Cone 6 Glaze Tests

 

I took my glaze tests out of the kiln at about ten o'clock last night and I am really happy with how they turned out.  Right before school started I bought some clay down in Sacramento from IMCO.  I bought two cone 6 clays, Cone 6 Porcelain and  Navajo Wheel.  I use INSIGHT glaze calculation software from DIGITALFIRE. This is an ultra low expansion clear cone 6 base glaze that I tried out on both of the clay bodies.  The first one on the left is clear, the second has 10% zircopax to make a white and the third is the navajo wheel with the white.  All of these tests were fired in oxidation to cone 6 in a skutt kiln with a 30 minute soak at the end.  I'm also learning how to program the kilns which is awesome!

 

This is Mason Stain 6242 at different percentages in the clear:  5%   2.5%  1.25%   This is called Bermuda Green and it's just how I feel today.  The sun came out and it is 68 degrees in the shade.  I actually got hot sitting out in the sun in shorts and a t-shirt.

 

This next one is Cerdec Intensive Red Inclusion Stain at different percentages.  The last one is a mix with some of the white.

 

Cobalt Carbonate in clear.

I ran out of my clear glaze and only had the white left so I dipped a bunch of the red clay test tiles into it and brushed tiny bits of stain mixed with water over them to get an idea of how it might look mixed into the glaze.  After all, it was about midnight when I got to this point after about six hours worth of work.  I was getting pooped out.  I also tried out some old Pemco stains that have been in the studio for years to see what they looked like.  I wasn't impressed with a deep purple that I mixed into the clear and applied to the porcelain. However, when I cut it in half with the white and saw how it came out on the red clay I thought there might be some possibilities for it.  Who knows?

 

Overall, I am pretty excited and I can't wait to do some more glaze tests.  I have a mug made out of the Navajo wheel with a clear on it that is coming out of a cone 6 reduction and after I see that I might be able to start glazing some of my sculptures.  Progress is being made.

Printmaking Sketchbook

 

I finally figured out my flub on uploading pictures into blogger.  I accidentally had chosen the Edit HTML tab instead of the Compose tab.  Silly me.  Now I'm up and running with images again.  I have been working hard in the ceramics studio and then I remembered I had an assignment for printmaking that I needed to switch gears for.  I am taking Introduction to Printmaking with Eileen Macdonald at CSU Chico. We are working on Lino Cuts right now and I have to do research on 10 artist and make notes in my sketchbook on eight of them.  So far I am really enjoying the work of Endi Poskovic and John Buck. Above is my first preliminary sketch for the lino project and I need a total of at least three sketches.

This is my second sketch and I am liking this progression better.  I started filling in all black in the background and then I wanted to play around with some color instead.  I also want to define the other organic shapes so that they have more volume and pop out of the image better.  It has been interesting having to change my thinking about drawing because now I have to work somewhat in reverse of what I am used to so that I remember what I will be carving away from the the lino block.  Linoleum Block printing is very similar to Woodcut except that you carve into a lino block instead of wood.  MOMA has a great demo of the woodcut process here.

Clay Marathon

 

Yes indeed. Last night was a marathon of sorts in the ceramics studio. The CSU, being part of the state mandated furloughs is closed today and Monday. I decided to go in last night and make a bunch of work so that it would be ready for me on Saturday. I started by finishing the assembly on two sculptures and then I threw some more sculpture parts out of some funky pink recycled clay that I mixed up about six months ago. I will cover it with white slip and no one will ever know. After doing all that I decided to work on some heart bowl prototypes. I had a request for some lower and some smaller bowls so I threw a bunch in four different sizes. I got to the studio at 8:30pm and didn't get home until 2:00am! I had a lot of fun but I am paying the price today.

Pancake Supper Etsy Treasury

How fun to make it into this Pancake Supper Etsy Treasury by Gemini River Rocks.  Having my pottery in this treasury means I can actually make a post today without getting in trouble for not working on ceramics which I actually did today.  It was pretty mellow though.  My back was sore today.  Probably from sitting in this bad office chair at my computer.  I took a rice pack to heat up in the microwave at shcool and then sat leaned up with it in my chair while I assemble small parts and that I want to make sprig molds out of .

