oil pastels are fun!
i made this drawing a while ago but didn't get round to posting it for ages because it was a nightmare to photograph, but today i found the patience to faff around with it in photoshop until it looked acceptable.
here they are! the results of this morning's raku firing.
it's a bit of a mixed bag - the glaze was too thick on almost all of them due to my painting on a glaze made for dipping, but also the bottom shelf of the kiln got a bit too hot, so some of the glaze bubbled, and the underglaze on a couple flaked a bit.
BUT on the bright side, the clear raku glaze did its job really well, it pretty much stayed put despite the thickness, and it did protect the underglaze, so a big success there! :D the amaco velvet underglaze turned out really vibrant, and we also got some gorgeous colours and effects in the glaze despite the textural issues.
there's definitely more to explore with raku when i come back, still undecided on what'll happen glaze-wise with the big pot, but i have a few faves i wanna try out again.
all of my tiles survived the bisque! :D
really happy with how vibrant they looked.
spent the whole day glazing them, they're getting raku fired tomorrow so pray to the kiln gods for me that they turn out looking nice! π
particularly intrigued by the glaze which crystallised overnight (last pic), it's the wildcard for sure.
today i spent most of the day learning how to mix glazes for my tiles (which are currently being bisqued). it was surprisingly fun, and i'm excited to see how they turn out cuz there's a couple of wildcards in there.
i also attached the handles to the vessel, which confirmed my suspicion that it's actually kinda lopsided, but i'm hoping once it's all decorated that it won't be that noticeable. i did think about taking them off but i'm overall pleased with how the handles look, and conceptually it was always supposed to be a vessel designed to be carried, so they're staying.
the eel pot is pretty much done now, the handles will just need a little tidying up tomorrow but that's it!
the eel pot now has a lid! actually very chuffed with how it's looking. it's also been trimmed down a bit, though it's still quite chunky, which i think i'm just gunna have to accept.
now all it needs is some handles which are wip, pic 3. they'll ideally look a lot less square when they're finished.
i moved my painting station to the other studio since the ceramics workshop doesn't have any wifi, and i wanted to have some youtube on in the background.
slowly painting the little eels.
vessel is almost done, needs a good trimming at the top after it firms up a bit, then it'll be onto the handles and lid. :)
started painting the tiles today. the underglaze will darken in colour during the firing so they won't look quite as pastel as they do here.
the vessel is also slowly being worked on, getting close to finishing the initial sculpt. i'm really looking forward to the process of trimming it and refining the shape!
here are some of the drawings i started yesterday and finished today; you can see all 12 of them in pic 5.
these little leptocephalus (eel larvae) are going to be painted onto my test tiles. it felt fitting that what happens to these larval eels will go on to inform what happens to the adult eel which will decorate the large vessel.
swipe to the end to see today's progress on the vessel! i'm getting quite nervous working on it now that it's so large, but it's feeling quite sturdy so i think i just need to keep taking it slowly.
gave my injured hand a bit of a rest today and it's feeling better :)
quick one today cuz i'm tired:
1 - breakfast view
2 - today's vessel progress
3 - pit firing! (not my work, but i enjoyed hanging out while it was happening)
4 - (not pictured) i also did some drawing today, pics'll be posted tomorrowwwww
i don't know what's caused it but i've developed some sort of rsi pain in my hand :( plz send your best healing vibes x
first day in the SSW ceramics workshop! :) absolutely fab day, everyone here is so supportive and the vibe is really nice.
pics:
1 - the ceramics workshop (it's a bit dark because i took this right at the end of the day).
2 - cardboard template of the shape i'm attempting to make. i had to measure it out to make sure i don't make it too big for the raku kiln.
3 - sat outside and read for a bit, and brought my cut slabs to dry them quicker in the sun.
4 - 12 test tiles (drying face down to keep them as flat as possible).
5 - the very beginnings of the vessel with its template in the background. i'm pretty nervous that making this is outside of my ceramics skill level, but I guess we'll see!
