Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well and getting excited for summer! I’m looking forward to the break, though I’ll miss the studio until fall. The past two weeks, I’ve been glazing nonstop to get everything into the kiln before heading home. I’m happy to say I finished everything! Usually, I still have to glaze when I come back! Many pieces are still in the kiln as I write this, so I can’t show you those yet, but I do have some pieces from another kiln load to share!
First of all, I finished all of the pieces for the commission I’ve been working on! The pieces came out great, so I’m very relieved! Here’s a peek at some of them!
Next, these two pieces broke my heart!! The glaze on these crawled so badly that large patches of raw clay were exposed unintentionally. I still like the pieces for what they are, but thinking about what they would have looked like if the glaze hadn’t crawled is a bit frustrating. I used the same glaze on a bunch of pieces that are in the kiln right now, so I’m crossing my fingers. It’s all about trial and error, so at least I know that crawling can happen with this particular glaze and can try to avoid that issue in the future.
Funny enough, one of my favorite pieces from this kiln unloading uses the same glaze I said crawled a ton, but for some reason, the crawling was very minor this time. I’m absolutely obsessed with the color of this bowl. I think it’s gorgeous. I used the same purple glaze from before, but this time layered my infamous teal green on top, which made this gorgeous blue. I’ve tried this combination on previous pieces, but this time I sprayed the teal on top instead of dipping it, which made a huge difference. I want to try this combination again in the future!
The next few pieces that came out are my mini lighthouses! It was only the first few of the bunch, but they came out adorable. One of them is a little funky because I think I used too much underglaze in one area, but the other two came out great! These are so adorable, and I definitely want to make more of them for next semester! Here’s my favorite one.
Finally, my favorite piece that came out of the kiln was one I loved so dearly the second I threw it. The shape is so satisfying to me! I decided to start experimenting with beachy-looking glaze combinations because I want to go all in on that theme next semester. I chose an off-white speckle for the sand and my teal to look like water. I didn’t think I would like this as much as I do, but it really inspired me to think of ways to layer blue glazes to emphasize the water look.
Also, in good news, I’m very excited to be using some stunning white stoneware clay next semester, which will open so many doors for my ideas. Using white clay will let me create watercolor designs much more easily, which I’ve been dying to do. White clay will also allow me to use a much wider range of glazes, and cone 6 clay widens that range even more. With cone 6 clay, I get to use cone 6 glazes, which tend to be much brighter colors and more options in general. I have so many ideas! I seriously cannot wait to get back to work.
That’s all I have for now. Hopefully, I have a good kiln unloading so I can show you all soon! As I’m writing this, the kiln will be unloaded tomorrow, so I have my fingers crossed! About half of my work from the semester is in this kiln load, so I’m very nervous. I’ll take lots of pictures to show you all, regardless! Wish me luck! Have a great week and stay creative!
-Jenna 🙂