I am excited about trying out some new ideas for surface treatments on my forms. It will be fun to see were I go with it.  Ok , now I am suffering from a chocolate overload.  Meagan left the studio to go to Upper Crust
Bakery for a chocolate cookie and came back with a cream cheese brownie. That's what got me started then I had to stop at the store and pick up some chocolate chips. Then I had to watch the chocolate competition on food network. The next thing I know, I'm smelling brownies baking that my son whipped up. I think we must have been on the same wavelength.  I'd better go to sleep.

Priorities: Photos or Ceramics? Hmm...

 

Ok, soooo what I'm thinking is that I've got my priorities completely backwards.  I think MAYBE I have been letting myself become a little distracted.   While my fellow ceramics students are doggedly plugging away on their projects at the school studio, I've got my rear glued to my office chair playing with photos for HOURS.  Imagine what I would be getting done with clay if I were putting the same amount of time into that.  Yes, there is a time and a season for everything and although I adore photography I must get back on track and set this aside.  I seem to be able to work fine in the studio while it is pouring rain outside.  Then as soon as the sun peeks out I am inspired to work on my photography.  Ok, people.  Keep me honest.  I expect tongue lashings if you spot me posting things other than ceramics.  I must be held accountable for!  I know, I know.  I'm supposed to be an adult and responsible and all.  Sometimes I still need a little reminder.  Sigh.

Photoshop Fun

 

What is the point of having photographs if I don't do anything with them.  I am trying to focus on the things I care about more thanks to a tweet from David Schlesinger (stonemirror on twitter.)  Photography is definitely one of the things I care greatly about.  I have since I was a young girl.  I didn't realize it but I overheard my mother telling a friend that I was always asking to use her camera.  I didn't remember that but I did love taking pictures.  She bought me my first SLR, a used one, when I was about fourteen. For my sixteenth birthday she surprised me with a brand new SLR.  That was probably the best gift I have ever received.  Thanks mom for nurturing my love of photography.  I love being in the darkroom, but with digital I am loving the digital darkroom and image editing software.  I haven't played with it near enough as of late.  My camera is still on the fritz and I've been borrowing my son's digital point and shoot.  I still don't have a digital SLR but it is on my wish list.

What I want to do now is spend some time on all the photos I have stored. I want to spend time learning different photo editing techniques and build up a portfolio of images.  The above image I wanted to have a sort of vintage feel.  Thanks to Nasos3 for his free texture images.  I desaturated the original photo and applied this texture as an overlay and then further tweaked the levels, hue and saturation until I liked what I saw.  I haven't decided if I am satisfied that this is the final image.  I am feeling like it is a little dark.  What do you think?  Also, thank you to Paxton Prints for some great tutorials and more awesome free textures that I can't wait to try out.  Do any of you photographers out there have any links to favorite tutorial sites?

Since it is early Monday morning I should probably go to sleep soon. Have a great week.

Oh My Aching Neck!

Is there officially terminology for "potter's shoulder?"  You know, the strange phenomena that occurs when one throws too much clay and the muscle in one's shoulder tightens up before you realize it and almost instantly results in an excruciating muscle tension headache?  Inquiring minds want to know.  Is that what I get for not throwing on a regular basis and then just going all out?  I was having fun and enjoying myself and didn't even notice my muscles getting tight.  I guess I need to do warm-ups and cool downs like any kind of sport.  Pottery is a sport, isn't it?

On another note.  The other day I was in a kind of sad, down mood.  I decided to just relax into it instead of getting more upset because I wasn't happy.  Instead of rushing off to the pottery studio at school I decided to get out some of my art supplies.  I turned on some good music and crawled back into bed with paper, scissors and glue/gel medium.  Yeah, in bed but I put the glue on the bedside table.

 

I had a good, relaxing, meditative time working on these pieces.  I tried to tune in to what my emotions are trying to tell me.  I think I need to make some more changes in my life and head in a different direction but I am not sure what that is yet.  I'm going to try to spend some more meditative time reflecting and listening to what my heart and mind are trying to tell me.  

