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Pottery bowls


TallTayl

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Wow, those are wonderful! Do you have any pictures of them finished? Would love to see....Trappeujr

Class has not gotten that far yet. Supposedly they will be glazed during the last class which is the last week of Feb. so in 8 weeks i should be through the entire process for several forms.

I so want to throw some tumblers for candles!

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Class has not gotten that far yet. Supposedly they will be glazed during the last class which is the last week of Feb. so in 8 weeks i should be through the entire process for several forms.

I so want to throw some tumblers for candles!

 

Oh, you are just getting started!!  I have been doing pottery for about 10 years now, but took a few years off several years ago.  I went back into the studio this year and now that I do candles I make a lot of things with my candles in mind.  Lidded pots, candle luminaries and this past week I made a few hand built containers to pour candles into. 

 

I also make both wheel thrown and hand molded soap dishes to compliment my soaps. 

 

Once you start it's hard not to have the ideas come pouring at you.

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I can see how this is addictive. Trying to take a very conservative walk on this new path. Typically i dive in never caring how deep the water is. I can see a wheel and kiln in my studio, but am standing on the brake to not let them in right away. :D

I think i freaked out the teach a little when i walked into the first class with a (short) list of specific goals. The list is kind of following along with his lesson plans. I wish i could move the pace along just a weeeee bit to get through first firing and see just how much this clay shrinks! Patience is being tested i tell ya!

Do you have your own kiln chefmom? Have always wanted one, even if it is just enough for glazing and maybe some glass slumping. My inner magpie loves shiny things.

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Oh yes, I have photos...good and bad.  :)  The first is one of my mugs from this year.  I love the purple glaze!!

The second is a few bowls with some glaze tests done on them.

The third is a couple of wheel thrown soap dishes, a little larger than usual....but the last ones I made didn't have enough holes in the bottom and so I tried a larger one with LOTS more holes.

The fourth is a "husband" sized mug.  He likes large ones, it holds just at 16 ounces-ish.  Both him and my son love the matt/shiny black glaze and want more things done in that one.

The fifth is a couple of my hand made soap dishes.  They are a true labor of love!!  Hand rolled clay and then hand built on a mold and then finished step by step, but they work very well for my soaps and I have been making a LOT of them lately.  I love the oval shape, but unfortunately am not going to make any more, they end up being just too small for either my round or rectangle soaps.  Even a little too small for a commercial oval soap mold... :(  That is the nature of clay....shrinkage.

 

I'm quite surprised your instructor doesn't already know the shrinkage percentage of the studio clays.

 

I don't take organized classes anymore.  I buy a monthly membership in a studio and that covers my time there (I come and go as I please as long as no other classes are scheduled), my glazes and firings.  I buy all my clay by the bag separately.

 

I do have my own wheel and I used to throw at home, but space squeezed it out as candles and soap took over.  :(  Once my kids move on in their lives I'll be able to reorganize the house better.  :D

 

I don't have an operating kiln.  My husband bought one years ago to tinker with so I could start firing myself...but that is something that was put on the back back back burner.  That is a someday though. 

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Gorgeous is right!

The instructor knows the shrink rate, but i cannot picture in my head what 12% shrinkage will feel or look like without first seeing it, kwim? How much bigger do i need to throw the bowl/vase/mug to get what size i think i want for the end.

Some were fired on Saturday, i guess i will have my answer tomorrow if i can make it in.

Two of my bowls were busts. One cracked the whole way through the bottom while drying. Too thin, booo. The other i poked a hole through after trimming. Double boo.

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The best way to get a 12% shrinkage visual is to start looking at your home bowls, especially stacking bowls.  Get out a measuring tape and start measuring and calculate a 12% difference in the bowls.  You can even do this in a kitchen store if you don't have a lot of stacking bowls at home.  I'm a retired Baker/Chef so I have tons of bowls.....  It will at least give you something to look at, and better yet, FEEL in your hands.  The downfall with knowing the shrinkage is you can't see the start and finish side by side, to get a clear visual. 

 

Also, don't measure until after the glaze fire, you may have additional shrinkage in the second fire.  12% is the total shrink rate.

 

Gotta love mistakes!!!!  :)

 

In the first snap, the pot on the left...well....its square, but it started round.  I foolishly took it off the wheel by hand instead of letting it set up on the bat longer and the rim went wonky on me.  I quickly remedied the situation and turned it into a square....um....vase or something.  :D

 

The "bowl" on the right...was a bowl...until I too blew through the bottom while trimming.  So it quickly had a full hole put in it and some drain holes on the foot and it became a planting pot!!  :D

 

The second snap shows the foot of the bowl...

 

The third shows the finished planting bowl, glazed in blue...however the fourth snap shows how careful you MUST be when waxing the bottoms of your item before glazing.  I accidentally dribbled and then tried to wipe it off quickly instead of stopping and heating etc.....the glaze schmeared....BUT it's a planting bowl now, with a backside and frontside.  :D

 

 

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Guest OldGlory

I have been trying to avoid this thread out of fear - that I would want to try my hand at ceramics. LOL

Chefmom, really beautiful products; TallTayl, I'm sure your mind is spinning with anticipation of what you will be creating.

Kudos to both of you!

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