AusBonsai

after a couple of literally cracked pots i have had some success. this style is called collapsed rim pot. when the rim collapsed the teacher reached for the needle to cut it off. NO!!! i screamed i like it i have started a new style here much to his disgust i then broke some bits off pinched the rim all the way around.
glaze started with iron oxide on rim then spray body with F2 and then 210 brushed on rim again. fired in reduction.
what do you guys think.

Dont you ever work (great looking pots) bring one along next meeting

john m wrote:Dont you ever work (great looking pots) bring one along next meeting

IM ALWAYS WORKING JOHN LIKE A MACHINE! its only 1 pot and this one is mine but i will be happy to make you one if you like. i will bring next monday for you to check out.

Very nice mate! How long did you spend on this one from start to finish?
Regards,
Steven

Nice work Antonio.
I am still unsure if I am a big fan of your concept on this pot though
The crackle glaze worked well. I was finally doing some glazing today and realise there is no crackle glaze premixed. So I guess the time has come to mix my own Glaze

Hi Antonio.
What type of tree do you envisage puting into this pot? I can't see the colour as my monitor has lost the red colour (back to the techie again). It looks a bit shiny to me though and where are the wire holes?- a lot of pots don't have enough and they're never where you need them. Don't forget to put extra in. Look at Pat's and Paul's and mine then compare them with others that are on the market and remember your frustration when you are potting up one of your own trees and there isn't a wire hole right where you need it. Your throwing expertise is great from what I can see on the photo. Well done.
Penny.

AusBonsai wrote:Very nice mate! How long did you spend on this one from start to finish?
Regards,
Steven

thanks steven; one because im so slowwwwwwwwwwwwwwww and 2 because of weekly class circumstances 3.5 hrs over a 4 week span.

soltan wrote:Nice work Antonio.
I am still unsure if I am a big fan of your concept on this pot though
The crackle glaze worked well. I was finally doing some glazing today and realise there is no crackle glaze premixed. So I guess the time has come to mix my own Glaze

thanks brett ; i rather like this concept but obviously need to further develope myself let alone the concept but i will...
my immediate feeling is the body needs to marry to the rim more so. wether that is a case of adjust pot finish or glaze or both remains to be seen. i would love all your feelings on that. the glaze crackling i have no idea why it just did.

mudlarkpottery wrote:Hi Antonio.
What type of tree do you envisage puting into this pot? I can't see the colour as my monitor has lost the red colour (back to the techie again). It looks a bit shiny to me though and where are the wire holes?- a lot of pots don't have enough and they're never where you need them. Don't forget to put extra in. Look at Pat's and Paul's and mine then compare them with others that are on the market and remember your frustration when you are potting up one of your own trees and there isn't a wire hole right where you need it. Your throwing expertise is great from what I can see on the photo. Well done.
Penny.

penny thankyou for the great advice and informing critique. yes your right on the wire holes will make sure of that in future. need to remember to put a smaller drill bit in my tool kit. the actual color is kind of a pale pastel greeny / blue. im thinking a maple. a nice musky pink blossom could work too. the green and gold tones of an english elm would also be nice.throwing yes, expertise no, fluke yes.

Nice job ant! What are the final dimensions?

kitoi wrote:Nice job ant! What are the final dimensions?

thanks keith, 150 * 55mm

The colours sound good to go with what you mentioned. When I get another monitor, I'll have a look at it again.
Penny.

anttal63 wrote:...i rather like this concept but obviously need to further develope myself let alone the concept but i will...
my immediate feeling is the body needs to marry to the rim more so. wether that is a case of adjust pot finish or glaze or both remains to be seen. i would love all your feelings on that.

Antonio,

Your wheel throwing skills are coming along nicely. The proportions of this pot are good and the glaze application is excellent.

If I my, I would like to offer a bit of advise.

Bonsai pots, like bonsai trees, are sometimes classified as being masculine or feminine in appearance. Some masculine characteristics are sharp, angular edges, heavy, prominent rims, roughly textured surfaces, and dark, subdued colors. Some feminine characteristics are soft, curving edges, no rim, smooth textured sides, and light, glossy colors.

In my opinion, this pot has an identity crisis. It looks to me like you have combined both masculine and feminine elements in this particular pot which has made it somewhat confusing to my eyes. In general, I have found that an individual pot, like and individual bonsai tree, should have a clearly defined gender to it's appearance to be successful. This does not mean that you can't mix elements, you just need to make one gender dominant in your design.

Your pot starts off on the masculine side with wide, squared-off feet. The spaces between the feet add to this masculine feel by being sharp and angular in regards to the sides of the pot. Next, you transition into a nice smooth, outward, feminine curve for the sides of the pot and end with a prominent, textured, masculine rim. Your choice of glazes seems to add to the identity issue. The primary blue colored glaze would lend itself very well to a feminine pot. While the color selected to accent the rim pushes more toward a masculine feel.

In my opinion, your concept is sound. You just need to decide whether you want a masculine or a feminine pot.

One way to marry the rim to the rest of the pot would be to add some texture to the sides. This would minimize the feminine feel of the curving sides.

Using a different combination of glazes would also help. I would recommend using a single, earthy colored, matt glaze that has a lot of variegation.

anttal63 wrote:...the glaze crackling i have no idea why it just did.

If this glaze was not formulated to crackle then you have a situation where the glaze chemistry and the clay body are mismatched. The glaze is shrinking a little more than the clay body creating the crackled look.

I hope this helps.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers,
Paul

paul thanks so much for that commentry. this is a huge help at pin pointing what i feel uncomfortable about on this pot. much appreciated. i believe the concept can work and will work now that i am more aware of these elements.

anttal63 wrote:paul thanks so much for that commentry. this is a huge help at pin pointing what i feel uncomfortable about on this pot. much appreciated. i believe the concept can work and will work now that i am more aware of these elements.

Antonio,

You are very welcome.

I look forward to seeing more of your work.

Cheers,
Paul