 

 

Maybe right now I just need to accept what I have and were I am at and sink into it comfortably and wait until the time is right for some change. The biggest challenge for me is that part requiring patience.  Oh, that stuff.  Yeah, one of the things I was put here to learn. I don't do it that well.  I did thoroughly enjoy my collage session and plan on some more soon.  What kinds of things to you like to do to refocus and tune in to what directions you need to move in?  And what do you do when you know the move might be a difficult one?

Ok, I've got the warm rice pack on my shoulders now and my eyes are getting drowsy.  The cozy soft bed is also calling me.  Goodnight everyone.  Thank you for taking a peek into my world.

Sad Day with Happy Ending and Chocolate

 

 

Now I am eating chocolate so everything should be back to normal real soon.

Sunny Photo Opportunities Today

 

Let's see, I worked in the studio today and finished painting and carving my sculptures.  But never mind that.  It was sunny and there were a ton of photo opportunities around town.  I walked to school and took pictures in the morning and then I finished my work and walked around town for the hour before sunset.  It was gorgeous.  This is the tower of Bidwell Presbyterian just outside the ceramics studio at Chico State.  I absolutely love the warm late afternoon light.

 

This is Collier's Hardware just across the street from the church.  This store is an institution.  They have been around forever and if you need even an obscure item they are sure to find it lurking around in some bin or the basement.  They also keep the hugest hand crank vintage ice cream maker in the basement.  They haul it out every summer for an old fashioned ice cream social at Bidwell Mansion. I like the way the chartreuse green and yellow contrast with the vivid blue sky.

 

 

I decided that I could get better pictures of the water towers since it was earlier than the photos I took on Tuesday.  Has the week gone by this fast already?  Wow!  This is at about four thirty in the afternoon before the light had really started changing.  The architecture is wonderful and these water towers are like nothing I had ever seen before moving up here from Santa Barbara, CA.

 

Spring really is just right around the corner even though we are still in that transition phase.  I found these narcissus next to the driveway of a house across the street from the water towers.  They smelled delicious and the sun was still warm enough while I ran around taking photos.

 

 

This is a fun shot with all the barren trees.  This is taken about five o'clock and the sunlight is getting warmer in color as the sun gets closer to the horizon.

 

You can really see the warm sunlight reflecting off the bottom of the tower.

Ahh, the conclusion of the photo shoot.  The golden light reflecting off the towers finally reached a saturated glow about three minutes before the sun finally slipped below the horizon.  What a satisfying day.  And I really did work in the studio.  Honest!  I have proof.  I hope everyone had as great a day as I did!

Golden Sunset Water Towers

The sun finally came out!  I came out of ceramics just in time to see the gorgeous sunset that was happening and I didn't have my camera!  I raced home and grabbed it and sped back out to try to catch some good light.  I love these water towers and the golden glow they were reflecting.  I would have preferred ten minutes early and from the other side.  When I came out of class they were literally glowing  golden against a very dark sky with the wet, dark trees silhouetted against them.  It was very dramatic.  Alas, these shots are what I'll have to settle for.

At least there was sun.  Woo hoo! And there is supposed to be sun again tomorrow.  Oh, what to do?  Should I get up before sunrise and head out for some sunrise pics and bask in the early morning rays?

Pottery Photo Shoot and Making Clay

I had another productive day today.  While I was waiting for a call to see if we would be making clay I did three loads of laundry and 300 shots of pottery.  Yeah, at the highest resolution.  Doh!  It took a while to upload and then I had to resize them but it was easier than retaking the pictures at a lower resolution.  Still, it would have been a tad bit faster of a process if I took the pictures at the right resolution in the first place.  Oh well, I'm still learning. 

Well, after all those pictures I am finally getting the hang of it.  I have been using the new light tent and tweaking the light set up and the leg height and I am really happy with the images I have been getting. The last photo shoot I did, I kept underexposing the shots and had to do a lot of tweaking in Picasa.  This time a whole lot less image editing which was great.  I love Photoshop but for this kind of stuff Google's Picasa application is simple and great. The best thing about it is that it is FREE!

