Following on from last week, I decided to rework some of the pots in the set of five. They are not dry yet, so I cannot stand them in the group of five, to see whether they work better in the set.
Forms
The triangular pot on the left is not as narrow now. I am not sure whether it is any better than the original pot.
I like the middle pot as the previous pot was a little narrow. I have also made a better job of joining the slabs, as I can get my hand inside more easily.
I remade the curved pot that had previously been on the end of the row. I corrected the making issues, but am still not happy with the result, so I recycled it. I would like a curved pot at the end, but the curve was too wide. I think I will try to remake this pot for a third time. I will take half a circle and join it to straight sides instead, thus reducing the angle of the join to 90 degrees.
To complete a set of three, I remade one of the other shapes, on the right above, to replace this third recycled pot.
Carving
I added a carved panel to the three pots, to see how the ES40 clay would react. The design was not related to my new research so was only used as a test. I need to complete my sketchbook work to complete the final designs.
The clay was easy to carve, and even though the slabs were quite thin, they stood up well. My only reservation relates to the grog content of the clay. I had used a plastic rib to compact the clay, and make sure that the grog did not affect the smoothness of the slabs. However when the slabs were carved the grog appeared in the lines.
Porcelain slip
I added white porcelain slip to the pots as Rob suggested to cover up the whiteness of the grog, prior to glazing. On the first pot on the left above, I used the slip over the carved lines. This covered the grog, but I also lost some of the sharpness of the carving. I waited for the slip to dry and went over the carving again. I don't know whether this worked well enough or not. On the other two pots, I added the porcelain slip before carving, and did not touch the carved lines. I will wait to see the different effects once the glaze is added. I think the choice might be between whiteness or crispness.
I have a second concern with the slip, it has made the slabs slightly thicker, and it has also left brush marks. I am not sure whether this will be an issue under the glaze. I guess that might depend on the thickness and transparency of the glaze.
Lids or no lids?
I made some drop in lids, that I could discard if they were not working.
They did not work.
Rob helpfully suggested a functional use if I kept hold of the lids. I will certainly consider this.
Glaze tests
I have used the base recipe for one of the blue cone 9 oxidation glaze tests, and added increments of copper carbonate to turn it green. It contains some tin, so is semi-transparent, this might be a good thing with the white grog issue. This has not gone in for firing this week, as it has to go in a test kiln, and one will not be available for a week.
Next steps
I will remake the curved end pot to a modified design, to see whether it can be improved.
I will review the results of both the carving and the porcelain slip as discussed above.
I would like to change the sky/roofline so will develop some sloping tops to see how that works. I am reluctant to just change the height of the various pots, as I would prefer a more abstract than literal effect.
I don't like the carved design I have used here, but am aware that carving worked very well with the celadon test tile. I will wait to see what happens after glazing, and in the meantime I will work on my designs.
Maybe ES40 is not the best clay for slab-building or carving and I need to change clay body. It will take a couple of weeks to get these through bisque and glaze firing. Rob has suggested a very white clay that shows the grog less, but he said it is difficult to build with. Stick or twist?
Comentarios