Pot construction and critique

[MattA]

Just you keep experimenting and tell me what fails...then I'll know not to attempt it

Well the big one failed I ended up having to go to Sydney for 2 days & even tho the pot was wrapped up it had still gotten on the dry side. I should have wet it & wrapped it back up to even out but instead went at the carving. In the end it opened up a section about 6" long where the wall & floor met, it didnt help that the walls had been carved out very thin and I was trying for the same on the bottom. I could have rejoined it but it could have ended up cracking during firing, so its into the reclaim bucket!

Beyond the clay getting too dry I think i should maybe try a few midsized pots before jumping to such a big one so quickly. If I really want a rectangle the size of this one I can build it with slabs without trouble it was more an experiment in how far I can take carving as a technique. My other half has made me a few tools from a clock spring that work like a treat. Hopefully I can get a few more made next week.

Have made up some oxide washes to start preparing the current batch of pots for firing & also to test out different concentrations & applications etc.

Matt

[Loretta]

Shame about the pot Matt, don't throw it out as you can have an endless supply of "glue" (whatever it's called) . I haven't made anything yet (so busy) and the weekend was spent at a Tony Bebb workshop. Tomorrow is the day I will start and I'm looking forward to posting them for both you and Penny to see After your mishap I think I'll start off small with the stuff I make at home and just attempt the bigger pots under tuition at class
cheers Loretta

[MattA]

Hey Loretta,

Classes sound like a good idea but I couldnt be a*#@d, may take me longer but I usually work things out if I apply myself enough. Where do you go? TAFE, community college or a private studio type arrangement? What clay/s did you end up getting? Look forward to seeing what you make from it.

The big pot has been crushed & wetted, I will work it into a ball & get back to the start again, given how much had been carved out I will be starting with a smaller piece but should still get a fair sized pot compared to what I have mostly been making. "glue" I guesss would be slip which I have a few containers of, for the various clays I am using, they come in handy from time to time when I slip or take out too much when carving. Patch it with a bit of slip and set aside to even out the moisture. I have also experimented on a few pots with applied slip decoration, plus a few other ways of using it.

I am waiting on some samples to come from Walkers but until then I am about to start with a new clay i havent worked before, Number 9 (so descriptive) apparently it shrinks the most as its the finest, should mean I can get an even sharper line with some of my pots, it also fires up the darkest of all the clays I have at present. The shrinkage will be interesting to see, given how small most of my pots already are they could come up jimminnee cricket sized!

I have mixed up a load of different strength oxide washes and am about to start applying to some of my pots. Some will just have oxide others will also be glazed. Given the small size of my pots I should be able to fit them in & around Penny's pots and get most of them thru in the one load. They will all be single fired.

More pics when I get back to working again. Its been pretty hectic around here lately with more collecting being done, a tame cockatoo to get settled into the family and a new love interest... can anyone smell it? spring is in the air

Matt

[MattA]

Woohoo Penny & I finished filling the kiln & set it going tues afternoon, I went round this morning to open up & help unload...

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Overall I am very happy with how the majority of my pots have come out & I am learning alot from the results, from what I can & cant do with the different clays I have been using to the limitations of some of my experiments (it works in a small pot but wouldnt in a big one). Lots more studying them before I start getting back into making again (well not too long I do need my clay therapy )

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A couple from my first post now fired

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And a few standouts amongst them including my favorite so far

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Off to continue reviewing the results, already getting plenty of ideas for the next batch in a few weeks time I hope. Some glazes to retry & some more to modify. Hopefully by that time I will also have some new clay bodies to test out as well.

Matt

[mudlarkpottery]

Oh Dear!
I think I have created a monster!
The kiln is still going up and will probably be another couple of hours before it reaches temp.
Penny.

[MattA]

Oh Dear!
I think I have created a monster!
The kiln is still going up and will probably be another couple of hours before it reaches temp.
Penny.

I am glad your taking responsibility for the monster you created...

What time did you end up finishing with this firing?

Matt

[mudlarkpottery]

3.00am and up again at 6.00 - Becky needed to go and there wasn't any point in going back to bed. The kiln is now at about 400deg. What are YOU doing up at this time of the day? Or were you too busy looking at your works of art to bother going to bed?
Melaquin likes the one with the piece of fibre stuck to it - Phinargle's General Theorm.
Penny.

[MattA]

3.00am and up again at 6.00 - Becky needed to go and there wasn't any point in going back to bed. The kiln is now at about 400deg. What are YOU doing up at this time of the day? Or were you too busy looking at your works of art to bother going to bed?
Melaquin likes the one with the piece of fibre stuck to it - Phinargle's General Theorm.
Penny.

ROFL that bloody Phinargle...... You had a late one... heres hoping your happier with the results from this second firing. Is there any way of removing the fibre without damaging the pot/glaze?

I headed to bed just after talking to you. But the pots had me up early this morning, gotta get back into looking them over. Think I have settled on the ones for myself but that will probably change over the coming days/weeks. Can already see what I need to improve on & what I will & wont do again. Just wish those clay samples would hurry up & get here... I want to see what they look like next time we fire.

Matt

[mudlarkpottery]

I'll have to grind the fibre off but there will always be a rough patch there. The kiln is now down to 336deg.
Penny.

[mudlarkpottery]

Opening the last kiln load.

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[MattA]

A couple more from this firing.

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[Pat K]

Good stuff Matt....look forward to the next installment.

Pat

[MattA]

Good stuff Matt....look forward to the next installment.

Pat

Pat, many thanks for the compliment, coming from a potter who's work I have admired for many years it means alot to me.

Review of the last batch has slowed & I am back into the making of more for the next firing, I would really like to get a load fired towards the end of the month in time for my club show.

The tiny insanity continues, trying to find the limit... How small is too small? A suiban 49x18x5mm & it still has to shrink in the firing

Matt

[MattA]

Well I have gotten thru it & survived... Penny very generously allowed me to do a firing of my own pots in her kiln so I have been busy making pots nonstop for the last few weeks. The culmination of all that work was packing the kiln friday & firing saturday.

A couple of pots cracked during glazing but were fired anyway as test pieces. I am not 100% sure why they cracked but its an inevitable part of being a potter that you loose some. The kiln was preheated friday night so when I arrived 7am sat I could start tunring it up slowly. On having a look thru a spy hole I could only make out a small part of one pot & the inside of a larger pot on a lower shelf. Disaster!!!!!! the pot had not only cracked but with enough force to split 1/2inch wide up the middle (or so I thought). With that thought in mind & the same sight any time I looked inside I was not expecting much to be salvagable.

Sunday morning I was round at 7am again to open up & see what I find. Problems accesing email at the mo so no pics that Penny took of the kiln load but heres the majority of them on my old desk.

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Heres 2 standouts from the batch, the one on the left was made for a friend, both approx 3.5cm wide.

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Alot of this batch was made up of test pieces of various admixtures of different clay bodies & other materials. There has been some really interesting results & as I get thru reviewing them I will share some of the nicer ones.

Matt

[Steven]

Looking good Matt!

I missed out on the one I liked from your last batch, I'd better get in quicker this time

Regards,
Steven