Here is one of my popular batter bowls that I just listed in my Etsy store.  These are great gifts and I have sold many for wedding presents.  They would also be great as a Valentine's gift for the cook in your life. And that could mean you.  I think that sometimes we forget to treat ourselves to things.

Well, I've got one more day until school starts and the semester frenzy get underway.  I better go prepare!

Focus and Hard Work

Who would have thought that actually focusing and working hard would be productive?  It's not like I spend too much time blogging and being on facebook or anything like that.  Oh yeah, and surfing the internet...  The weather is finally calming down and we only had a tiny short sprinkle. It's a good thing too because we had to load in a ton of clay for the students to start on Monday.  I did another marathon day in the studio today.  I went in to put some work study hours but they only needed me for a couple so I got the rest of the day to work on my stuff.  I mixed up a fresh batch of white slip for my sculptures and decided these mugs needed it too.  These will get some underglaze colors and sgraffito decoration.

Here is another sneak peak of the sculpture in progress.  This is the inlay after scraping back the porcelain.  It will get more defined when I sand it down after it is dry.  I can't wait to see how it turns out.  The rest of the piece has slip and will get a variety of decorative treatments.  I can't give too much away. Shh, it is supposed to be a surprise.

I might be giving you too much of a peak of this one but I had a lot of fun connecting all the orbs and this is what evolved.  I love this clay.  It reminds me of chocolate.  I probably wont show anymore of this one until the show.  I also got my new heart bowls and clay stamps into a bisque today.  Tomorrow it is not supposed to rain and we might go in a mix up a couple of batches of recycled clay so that we can get the mess of scrap clay out of the classrooms.  On the other hand, if it is nice enough I am tempted to take a drive and enjoy the day and play a little before school starts.  I definitely deserve it.  I have been so extremely busy over this Christmas break that I owe it to myself to do something nice for myself.  We'll see.  Tomorrow is another day.  I'm bushed.

Clay Stamps and Power Outage

What do you like to do when the weather is bad?  I HAD great plans to go over to the studio today, but it seemed that everything got in the way.  First I had an appointment to deal with in the morning.  When I got home I changed my clothes into my grubbies and was gearing up to head to the studio.  About the same time the rain really started to pour and the wind was blowing so hard that tree branches were falling out of the sky.  So I hesitated just long enough until the power went out.  Not knowing if the power was on at the studio didn't help with my diminishing resolve.  What to do now was the question.  No internet, no Facebook, no blogging and no Twitter!  I didn't want my clay plans to go to complete waste so I set myself up on a towel in front of the window, stretched out on my tummy and went to work.

I made impressions on both ends of the stamps with wooden tools and the ends of paint brushes.  Basically anything that was close at hand and looked like it would make a good shape.  The piece on the left above is a sprig that I am going to slop a little bit of plaster on to make a little press mold.  The others I will put into a bisque firing as is.  These were fun and something I have been wanting to make.  The largest piece is only about an inch and a half. 

The power did finally come back on and the rain let up enough for me to run out to my storage for some packing peanuts.  I got a heart bowl packed up and then I went to the post office.  Yeah, me and everyone else in town made a run for it.  The post office was swamped and then I spied the automated shipping service.  What a great invention.  I was out of there in minutes.  While I was standing at the machine I saw Jerome "J" Pouwels, artist and instructor extraordinaire! I had him for figure drawing a couple of semesters ago and he is teaching again in the spring.  Good to have you back, J.

Heart Bowls in the Studio and Sculpture Sneak Peak

The rains came down and the wheel spun round and round.  We are in for a week of rain.  What better excuse for a day in the studio.  I spent a full eight hours in the studio today working on sculptures for my March show at the Bell Memorial Union at Chico State.  I also made a bunch of heart bowls before it gets too late for Valentine's day items.  Keep an eye out for them in my Etsy store.

