My Chalupa

Krystal suggested we make a night at the studio, so we did. Picked up some Taco Bell (indulgent - chalupas are winners) and went in for just over three hours of solid studio work. Krystal kept me company and read many pages of her livre-du-jour.

Unfortunately, I forgot to bust out the camera until everything was packed up, so no progress photos today.

Trimmed and decorated two larger bowls in progress, with perhaps a bit too much time doing some sgraffito work inside of one. When you do everything in spontaneous freehand, it's hard to know when you've gone too far until it's too late. This bowl got a little too busy in its embellishment, so I had to spend some time correcting that. It would have gone much better for me if I had avoided that, but it happens.

Recycled a lot of clay - my slop bucket is now empty. Will have to go in tomorrow to wedge and knead; hopefully it's ready for it.

Threw a number of smaller (soup) bowls. Hoping for a set. Or something. I wanted to throw, and didn't want to mess with anything too big. So, lots of little bowls.

It was a pleasant evening; the throwing room was all ours, though there were some Guilders glazing that were in and out. It was nice to have some time together, Krystal and I, even if I was throwing and she was reading. Her presence is soothing, and we don't get to spend enough time together. Basically, nobody should have to work an 8-5 job. It's just not fair.

In other news, U2's new single was on the radio while we were in the studio. I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but I didn't think that "Vertigo" was a great indicator of the sound of their last album, so I'm thinking that No Line on the Horizon should still be solid, regardless of how I feel about this song. It's kind of catchy, in a"has-no-melody, can't-remember-the words, mildly-obnoxious" sort of way. Oh well. March 3rd, here we come. Anybody else have any thoughts on this song?

Good night, friends.

A Finished Photo

Here's my "official" documentation of finished work:

I'm still working out the best lighting, etc. for these. If anybody has any advice/experience with taking slide shots of artwork, specifically glossy ceramics, pointers would be welcomed. Click here for an album of other newer works. I spent some time last night sanding and washing all of these bowls, but I'm hesitant to pack them up until I've shot them.

I should be putting in some serious studio time this weekend, but until then, I'm done here.

Note: I've also added a slideshow to the right sidebar, so all my finished work should be displaying through there.

Overdue

Here's the pictures from my Monday night glazing, throwing, and new pots.

Empty bowls, glazed and ready for firing.

Recognize those red pieces?

Here's some greenware - dried and ready for round one in the kiln.

The only thing I threw Monday night - it's 15" across, 8" tall.

It will be 20% smaller by the time it's finished.

Finished work. I was happy with this batch. There's some pretty things there.

Had some experimenting in this kiln load - something I haven't done for a while.

(left) This is actually just clear glaze. The bowl was the Calico clay with some blue slip trimmings kneaded in. Neat effect. Not sure it will go anywhere, but interesting.
(right) An attempt at a "checkered" style that my uncle, Tim Langholz, used. Not bad for a first attempt, but still a long way to go before I can do it justice.

Jury Duty

It's 6:42 am and I am prepping to head south for jury duty service. Even though Fort Collins is the Larimer County seat, I have to report to Loveland. So I'm up early and won't get a run, and most likely will just be sitting around all day. Oh well.

Was in the studio for some glazing last night - all those Empty Bowls I threw needed glazing! Also got a decent load of finished glazed work, and threw another decent sized bowl. And then was back home to watch the new episode of House.

Photos will be up later. For now, I should probably shower and get ready for my first real commute ever.

Trimming, Sanding, and Functional Art

Didn't spend a whole lot of time in the studio this weekend, but did still accomplish plenty. Krystal and I stayed up way to late Friday night playing a painfully long game of Scrabble. Good, but long. I should have won. Really. But that's another story. I found it good to pass the time between my turns by sanding the bowls that came out of the kiln last week.

Sanding is not horribly fun, and probably not good for one's lungs, but it's definitely good for the furniture on which these pots will be used. While some clays are naturally smooth to finish, most are left with a pretty gritty surface once they've been fired. Since I prize the functionality of my work, and many people prize the surface of their dining room table, I find it necessary to sand the feet of my bowls so that they can be comfortably used. I just use plain old diamond-grit sandpaper, and finish by hand to a 600-grit. Then the bowls are washed and ready for you to buy!

Drying bowls, now with smooth feet.

These five bowls will be packed up with the rest of my work until I find them new families. Unless one gets pulled into every day use. Which happens sometimes. I made a pretty sweet little mug this fall that would have made me rich, but Krystal really liked it, so that was the end of the story. The smallest one there is a smidge bigger than a custard dish, and then they get larger from there. Perfect for side-dishes of rice or vegetables. Green vegetables look great in blue bowls.

The bowls in the picture are drying upside down, which is also the perspective I have in the decorating process. The carving occurs after the foot has been trimmed, which has to be done upside down. The end result then is always a bit surprising to me once the bowl's been turned over. Sometimes a design that I really liked turns out not so spectacular, and one that looked strange to me ends up beautifully. In any case, part of the appeal for me is that the strokes and lines look oddly foreign once a bowl's been righted.

The small bowls will be packed up for the time being, but the larger one I'm less keen on packing up. It's living on our dining room table for the time being, and I think it enjoys being a functional piece of art. I think most bowls want to be used. They like being used. Kind of like Dr. Wilson.

See that banana on the left? It was part of my lunch today.

The inside of our spectacular fruit bowl.

I'm particularly fond of this bowl, as it's one of the larger I've done recently, and definitely the largest in this series (sgraffito decoration on the inside). It's thrown with Calico, which is a white-bodied clay which suits the fine detail work on the inside quite well. Unfortunately, it also has a relatively high rate of shrinkage, so it was about 5% more impressive before it was fired. Although it is by no means a small bowl now, either. Just something to keep in mind.

I did get about two hours in the studio Sunday afternoon to trim and decorate a few bowls, throw one large-ish bowl, and recycle some more red clay. I need to recycle my bucket of Speckled Buff slop - it's gotta be pushing 40 pounds. Just about took my arm yesterday when I was under the impression it was not so heavy. Also, there was a bisque fire and a glaze fire nearly done, but they were both still over 400° F, so no unloading for me. I'll be bringing home a big batch of finished work tonight, in addition to glazing.

That's all for this time - don't forget to post any questions or comments you may have!