thread for df.pots

[cdefoe]

hey y'all. i've dabbled in bonsai/kusamono/staging plants on and off over the years. i took a handbuilding ceramics class a few months ago and have been hooked. i wanted to share the journey and hopefully get some feedback to improve!! currently working out of a studio with electric kilns firing to cone 6. taking a wheel class this summer, but have been having a blast handbuilding : )

a few different forms i've been experimenting with:

 

[cdefoe]

some fun with glaze and stains

have been experimenting with texture -> glaze -> wiping away the glaze

 

[cdefoe]

some african violets

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Very nice!

 

[cdefoe]

some cacti/succulents

sea urchin plant

sea urchin plant

haworthia hybrid

another haworthia hybrid

astrophytum asterias

 

[cdefoe]

thanks for reading y'all. appreciate any kind words and constructive feedback : )

 

[ForrestW]

Nice variety of forms and textures. I especially like the torn edges on some of them.

 

[KateM]

Very nice!

 

[MrFancyPlants]

As mentioned the textures and forms are interesting, creative and generally well done. And, I always like the earth tones in pottery, and with muted glossiness from the glaze and I believe you have achieved this quite well.

 

[cdefoe]

Very nice!

thank you!

Nice variety of forms and textures. I especially like the torn edges on some of them.

tearing the lips off the pot when the clay is leather-hard is maybe the most satisfying part of playing with clay lol. learning the different stages of dryness and which techniques are appropriate for a given stage has been one of the early challenges for me. learning how to dry clay as well (ex: learning how to cover with plastic, how placement in a space relative to air flow/light, etc)

As mentioned the textures and forms are interesting, creative and generally well done. And, I always like the earth tones in pottery, and with muted glossiness from the glaze and I believe you have achieved this quite well.

i've been having a lot of fun with texture. there are absolutely bonsai ceramicists who do cool things with texture, but i've been getting a lot of inspiration from people who make cacti/succulent planters

 

[cdefoe]

re: earth tones, glaze, glossiness

i've been chasing a look of like a stone with lichen or gems peeking out with applying glaze over texture. i'm sure there's a technical term for it, but when you wipe away the glaze, what's left leeches into the clay and darkens it. you can get some really interesting nuance when layering slips, oxide stains, and glazes!!

also some interesting results layering a matte glaze over a more glossy glaze

currently stuck in a vicious cycle of making pots, buying plants for pots, and making more pots for plants

 

[MrFancyPlants]

I had wondered about mixing glaze with the clay before shaping or adding glaze. Before bisque firing.
Not having a kiln or clay or glaze has really inhibited my experimentation though.

 

[cdefoe]

i've not tried adding glaze before bisque firing. as a beginner, i've been very fortunate that the studio i've been working out of has a lot of colored slips/stains/underglazes/glazes prepared so my dumb ass can come and just use a brush to slap stuff onto my pots

would love to experiment with some fun colored nerikomi, but i'd need to figure out some sort of setup at home because my studio membership is a lowly 12 hours/month lol

 

[Cruiser]

Nice work!

 

[cdefoe]

i wanted to document this for a couple different form types i've been playing with! i've been trying to refine my process to maximize my time in the studio. here we go!!

start by wedging some clay, rolling some slabs, and getting a chunk of clay to pinch. the intent being to make pots in the forms behind the raw clay. i use a silicone rib to compress the slabs (both sides!) after they come out of the slab roller

gonna start by getting slippy. i've got some slip from the studio reclaim and a speckled buff slip. glob those suckers up

the slabs go in front of the fans while i work on the pinch pot. starting with a couple handfuls of wedged clay formed into a cylinder. we're gonna spatula this sucker

when we're done absolutely cake spatulaing this poor bastard, it'll look like this all around

pinching next. i want an asymmetrical form, so i put the initial hole off-centered

the trick is to support it with the flat of your hand so that you don't get fingerprints all over the texture. stand in awe of my pale, meaty palm

keep on pinchin' until the walls are even and not too thick. it's so simple it seems like cheating, but look at this dang texture. look at that gd speckle. exhilerating

smooth the bottom, try to get rid of fingerprints. compress the bottom as much as you can in the hopes there won't be any cracks. attention to detail here is one of the things i've been trying to improve on

bottom's up. flip that bad boy over and compress the bottom with a silicone or wood rib then sit it in front of the fans

slabs are dryish now. add a thick layer of gunflint slip (made from the original clay body i've been working with - i collect all the trimmings from this process and turn them into slip). back to the fans

coil time. took the scraps from the slabs i rolled out to wedge and make a ball of clay to then coil out. this was one of the most valuable lessons i learned from my handbuilding class. these are going to be the feet for the pots

back to the pinch pot that's been in front of the fans. scratch and slip both the pot and coil then place it on the bottom and smush it in a bit

using a ridged metal rib, pull the coil down into the pinch pot.

smooth. i use my fingers

back to the slabs. slap them slip side down. i'm about to rock these suckers' whole world. this will be the inside of the planter. pictured behind the slabs are some molds i pinched and then had bisque fired

 

[cdefoe]

peel the slabs off the board. because the slip isn't completely dry, the different layers of slip kinda pull and blend through each other when you take them off the board. i discovered this by accident when experimenting with this process and really liked the final result. drape the slabs over the bisque molds

rock the shit out of those slabs

coil time 2.0. we're feetin' these slabs. same deal as before with the metal rib then smoothing it out with yr fingers

results for the night

i put these on a board, covered them with plastic, and shelved them. the next steps will be coming back in a day or two to put in drainage and wire holes in the bottoms, apply my chop, trim the feet, and tear the rims (i'm obsessed with this technique rn. idk if i'll be looking back and cringing at finishing all my pots this way, but i love the way it looks. and when you're working with clay in the right dryness stage, it's honestly one of the most satisfying feelings in the world)

these will slow dry under plastic in the hopes to avoid the varied and cursed types of cracking that appears on the bottoms of pots. then bisque fired. then i'll have some choices to make in glazing!!

 

[KateM]

Thank you for sharing your technique. I was wondering g how you get those beautiful textures.

 

[cdefoe]

was really fortunate to get to participate in my local bonsai society's photography event last weekend

haworthia hybrid

mammillaria duweii

and a couple pots i thought turned out well