 

I had so much fun in studio.  I set out a bunch of different projects and spent the afternoon flitting about from one to the other.  I tried some new techniques including inlaying some cone 6 porcelain into my cone six navajo wheel.  Both clays I got from IMCO. I got this technique from Maureen Mills' book, Surface Design for Ceramics that I got at my local Barnes and Noble.

I finished putting a couple of orbs onto sculptures and now they are fully assembled.  I also threw some more orbs for a couple more sculptures that I will make with this red mid-range clay.  In this sneak peak of my sculpture in progress you can see the sgrafitto swirls.  This is were I am inlaying the porcelain.  I am also trying some sprig ideas.  I don't have any sprigs made yet but I wanted to get an idea of how they might look so I stamped some clay with rubber stamps and used mini cookie cutters to get the sprigs.  Kind of interesting but I think I will like the sprigs better if I ever get them made.  There is only so much time in the day!  Ugh.  I took all kinds of goodies and supplies with me over to school and I had the whole big studio all to myself.  I wanted to do more and I didn't want to leave.  I am still exited and wish I was over there but truthfully, I don't think I can move!  Tomorrow is another day. Besides...it's just going to keep on raining.

Oatmeal Muffin Bombs

If I had remembered that I had the camera with me while I was in the studio you would have been able to see all the productive work I got accomplished today.  I was actually supposed to do some clean up to get ready for the semester which starts in a week but my sculpture pots were calling to me from the damp closet.  So, what was I supposed to do?  I pulled the parts out and started assembling.  Four hours later I had two small experimental pieces and two other pieces for my show almost complete.  If I like the experimental pieces I might include them in the show if they fit in with the proposal.  Soooo, instead of getting some sneak peaks of my works in progress, you get this.

Muffin Bombs!

Carmelized oatmeal muffins sounded like a truly yummy recipe but you have to be careful sometimes with recipes you pull from the internet.  Of course, I could have done something wrong.  I'm not sure that I will make them again to bother to find out.  The theory was good.  Cook the oatmeal in butter and brown sugar until browned, then add water until is softens up and then add it to the flour, remaining dry oatmeal, eggs and butter.  Then add raisins, cook and there you have it.  When I pulled them out of the oven I was surprised at how heavy they felt.  And they were heavy, like a rock in my stomach.  I was rather disappointed because they were a little laborious and they smelled so good baking.  I should have made something from the baking magazine I "borrowed" from the doctor's office today.  Oh well:)

Etsy Treasury

I made it into an Etsy treasury thanks to Erika.  Thanks Erika!  You have beautiful jewelry and it made my day to see my heart bowl with all the other fun heart items.  Etsy is really a great place to find gorgeous handmade items.

Signs of Spring and Sunshine, Finally!

It has been foggy and dreary and rainy for I don't know how long.  It seems like forever.  Just when I was getting ready to head over to the studio on campus the sun came out.  Yippee!  I grabbed the camera and decided to walk the extremely long ten minutes it takes me to get there.  The sun was so great I wasn't sure I could convince my self to work in the studio.  This is one of the footbridges that goes across the creek to campus.

Looking behind me is Bidwell Mansion and the largest magnolia tree I have ever seen.

Walking across the footbridge I noticed this fresh green growth sprouting out of the barren tangle of winter vines.  I can feel spring right around the corner.

For all you ceramists out there, here is my moss and lichen image for the day.  Enjoy!

P.S.  I did make it into the studio and actually made something.

Clay Day, Throwing , Organizing and Cute Rabbits

Here it is, proof that I actually went into the clay studio and worked on something.  Woo hoo!  I took in the clay to the studio and was pleasantly surprised to find that the school had the heat on.  I thought it was off during break.  The last time I was in there it was cold and I think that is one of the reasons I haven't gone in.  But today I could have had shorts on in there it felt so good.  Warmer than at home even.  I took the new cone 6 porcelain that I bought yesterday and squirted some test tiles out of the extruder and pressed some relief in with rubber stamps.  This clay is supposed to fire nice and white.  I haven't really worked with cone 6 much so I am going to do a lot of testing.  Does anyone have a favorite cone 6 white stoneware or porcelain for oxidation in an electric that they would like to share info about?

