Monday, May 17, 2010

The ecstsy and the agony


Well upon opening the kiln of my latest crystalline firing for a minute I was really excited, then on closer inspection of the two sculptural forms great crystals shame about the bloating in the clay. Hence the ecstasyand then the agony. I have managed to get some great crystals in successive firings which is encourageing for something that is so tempremental and difficult to achieve. Just when I am about to give up something spectacular turns up. The glaze and firing cycles for them are still pretty much a mystery to me 18months into my journey of discovery. I can see why ceramic artists that choose this glaze get obsessed and it becomes the work of their lifetime. I have to say I am not there yet though getting close. Hopefully the good will start out weighing the bad in results soon, maybe I am being impatient and there is much more work to be done.


by now Wendy
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Wendy,
I found your blog through Google Alerts and think your crystalline glazed work is very nice.
Regarding your comment "The glaze and firing cycles for them are still pretty much a mystery to me 18months into my journey of discovery." perhaps I can help.
I have been deep into making crystalline glazed porcelain objects for the last 3 1/2 years now and keep a website of sorts "To help keep it straight in my head". It's been a great tool and maybe it can help you too.
See http://www.puttgarden.com/crystal/2007/Page.html
One of the pages shows various firing schedules and the crystals they have produced.
See http://www.puttgarden.com/crystal/tech/firinggraph/firing_schedules.html
The firing schedule is but a small piece of the puzzle. Variations in glaze composition, application thickness and clay body type can all have a significant impact on results as well.
Another great resource is the Crystalline Glaze Forum where you can ask just about any question and get fantastic answers from some of the worlds bes. See http://s3.excoboard.com/crystal
If I can help you in any way just drop me a line. My e-mail address is in the upper left hand corner of my web page.
Phil Hamling

May 18, 2010 at 6:21 PM

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A creative year ahead!

It is the start of a new year so I thought I would try something new, this is it.

So be patient with me I'll get the hang of it eventually, computers aren't my thing. Hopefully it won't get thrown out the window during the process.

Next week I start back at tafe part-time for a 3rd year of Ceramics, mostly for the knowledge that is around the institution. It will be great to get back amongst the energy and like minded people, hopefully it will get the creativity flowing again.

Until next time........

Wendy!