#5

hello!!back again for my fifth installment :) so last wek we had our progress reviews which went really well!the tutors were happy with my progress so far!and they gave me some ideas I could try out aswell so it was very useful!

I have tested out some glazes..which at first glance look horrible but once I looked closer I realised that there were actually some nice elements in the glazes but that I had just applied them too thinly.

 This glaze is my favourite one out of the whole lot that I tested during the week. I like the different shades of blue coming through..how it is dark where the glaze has pooled and some areas are mottled and a lighter colour.

 The glaze above was applied very thinly, however, you can see where it has been applied thickly it is actually a really nice blacky/green effect. I also ike how it breaks on the edges.

The ball above was covered in the one glaze, which was supposed to turn out a mottled orange colour. Unfortunatley the colours in the books do not always look like the colours on the tested pieces!if you look closely aswell, where it has pooled it id really dark shiny brown which I like. I just need to apply it thicker like the rest of the glazes.

 Nice mottled blue. Like how it pools in between the gaps and breaks on the edges.

 This glaze is a runner. I had noot applied it tp the above area..it just ran from where I had applied it but i actually like the effect it gives, how it is just in between the circle holes and not actually on them, This is something I should investigate further.

 Lovely Green. Mottled in areas and dark green where it is thicker.

All of the above glazes were made with a clear base glaze and oxides added to it, fired to 1280.



During my review with Mike and Fiona, they reminded me of a very interesting element in my sketchbook that I had forgotten about altogether. Up until now I had just been working with cylinders(round holes) in a ball. This paper model gave me another idea.

which resulted in.....



Right now I am working on scale and what different sizes would do for the pieces. Thats all for now..I will update again once I have more work done...Ciao x x x

#4

hello there!

Its been a while since ive updated the blog so i have a bit to show. First off can I just say that I am really happy with what I am making!it makes going to college everyday so much easier!

I have made 2 round molds both different sizes. I make these balls by throwing cylinders and placing them inside the mold. I then join both sides together to make a ball. The one above is hollow. This is made out of stoneware. I made one in procelain also. I really liked throwing with porcelain however I found that it did not work as well as the stoneware. It didnt stick and hold together like the stoneware did. It also dried so fast I ditn even get a chance to tidy it up and it ended up cracking and falling to pieces!



The pieces above are hollow, but I have also made some solid ones aswell, which are full up with cylinders. I really like them aswell. A few weeks I was experimenting with cutting these ones up. I did it with another one I made the other day aswel. 

I like these pieces alot. I think the inside looks kind of mechanical. Like the inside of a clock. I am going to incorporate this into my final pieces. 

I have also made small hollow balls and small solid balls. I really like the small balls, i think the scale suits the form.

I am thinking about cutting up the solid pieces like the ones above and leaving the hollows as wholes so that there is a combination of both.
Another area I also explored was relating my pieces to what ceramics is traditionally associated with which is the vessel. So I put a bowl shape in one of the balls to see what it would be like. Turns out I don't like it at all. But at least I tried it! I dont like how the cylinders sit in this piece.

So now that I know what I'm actually doing I just need to start thrwoing these balls out as quick as possible. I want to make loads and loads. the more the better I think. I will also need quite a few for glaze testing and that!Thanks x