Showing posts with label Pottery. Show all posts

The Mastery Continues....

As my year of mastery moves forward I have come to terms with the fact that I much prefer polymer clay to wet clay.  The weeks of waiting for a piece to dry only to have it crack/break at the kiln is just too much for me.  The polymer clay is so much more forgiving.  With that in mind I've spent the last few weeks watching tutorials and online classes to improve my work with the polymer.

I have developed my own look and feel to the creatures I create and have named them Woodlins. This is my first one.

Artist & Photographer - Renee Sosanna Olson

Artist & Photographer - Renee Sosanna Olson

Artist & Photographer - Renee Sosanna Olson

A New Look and New Outlook for the New Year

This year I've decided to streamline my projects.  I have spent so much time being a jack of all trades that I have managed to become a master of none.

Throwing Thursday - Blue Bell

Here's a look at the glaze blue bell.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Throwing Thursday - Hand Building

 Hand building is the process of creating a clay piece without using a wheel.  There are few options such as basic sculpting as well as slump and hump molds to create a finished product.  In the examples below I was working on a standing altar, a incense holder, some ocarinas and a few oil lamps.

The altar didn't make it.  I stood it up on the base too early and the back began to torque.  I when I laid it down with wet cloths on it, the middle split in half.  So I'll try again to build one of these later.


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Throwing Thursday - Repairing Green & Bisque Ware

Regretfully I have to create this entry.  At some point however you may need to repair a piece that has been damaged due to dropping, cracking or even a kiln explosion.

Recently I made the mistake of putting three spirit bottles in my bisque fire that had only been drying for about four days.  To bisque fire successfully all pieces must be bone dry.  Needless to say, those four day old pieces were no where near bone dry.  When my kiln reached temp, the water in the clay body turned to steam and blew apart the bottles.  They were destroyed.  My statue was collateral damage.  I found a repair site here.

When the kiln finally cooled down, this is what I saw.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Taking her out of the kiln the crack is barely visible.   This is how I know that she was hit from the outside and didn't rupture from the inside.


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson



Here you can see just how bad the damage is.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
I started out by soaking a raw with water and applying to the broken area.  She was only in the kiln for about 1/2 hour so I'm treating this as a greenware repair.  My understanding is that you can do the same to pots that have been completely bisque fired as well.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson



I then sprayed the pieces to get them nice and wet.


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson



Next I had to use a vinegar and water mixture.  The recipe is on the link at the top of the page. I scored the inside of each piece just as you would to attach wet clay together and coated it with the mixture.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson


Next I attached the arm and put her on her side to fill the crack with slip.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson



Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

So far so good.  I now put her outside to dry for a bit.

Two weeks have gone by since my last photo.  I have gone out to the studio and applied several (and by several I mean 6 or so) coats of the slip mixture to fill in the cracks around her front and back side. This is what we have so far.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson




Next we wait.  Because I saturated the inside layer with water, I want to treat her as though she is fresh off the wheel.  I'm going to park this project and wait until mid February to put her in to bisque. That will be another two weeks away.

So here is the final update.  I was able to put her in bisque fire last night.  It has been over a month in the repair.  She turned out pretty good however you can still see the crack.


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Throwing Thursday - Bottles, Jars & Lamps ... OH MY

So this throw I decided to start working on a new item.  On the full moon in May, I celebrate the Rite of Her Sacred Fires.  I thought what a great way to celebrate but with my own handmade oil lamp.

Here are a few of my latest creations.

Spirit Jars/Witch's bottles/Jars

Photo and Pottery Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

I had a small bit of clay left so I thought I'd try to make a jar out of it.

Photo and Pottery Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

This is a tealight plate I made for Covenant of Hecate

Photo and Pottery Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
 These are the oil lamps I made.
Photo and Pottery Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
 Oil Lamps
Photo and Pottery Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Tealight holders


Photo and Pottery Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Incense plates

Photo and Pottery Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
 Incense bottles
Photo and Pottery Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson



Throwing Thursday - Sounds of Spring

I'm getting so excited for spring.  I decided this year with the vardo creation kicking out what a great way to wake up in the morning than with the sound of wind chimes.  Here's the creation process.

First we roll out a piece of clay and cut or shape the chimes.


Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Once the clay becomes leather hard it is time to drill the holes and add some detail.  A word of caution here.  As you can see in the photo some of my clay bits (hats and cauldrons) are darker than the others (boots and brooms).  This is because the clay was thicker when I cut the darker pieces so it dried slower.   The thinner pieces will dry faster and be more brittle when it comes time to carve them.  A work around would be to lay a wet rag over them to soften them a bit or work gingerly.  We ended up losing one broom and a boot in this set.


Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
We used a drill bit to put the holes in and then the needle tool to etch some design detail on the other pieces such as a shoe buckle for example.

Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Detail work by Elijah Olson
 The detail was applied to both sides of the chime pieces.  The brooms turned out amazing.  I can't wait to see how these bisque and finally glaze fire.

Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Detail work by Elijah Olson
Here are a few examples of the types of chimes I'm going to try to carry.

Wolf & ravens with full moon.

Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Bear with full moon.
Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Cat & mouse with full moon.

Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Mermaid/Siren with seashells and full moon.

Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Owl with full moon

Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson


Throwing Thursday - Latest Throw

Here they are still on the bats.

Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson


Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

     
These are some custom order diz.  A diz is a tool used to create yarn stands from fiber on a hackle.  It was my first time ever trying this type of thing. I had to order a special stand to fire them.  I love the way they turned out in the leather hard stage.  Next will be bisque fire.

Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson



Here they are off the bats.


Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Potter & Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson