So, I was all excited yesterday morning when I popped my wares into the kiln. I had such high hopes for all of the vessels. Seemingly perfect in their funky chalky-like glazed state, by hour 11 this excitement for the chalky vessels turned into frustration when the kiln was opened.
There was bad glazing all around except on maybe two pieces. That was disappointing because I really took my time glazing and tried my best to create fun lines with the glazes meeting each other. My main problem was glaze application. Anything goopy in the "chalky state" looks streaky in the finish.
The rice bowl is one of the nicer pieces. Pretty color combination and a very interesting melding in the middle. Problem? I missed a spot!!! I have no idea how that got away on me. Tells me I wasn't as careful as I thought. I suppose I could re glaze it.
How about my mugs? They had so much promise. Great forms with nicely hand-built handles. I even smoothed out their surfaces with a special ceramic file so they would be super smooth all around, even on the rim where one's lips rest.
The blue I won't even bother discussing (shiver), but the yellow/green one isn't all that bad. This one's problem? It's so darned small that you could never fully enjoy a cup of coffee in it. Fits about half a cup of liquid. Any major java head would wind up throwing this thing against the wall. How did I overlook something as important as size in the bisque state on this one?
All in all, I have a lot to learn about glazing and pairing colors. It's very apparent that I need to complete the task of making sample chips of all glazes I own in order to combat wacky color combos. I started that project months ago and let it fall to the waste side because it's a boring task.
Despite all these glazing and form issues, when I pulled the wares out of the kiln and brought them upstairs my inlaws, who were visiting, snatched a few for their personal collections. So, I guess all-in-all they weren't as bad as I thought. That made me feel really good. People just love ceramics I guess; imperfections and all. That's good cause I have a whole shelf unit full of bisque vessels ready to be pawed at with glaze.
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