Recent Pottery

It's been a while since I did a pottery post, so I thought I would share some of the things I have finished lately. I think I have finally found the two types of clay that really produce the results I like: the dark brown clay I've been using, and a more textured clay I just started experimenting with. I love how the glazes react with both types, and they are a nice contrast to each other. These bowls with a swirl in each rim are made with the dark brown clay (266), and I glazed them with Golden Luster, Italian Straw, and Opal squirted on top of both.

These little goblets are made with the more textured clay, Miller 70. I really like how the texture and the small specks come through the glaze. I glazed these with Golden Luster (note the difference between the two clays with this glaze), and then Ginger Spice on the top half, and then Opal squirted over both. The Ginger Spice turned out a lot more "flat" in tone than I had hoped; I had used it recently and it really changed color as it broke over the clay. This small bottle is made with Black Walnut, and even darker clay than the 266. Note again how the Golden Luster glaze changes with this clay.

You saw this cup in another post recently. It's Golden Luster over 266.

I tend to use the blue glazes so much more frequently than anything else, it's funny to me that I have so many of the gold and brown colors in this post. This casserole dish is much more typical of my pottery. It's the Black Walnut clay with a glaze called Bermuda Jade. The glaze is kind of a greenish sea foam color on light clay, but I love how it turns blue on the dark clays. It also lets the Black Walnut come through beautifully.

I really enjoy the stamps I put on the handles and the knob. I borrowed them from Thia, the potter next to me in class. Of course I have a ton of stamps too, but at the time I didn't have a circular stamp, which I rectified quickly after class.

I put a swirl in the bottom of the bowl and the lid.

Here's the Miller 70 again, in the form of a lidded pot. The Golden Luster glaze looks great again with the specks coming through.

I've been working on mugs lately - they seem like they would be pretty simple, but getting the handle just right can be difficult. This one is the 266 clay again, with Golden Luster glaze.

This pot might be one of my new favorites. It's just a simple form in Miller 70, but I love how the little handles worked out, and the glaze (Golden Luster, of course) came out great.

I still don't have my kiln hooked up yet, but I'm hoping to get the electrician here soon. Until then, I'll have to content myself with bringing home pieces from class. There is suspense every week to see how your pieces turned out, whether the glaze cooperated, and whether the required magic happened.