workinprogress

2013-05-21

another firing result

I had another glaze firing at the end of the last week.
I'm happy that the kiln is back working properly again, but am still struggling to get the atmosphere right. I got some big pieces warped (because of the weak structure for the weight mostly and the high temperature.), which was a big disappointment. So I'm back working on making more again!
Anyway a few pieces from the firing in the picture. The porcelain vases came out with good result (kind of). The coloured glaze broke to transparent on the rims and shows the carved surface really well, which is very beautiful. Although it has a very different feel to stoneware ones and is, of course, a lot smaller. I might have them in the shows later this year hoping some of you might like them?
The faceted vases are now available in bronze, green and white!

先週末、もう一度釉焼きをした。電気窯を直してからも、まだ新しいコンディションでの焼きには勉強は必要で、今回の焼きでも温度の上がりすぎでへなってしまったものがいくつかあった。オーダーしてくれたお店に事情を話して、今週はまた作り直し。作り直すたびに腕も上がればいいものの、そういうわけでもないし、失敗作のダメージも大きい。焼いてしまった粘土は土に戻らないから環境にも悪いし、うまく再利用する方法があればいいのにな。
今回の焼きには、随分と前に作った磁器の小さな花瓶も入れてみた。これらは問題なく出来てきた。色のついた釉薬が縁で透明になり、彫刻刀で彫った模様を浮き出している。きれいだけれども、土ものに目が慣れてしまったのか、なんとなく面白くない。しかも、焼きの中で陶器が10%程伸縮するのに対して、磁器は20%も縮んでしまう。そんな訳で、写真のような差が。なんだか損した気分になるのは、私だけなんでしょか、、、。

2013-05-12

ramekin

New series in progress.

My kiln got fixed last week and this was the first glaze firing we had since then. The firing was OK (reached to the temperature) but the character of it has changed...

Each kiln has its own characters. One of these that affects to the firing is the atmosphere in the firing. Some spot gets really hot and some don't. And we try to figure out in a few firings by using cones (that measures temperature) and changing gap between the shelves.

Anyway my pieces in terracotta is supposed to be put in the coolest spot in a high firing, but the coolest spot before became the hottest after the repair. Accordingly the few terracotta pieces came out with a problem.

The problem doesn't matter any more as I'm going to work more on this.

2013-04-14

thrown in porcelain

I threw some tiny vases in porcelain last week.
All clay has its own character. The stoneware I use mainly has fine molochite in it, which means it is very easy to throw (and there are other advantages in using this too). Meanwhile, porcelain is very fine clay, very plastic but not strong when soft and easy to slump. I could never throw a big piece with it.
Anyway, some of my glazes are made for porcelain and I want to see how they go on these shapes.
(In the picture, some pieces on the right with grey shade are in stoneware, the rest on the left are in porcelain. Porcelain shrinks 20%, while stoneware does 10%. So after firing the porcelain ones come out a lot smaller.)

先週は同じデザインを磁器で作ってみた。
粘土にはそれぞれ特徴があって、原料の違いが、色、触感、粘度（作業中の強度）などの違いとなって表れる。私が普段使っている土には、molochiteと呼ばれる陶土を焼いて粉にしたものが混ざっていて、強度が増してあるもの。ということは、ろくろもひきやすくなっている。ところが、磁器はもともとの原料の粒子が細かいので、しなやかではあるけれども、形を保つ強さが低い。そんなわけで、磁器で大きなものは、未だに作れないのだ。
でも、磁器用のきれいな釉薬をいくつか持っているので、花瓶シリーズをひいてみた。最終形が楽しみ。出来上がるのは2週間後かな、、、？
（磁器用と、陶土用と釉薬が分かれる話は、また別の機会に。）