More Raku work

This hummingbird mask has been sitting around for about a year, waiting for me to get in the mood/ and get the right colors to glaze her. She is unfinished, because the piece will have feathers above the face when I've gone to the store and found what she needs. I do like the Mayco glazes as well as Raku glazes...a combination of colors that are true and colors that are metalic.
I was amazed that the white earthenware worked so well also, in raku work, with the sudden temperature changes.

This is the same hooded figure that I posted last time. Now I re-fired her with some more raku glazes...so the bare matt-black clay is no longer so dominant. Of course other folks now say they liked her better before...but I like her better now. You can see the movement of the clay skirt and so forth with the glazes that kind of blend in and out in the light.

And I think the white cowl for her front helps also...tying her white face to the arms and the greenery necklace.

This is one of my masks...which I made last year and never got the right glazes to do the final work.

The Mayco Stroke N Coat glazes are the white, black and oranges, with Raku clear over them.

The eyes were yellow, and it burned down to white. I'm ok with that.

Raku class

First you've got to figure out how to get it into the kiln...which Geoff is showing Bette how he thinks it might work. The pieces on the far side of the table are mine...before being raku-ed.

It's definitely a blur of activity, as Geoff puts a hot pot with tongs in the can for Pat (center) while Marcia in the background is working on her closed can that already had a hot pot placed inside, and she is about to fling a wet towel over it as it smokes and reduces the pot from getting oxygen, thus the black places on the bare clay.

The kiln is to the left (large canister) where Geoff is again removing a hot pot. Bette on the right is about to smother her can which has a hot pot inside with newspapers that are flaming up.

Wendy shows how she glazed some of her raku pots. We had a "critique" before the kiln got up to temperature, where we shared how we got some of our results, and asked each other questions.

Now just what does that gesture mean, Bette?

Maureen and Marcia discuss how a certain color was achieved.

Pat shows her pot which we all gave appreciation.

I made the rest of these pots.- a slab built piece that came out with a rainbow in the glaze...nice surprise.

Another slab built piece, this time with torn slabs reconstructed. The same blue glaze is on the outside. Inside was a clear crackle, which turned silver in places.

This is a small piece, all extruded pieces assembled. I tested some Mayco Stroke and Coat under clear crackle raku glaze.

This little goddess is only glazed as highlights, the red sleeve linings, and greenery done with Mayco under clear crackle. I kind of like the bare black clay. I've been seeing some really lovely pieces in books.

Gaia remembered

This is a reminder to myself...remember who your goddess is!

Gaia, Mother Earth, or any other forms or names...she is still the SOURCE, the energy of LIFE, Love, Happiness, the juicy stuff that runs the universe.

Of course if you're not into a goddess, just put up with me.

This morning I got back in touch with her, by a Tarot ritual, by going on a short walk, throwing a rock with all my un-needed sticky attributes that I'd been holding onto into the creek...and by not going to church.

Oh my. But for me to do all this ritual in solitude was really what I needed to reconnect to the creative force, the sensuous nature of the goddess. That just wouldn't have happened in the pews, listening to others, doing a ritual that didn't have much spirituality in it. Maybe it was aimed to have some, but it didn't speak to me that way. This other stuff did. I need to nurture it for myself. It's really important to me.

I don't think I've posted this little vase before. The bottom portion is a combination of Matt Bronze Green over clear...perhaps with some nutmeg in there too. It's porcelain, cone 6.

The base of the vase (sorry about that) is thrown, with torn slab and some hand work for the leaves. Mayco colors on the leaves, under studio clear. I'm concerned because it continues to crackle on this clay. That is ok on vases, but not cool for anything functional, since crazing leads to places bacteria can grow.

This is a totally torn slab assemblage (about 10-1/2" at tallest point). Mayco under clear under a little nutmeg. The nutmeg is barely there, probably cause it was a new batch, and I was just sponging it on.

The base was reinforced right at the bottom edge, and the rest of the pot is very thin.

A variation of a pentacle makes this into a rainbow cauldron for me.

Next will be some sangria pitchers and some smaller bowls. Not everything has to be huge.

Donating some pots

My dear Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Swannanoa Valley is trying to raise funds for operating expenses. They are going to hold an auction, so I've donated 10 pots. They will bring at least $100 if they all sell (not likely, but let's think positive)...at the minimum bids.

There are too many people in the congregation who are also potters, so that' why I figure lots won't be selling, no matter that the minimum bid is $5 for some of them.

These next 2 pots are my latest porcelain ones, and aren't donations at all. This one is the cobalt blue which I developed for Solstice gifts last winter. Finally found a way that it looks good. The slightly tan overtones are from the light sponge-ing of nutmeg glaze over the clear.

I was amazed that it shrunk about 20% from original size, but it's still my largest pot, I think, 15-1/2" tall, 10-1/2" across.

This is Teresa's wedding bowl.

Tonight is the wedding, so I have to go wrap it up now. Just wanted to have some pictures to remember how it looked, in case I want to make anything similar any time. It's porcelain also, 11-1/2" across, 6-1/2" tall.

New August Pots

I'm including this pot, because it's a comparison from this stoneware (cone 6) to...

Some of the new P-5 (porcelain at cone 6) clay with some very troublesome glazing. It took 3 tries to get what I wanted, and I'm pretty happy with these results.

This glaze is my favorite, clear then with nutmeg over it. I had to sponge on the nutmeg because it was so thick it cracked off if I tried pouring or dipping the glazes on the pot.

The details on all my pots (colors) are done with Mayco Stroke and Coat, which go to cone 6 pretty well. The bottom white/green on the butterfly pot is from dunking it into HR Satin.

Here the clear with nutmeg left some interesting streaking, and I put wax over the detail work before dunking this small pot in nutmeg.

This tiny little jade gem just barely didn't stick to the shelf with the runny Matt Bronze Green over clear glaze. Too thick! But so pretty with those details.

The Mayco yellow didn't survive very well in this delicate detail.

This is another large pot, combining torn slab work with a thrown base.

A medium size chalice shape, with some fun variations.

This small pot and the previous one are both low fire earthenware (cone 04) with Mayco glazes.

This is one of my display shelves...

which give slightly paler colors, as well as a good comparison of the sizes!

All in all, I'm pleased with these pots. Still working!