 10% feldspar [ k2 type ]

The kaolin is rendered non plastic as a pot full of powder
placed in a kiln firing.

Enhance colour with a body stain.

Feel like some sorcery?
Good Day
Anthony [ of the Valar ]

 

[sorce]

@sorce ,

a little magic

sedimentary clay - sticky - low firing - iron coloured ?

---------------------------------------------
calcined kaolin - 1400 deg.C
sedimentary clay - 960 to 1050 to 1140 deg.c How plastic ?
[ ckeaned to 325 mesh ?]

Can 10 / 20 / 30 % of sed. plasticise the Kaolin ?
Does the kaolin raise the temperature to 1260 / 1280 ?
Do you need say 10% feldspar [ k2 type ]

The kaolin is rendered non plastic as a pot full of powder
placed in a kiln firing.

Enhance colour with a body stain.

Feel like some sorcery?
Good Day
Anthony [ of the Valar ]

I wouldn't mind a little additive, but I'd like to be able to get the whole product from Earth.

The regular Common yellow sedimentary clay melts low, I haven't had the Orton cones, time, or kilnspace to test it proper.

I was able to get a cone of another clay to keep it's shape, a small red vein in the river.
Really high in Iron. Fired to cone 6 but became very porous. I think I can, "fill the pores" by mixing it with the yellow, and perhaps fire near cone 2 or lower for a vitreous body.

Going to be setting up my larger kiln as a downdraft propane gas fire.

Going to make forced air burner.

Headed to the refractory place next week.

Begin maximum trials and minimal errors!

Enter reduction.

Sorce