Knee Deep in Snowflakes

Short Courses and Christmas Prep......


My foundation Ceramics class at Grays School of Art have produced some lovely pieces during their first project so i thought I would post them here! It was a simple pinching project but they certainly took it to a fine conclusion...

Every year i say I need to start earler but it creeps in ever so quickly.... theres not enough hours in the day to do everything but I have finally finished the porcelain prep so now its time to get out the earthenware......

What they will look like finished.... hopefully

Grays Short Course Raku

Its that time of year again and these are a few pics from last weeks fantastic Raku class...

Lighting the gas burner

slowly at first so as not to crawl the glaze

adjusting the flame

marshmallow toasting tutorial

Perfecting the art... 

getting the sawdust ready - making 'beds' for the work

Just about there...

1-2-3....lift - and its 1000C

Glowy

Firey pots

lots of smoke

put a lid on and let simmer till cool.......

Work in Progress

I did actually do some work today and got these very delicate porcelain beauties out of a bisque kiln this morning.  Having only been fired to 950C the porcelain is very brittle - like chalk and not yet translucent.

I intend to leave some uncoloured and fire up to the top temperature of 1250C.  I will also treat some pieces with coloured oxides in order to bring out the decorative writing more. 

 

In the Pipeline...

After turning up to Fraserburgh today, expecting to start back at work, I soon realised I was a week early. So, I decided not to waste the day and drove on through to Grays.
Simon Ward, the ceramics tutor at Grays has taken on a large project in order to raise money for specialist equipment for the department.
Simon has single handedly thrown 50 (soon to be 60!) plates which are to be decorated by staff and students alike and then shown in the prestigious WASPS studio gallery in Edinburgh .
40 plates are almost finished and all have been decorated by current and graduating students as well as staff from the 3DD and other departments. Here is a sneak preview of some, fresh out of the glaze kiln. Most have been decorated with coloured slips and are still to be decorated further with onglaze lustres and ceramic decals.
The exhibition is from 9th to the 20th October 2010 in Edinburgh; the 15th, 16th and 17th of October will host plate decorating sessions at the studios, so come along and show off your talent! The exhibition will be moving up to Aberdeen later in the year. (Dates TBA)

My plate, still needs onglaze lustre decoration.

Stacking them up!

Evening Class Raku

Back in freezing January this year, my short course students at Grays did some raku firing.  Neal Murray attended and took some spectacular photographs.  Thanks Neal!

Taking pieces out at about 900C - with collapsed kiln shelf, aargh!

Students adding sawdust to create reduction athmosphere.

Work cooling (and sticking together)

removing work

Placing work into sawdust bins, the sawdust immediately catches fire.

Watch the eyebrows!

The smoke is pungent, you end up smlling like a kipper, aha