Glaze

Sept 21, 2015

 

It takes imagination, talent and skill to make a good piece. It takes more imagination and skill to glaze it well. 

As I have mentioned, I have been away from clay for a long time. My kiln shed is still filled with wheel thrown functional ware that I abandoned, unglazed, over 4 years ago.   

 When I started back, I decided to 'just' make anything I wanted. The making was wonderful! I made a few pieces a year, they took weeks and months to build. Then I would set them aside. There was no way I was going to waste all that work on a lousy glazing job. I kept on making, and setting aside. John Sorensen asked me into  "Before the Rush" last year, and I had to decline. I had no vision of my beautiful new work beyond WHITE!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

bud form bisque fired only

photo by Bill Millward

 

 

 

 

 

I made the commitment to myself, and John, that I would be ready in 2015.

My process as it unfolded...

 

Enter Tom Weagant.

He brought his organized brain to my maelstrom.

We focused on Terra Sigillata, which is a burnished clay surface. It is coloured by natural clays, and oxides. He transformed a 'pinch' of this, and a 'titch' of that into formulas that I can pass on. He focused on retrieving information from my brain, and making it communicable. We began to smoke fire our terra sig creations.

 

 

 

At the same time, he built me a wonderful armature that would enable me to make tall, fragile, forms.  That certainly fired me off on another making spree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enter Krista Cameron.

 She has been encouraging me for years, trying to 'kick start' me by making test cylinders, mixing up glazes. and generally pep talking!

 

 

 I begin making more, less involved, hand building objects, so that I could fill the kiln, and start glaze testing.

 

 

Enter Victoria Jenkins.
 

 
Our friendship as potters goes back over 30 years, but we were reconnected by our mutual love of ballroom dancing.

Victoria has prodigious knowledge of glaze chemistry, and is an encyclopedia of techniques. She is generous, patient, and a born teacher.
 

Summer of 2014, she came and stayed with me for a few days and we played in my studio. Victor made himself scarce.

She invited me up to stay over at her house for days at a time to play in her studio. Alex made himself scarce. 

We are both cooks:

... so we ate, breathed, talked, and slept clay, nonstop. 

I have longed to explore the essence of water. By means of a slip decorating technique, I worked with the flow, and feel of water.

Once back in my own studio, I was totally absorbed in that flowing and feeling. I made platter after platter. 

Still no glazes!!!!!!

 

With Victoria's expertise in glaze chemistry, and unconditional encouragement, I began. Books, articles, internet clay publications, friend's clay recipes all fluxed through my brain.
(I did have my  self- imposed deadline to participate in "Before the Rush" in 2015.)

 

Every time I mixed up a new glaze, I needed to fill the kiln, in order to test fire. There was no way I was going to 'gamble' with my good stuff.

So, I used bits and pieces of my student's work, threw together textured, rough forms, and got creative with space.

This took months...............................................

 

As I came up with some possible glazes, I would combine them over and under each other, two or more layers at a time. I have gone back to spraying these glazes. Some glazes would run off a piece if it were a vertical surface. Some glazes with terrific visual appeal are so crazed (crackled), that they can only be used on a flat non- functional surface. It has been very complicated.

I pick up a combination of test tiles, and try to imagine them combined.

 

I glaze the way I cook.... a taste of this, a titch of that, lots of guessing about the combined flavours, all in my imagination.

One difference. I do not combine Wine and Clay! (from bitter experience!!)

 

 

At this point, a month before the show, I am very excited about Water. Bud Form 2  is finished, with four different layers of glazes, very organic. My terra sig pieces are lovely. (Tom's help with that made me very confident.) My earthy leaves have pleasantly surprised me.

 

Yesterday, Victor and I opened another firing. There were some major pieces in it, and more tests. Two of the major pieces have me dancing, and the tests are really speaking to me! Success is palpable!

 

I was so excited yesterday, that I hijacked my neighbours, Brent and Sonya Argue, and their 3 children as they drove down the road, to come and see!
 

There will be 3 themes.  Earth...Air...Water. The Argues loved guessing. Tyler would exclaim:

"This is water!"

Ella interrupted:

"What is this?"

Brent questioned:

"I don't think this is water, I think it should be earth?"
Bryden agreed!









 


 

 

 

 

Then we had a general discussion of what my unfinished pieces would be. Sonya was full of suggestions...then they whisked away home to bed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This morning I woke up with decisions made!

                

Bud Form 1 decided

 

Water Fall is decided.

Two angels are decided.

My ball room dancers still hang in the balance. not sure about them. Tests were not good enough. I want to make more dancers, but won't, until I know I can finish them in stunning fashion!

 

Pretty wordy today!

There are even more images flashing in my brain.

Now my fingers need to go to work again.

 

Think I'll eat my oatmeal first.

 

LIFELINE

 

 

Accidents create wonderful art. The challenging part for me, is to view an accident in an opportunistic, and positive way.

 

 

A platter, which I call "Lifeline" evolved accidentally.

As I was rolling out my slab of clay, the fabric sandwiching it, wrinkled as the clay went through the slab roller. I was at Victoria Jenkins 'Clay Camp', and working on her fabulous slab roller. It can handle big, glamorous chunks of clay. I was enjoying 'pushing my envelope' by making HUGE slabs with it.

 

 

 

Once the slab came through, I peeled back the top layer of fabric. Victoria was hovering over me, helping out.

The fabric had wrinkled in several places, indenting the clay.

 I paused, and Vic said,

"You can fix it!"    

                                                                                                                                                (You have to know, that Vic and I could fix anything, if necessary.)

We pulled it the rest of the way out, and set it aside. I've learned that that is the best way to deal with clay disappointments. My eyes need to view a piece with fresh eyes, in order to adapt to surprises.

 

 

Two minutes later, the decision was made. Leave it alone, and take a new approach.

 

 

 

 

Even before "Lifeline" was glazed, everyone who saw it OOooohed!

 

Because the indentations were soft, I wanted the glaze to be soft, too. It is a platter I just want to stroke.

 

"Lifeline" is inspired by the creases on the palm of my hand!

Photos courtesy of Gary Viola

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing My Work

How do others perceive us?
Those perceptions shift like grains of sand.

How do others see our work?
 
A photograph is a tool,
but those perceptions also shift like grains of sand.

I hope that the sand is golden!

                                                            photo by Bill Millward 

                                                       

                                                          photo by Gary Viola                                                          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stirring Angel Day 4

 

 

 

 

 These final touches took hours, and were as interesting to watch as glue drying.

How long did it take?

Forty years,                                                   plus                                                           four days, in August, 2015

 

Time to dry, Stirring Angel

Stirring Angel Day 3

 

Aug 28, 2015

 

This morning, when I unwrapped my little lady, her head was hanging at an awkward angle. I had wrapped it in a damp cloth to keep the join at her neck from drying out too quickly. Cloth was too damp, so the clay got too soft, and couldn't support the weight of the neck. Life happens, we just have to learn from it.

 

But there is a silver lining to this tale of woe and mayhem. In my excitement over the wings yesterday, I forgot to not only take pictures, but to clean up her bottom!

A headless, creature is more easily turned upside down! Needless to say, that tremulous little wing was handled with CAUTION!!

 The new head goes on 
(it is hollow this time),
 but I need fresh eyes to analyze its proportions.
Tomorrow...

 
 
 

 

 

               

Time to wrap her up, and protect the little wing, with a very slightly damp cloth!

Stirring Angel Day 2







 

 

Aug 25, 2015

 

My lump of clay sat for 10 days while we got a new roof on our house. I was too discombobulated to work on anything that involved much thinking.

I've been away from my little lady for several days. When I unwrapped her this morning, I was surprised to see a coating of mold creeping up her skirt. I gently wiped her down, and blew some hot air over her.

 

 

 

 

 

We are making strange with each other - I start again, gently stroking and smoothing her surface. My fingers are communicating with the clay, until my brain can engage itself.

 

Some new ideas are growing, and we begin to work as a team again. 





 

 

 Here I am paddling the lump with a wooden ball, to wake up the clay after its long nap. This serves to compress and strengthen the piece, and create some rudimentary flow to the lines.

 

 

 

 

 

This little wooden tool is a favorite of mine.  It has created channels for my  fingers for over 30 years. Once indented, my fingers follow and deepen those tracks that have become characteristic of my work.

 

 

 

 

 

Surform tools are a necessity for sculpting. I use tiny ones, to create curves, and tightening up the surface tension of a piece.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Here I am adding tiny coils to build up the sensuous folds of  my little lady's skirt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once it is deep enough, I will smooth and push it over my 'thumb' channel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Examining my 'lady' 360 degrees is necessary to observe shadows, and lines. I scrutinize everything for visual interest, loose tension, and future planning for enhancing shadows when I spray the glazes. I will not push the fold until later. I needs to be kept just moist enough, so that the manipulation does no damage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here the clay is scored and ready to attach another coil, to create a softer sense of movement to the body. I build out softness. Wood carvers take away. Clay carves, and adds.

 

 



 

Now I begin to push over the fold that has been waiting patiently for its turn.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Details of the bottom of the skirt that was developing in the photo above. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love my Tools

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I very gently tap the flat spots out of her head. This little neck, is very precarious 

 Victor nervously watches the angling of the head.
 

 

                                     

I want her head with a slight tilt up, and backwards.

 

       I am stuck here, she is at a point where I have to build the wings. Time to take a break.
 

 

Later,

Well, Monica, today I thought about you a lot. I was intent on your 'wing challenge'. From experience, I knew that my little lady  has to be all cleaned up, and fine tuned, before I add wings. Three tries on the left, and two on the right. It all looked cutsey! I am finally left with only one acceptable wing 

 

Then Victor wandered in, with a piece of bittersweet nightshade, the berries glistening in their colour change. He draped the vine around her neck. If only that could be immortal!

 

 

But, the gesture loosened me up, and the final wing came together. I was concentrating so hard on keeping up with my hands, that I forgot to photograph the wing 'parade'. 

"Stirring Angel" is not resting, but tremulously  fluttering one wing.