I also threw a bag of my fresh navajo wheel and made some parts for a new sculpture.  These are in the damp locker now.  I will check on them tomorrow and then they should be ready to trim and assemble on Monday.  I also cleaned out and organized my lockers and wedged up two bags of clay that were too soft.  Balls of that clay are also sitting in the damp locker to stiffen up for throwing some other parts.  And on top of all of that I entered a bunch of formulas into Insight, my glaze calculation software.  I have been working with this program for about ten years and I love it.  Yep, I am tired, but satisfied.

Just for the fun of it I thought I would include a picture of my cute lop bunnies.  They are more like little brown pigs with floppy ears.  I give them rolled outs when it is cold and they push my hand out of the way to get to it.  Their noses are blurry here because they are munching  away.

New Clay and Website

Can anyone tell me where the whole week went to?  I can't believe tomorrow is Saturday already!  That is really a great thing though.  It means I wont have to make phone calls because everyone is out of the office.  I might actually be able to make myself get into the studio like I keep promising myself, and everyone else.  Smile...sigh.  It's been a busy week.  Is everyone in my area glad the leaves are almost completely done falling off the trees.  I completely wore myself out yesterday trying to rake up what was left for our last city leaf pick up.  Phew, and we have one of the most ginormous sycamores in town right next to the house. 

Today was a great day.  I drove down to Sacramento and went to IMCO, one of our local clay suppliers.  I picked up some cone 6 porcelain and some navajo wheel so that I can get up and running with my projects for next semester and my show in March.  Yeah!  The image above is on the front of the new website I have been working on tonight. I have been designing my site using OtherPeoplesPixels.  This company helps "artists and students get their work online quickly and easily."  I've got a trial version of it and if I like what I have set up I will make it official and post a link to my new website.  So far I am enjoying it.  I need to get some more things loaded on to it so that I can see how it all flows.  Have a great weekend everyone!

First Etsy Sale, New Light Tent and More Enchilada Adventures

Yeah, I got my first ever sale through Etsy.  I am very excited!  I modified my light tent last night.  Wait, did I already tell everyone that?  Oh well, I stayed up much too late taking lots of photos so I am kind of bleary-eyed.  I still have lots I want to do today.  I've got to take some things I don't need to the thrift store and do general errands and run around.  Unfortunately it will take me to that side of town where the fabric store is and you know what happens then?  I usually get sucked in!  I had plans to go into the studio and get a head start on some sculptures for my show in March.  I hope I can squeeze it in even if only for a short time just to kick start me in to gear.

Here are the results of the continuing adventures of the enchiladas.  I decided to caramelize my onions first.  I started with a little olive oil and then added about half a tablespoon of butter.  Yummy!

Getting nice and caramelized after about fifteen minutes...

Here I de-glazed the pan with some chicken broth and all that brown sugary goodness is covering the onions.  At this point, just eating the onions would have been yummy.

 

 

This time I am layering the tortillas instead of rolling them up. I did not fry them in oil or put any kind of oil on them.  I did rub a little olive oil on the bottom of the pan so they would not stick but they stuck a little anyway.  In between the layers is the chicken, onions, green enchilada sauce, extra fire roasted green chilies and cheddar jack cheese.  I wanted all white jack cheese but I was out. 

These got rave reviews from the crowd at home.  Much better that the ones with red sauce and not oily.  I made these before I got your comment LaShaunna so next time I will try cooking them in the sauce a little to soften them up before I either layer them or roll them and see how that goes.  Thanks for the great tip!  Ok, now I am off and out of here.  Wish me luck on getting everything done!

Handmade Stoneware Heart Bowls for Valentine's or Weddings

 

Finally taking some photos of my pottery to sell on etsy.  It's a fun learning experience.  I learned that I need to trust my eye more when setting the exposure.  My camera kept metering for the backdrop and most of my photos came out too dark so I had to spend some time editing them to lighten them up.  Does anyone have any tricks for speeding up the photo process and getting them quickly into etsy?