Posted on July 26th, 2009
So, as you may have gathered from all of my Cone Six Throwdown posts, I’m finally letting go of my down-to-the-molecular-level control of my work. The reasons for this are many. If you recall from Tweaking a Clay Body Part One, The main concern is that my clay body was just fine back when I had access to a pugmill. Pugmills compress, homogenize, and de-air the clay, making it immeasurably more workable. When I moved to the University of Louisville, I no longer had access to a pugmill. Read More
Posted on July 7th, 2009
In my search for the ultimate cone 6 porcelain, I really lucked out when my buddy Jim Gottuso, AKA Sofia’s Dad, generously offered me some of his clay to try. Jim puts his pots through hell and back, just as I do. Read More
Posted on June 29th, 2009
Just wanted to show off my new form, the cocktail glass. I based the form on the crisp simple design of a standard bar cocktail glass. The sort of cup you might get a drink in at the Brass Rail, my old beloved undergrad bar. I’m taking one for a test-drive right now, it’s doing a fine job!
Read More
Posted on June 23rd, 2009
This is a bag I grabbed from my colleague (or boss?) Todd Burns‘ stash in the U of L studio. Though not really marketed as a cone 6 clay, here it is, free, so I’ll give it a shot! Some distributor sites say it is inended for cones 6-11 while the actual Highwater Clay site claims it is intended for cones 7-11. I actually fire at cone 7, basically because my clay body doesn’t quite fit my glaze unless I do, so I thought I might as well try it. Read More
Posted on June 20th, 2009
For installment two of my cone six throwdown, I tried another very popular Cone 6 white clay, Standard Ceramics’s#213 Porcelain Clay. On their website, they describe it as “A white body formulated for cone 6 firing. Plastic, throwable clay.” Well, to me that’s just not enough information. On the wonderful Kentucky Mudworks Catalog, they describe it as “A delightfully plastic clay. Crisp, white clay formulated for cone 6. Performs well when thrown thinly. My cone 6 white clay of choice for throwing. Quite soft out of the bag.” That is a little more helpful! Here’s my review of how it fared in my experience. Read More
Posted on June 19th, 2009
The first clay I tried in my cone six throwdown was Highwater Clay’s Little Loafer’s, a midrange adaptation of their immensely popular Loafer’s Glory. Descriptions found on various distributors’ websites say it is “a very popular porcelain-like clay with the attitude of a stoneware. It is very smooth, a joy to throw, and takes glazes extremely well.” One can only assume that the same description applies to the Little Loafer’s. All that is stated in that description is “Little Loafer’s has the same fine properties of Loafer’s glory, but has been specifically designed for the lower cone 5-6 firing. It is simply fabulous.” Here’s my experience so far. Read More
Posted on June 17th, 2009
I am beginning research into switching over to a bagged, or premixed clay. Which one to choose? Only time will tell. I will put all the clays I can find through a battery of tests, the first of which is the throwdown! Which clay works best for me on the potter’s wheel? Over the next week I will give in-depth reviews of my experience with a number of commercial clay bodies. Read More
Posted on June 17th, 2009
Perhaps the most distinctive feature to my work is the seperately thrown and trimmed disc that forms the bottom to my pots. Certainly not the easy way to do something, my grad school professor, Malcolm Mobutu Smith, warned me early on about this. ” you know where this is going in terms of the technical demands, right?”
Well, I thought I did at the time… Read More
Posted on May 25th, 2009
Though quite beautiful, the stripes often found on my cups are the product of a lot of work, none of which is fun to me. I love almost every aspect of making pots, but in the case of glazing, I must trudge through it, knowing my efforts will be worthwhile a few days later as I crack open a new kiln of gorgeous “honeys”. I get many questions about how exactly I glaze my striped pots, so finally, I will guide you through the process step by step.
Read More
Posted on April 1st, 2009
Hi. Here’s how I make a lidded jar.
First, it is thrown on the wheel, dried, flipped, dried some more, trimmed. This is the result. To me it sort of looks like a tulip glass, but it wasn’t chosen for any reason other than I just happen to find that shape to be beautiful.
Read More
« Older Entries Newer Entries »
