Cut Flowers

More greenware heading to kiln at The Art and Ecology Project. 

Really enjoy both. 

The first is dynamic and busy. 

The second has a nice Matisse blue cutout feel. It's comforting.

We'll see how the fire plays with these.

Bisqueware

Still prepping a few small pieces for the salt kiln in October. The stained and sanded surfaces are really nice in the hand. The dark and muted surface surprisingly does it for me. It's getting tempting to keep the glaze to a minimum, just give the interior a loner  and let the salt do its job.

Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I found a even dozen cups hidden in the bottom layer of a forgotten box. There's a bit of a mess surrounding the photo booth in the basement. 

Out-of-site, out-of-mind and all...

I made this round as part of a batch that was intended for the 2015 Akar Yumoni Invitational and it got boxed away as soon as it came out of the kiln. 

I wanted muted surfaces and I really liked what came out, but... (It's always the buts that get me though ) I didn't think they would play well with all the other work that would be posted around it in the show. I was guessing that it was going to be a strong show and I can't say that I wasn't wrong.

But I do really like these. 

They came out pretty much how I was originally hoping. It was just what I had in mind didn't fit the need at the time. Admittedly, they seem even better now that there's distance from the original expectation.  

Distance always makes the heart grow fonder, (at least it's acceptance is easier).

50/50 Wash

I'm This is the go to wash in our studio. 

It was brought to my attention by Jess a few years back and I huffed and puffed when I first saw her use it, but I quickly came around after playing with it, and was floored after seeing results when it's used in conjunction with the stencils, Since then, we've seen it referenced by John Britt in his glaze books. 

(2) tablespoons gerstly borate

(2) tablespoons masion stain

(1) cup water

I imagine that any masion stain or oxide can be used when mixing this up.

I use this instead of using an underglaze wash when layering on shino glazes. 

Brush it on.

Sponge it off.

Sand the surface.

Wipe it down.

Sun dry and set aside for glazing.

TBT

"Night Dream"

Canister circa 2013

$110

Cone 10 stoneware, paper stenciled, slipped, sprigged, glazed with carbon trap shino

8"h * 5.5"w

Hallmarked 

Holding Silver

Those standing holding silver often look less content than those holding bronze.

It's when we come so close to winning that we can feel the glow radiating off the laurels of gold. That's precisely when the regret of not taking that last risk presses forward.

While those holding bronze are content to be standing on the plinth.

Playing with Fong again. She threw the forms and let me enjoy the glazing. This is part of the joy when in partnership, it's not a competition, it becomes more of a dance. Never at a loss when I partner up with Jessica.

Black and White

Jess and I used this floral motif to test several different surface combinations. The black and white was one of my favorites, (I'm pretty sure it was due to its strait forwardness). 

The above started out as the greenware below. Black underglaze with a White 6 Tile Slip stenciled over the top. The glaze is a thin studio standard MagCarb glaze dipped with a White Liner interior.

The other version pulling from the same bisque combo is glazed using the Amber Glaze. 

Nice and simple...

Floral Romp

"Lives are very much like ideas and fruit... They need time to ripen."

Jess and I unloaded a kiln load of fired work earlier this week after work. There were quite a few sacrifices made in the kiln this go round, "lessons learned" is the positive spin that we are both usually go with. There are a few that need another trip through the kiln... candidates for adding another layer of glaze and refiring. Happily there were a few that were successfully refired as well.

But these two gems were testers that Jess had handed me.

The cone 5 speckled clay body, A Willies Slip was used over a blue underglaze with a black underglaze rimming the stencil before it was peeled off. We used a White Liner glaze on the interior, a PB Liner glaze on the foot, and a thin application of the Mag Carb glaze over the body.

I really think this might have legs... another round of testing next week and then depending how that plays out, we'll scale it up to large canisters and see how gravity affects the larger vertical planes.

Akira Satake

 

Not many craftsmen can make simple objects that are undeniably beautiful.

Akira creates these objects with such an intuitive complexity and confidence as to make this look much, much easier than it is... 

 

 

       

 I could watch him all day and into the next.