Views: 119

Comment

You need to be a member of Electric Mid&Hi Fired Ceramics to add comments!

Join Electric Mid&Hi Fired Ceramics

Comment by Joseph Fireborn on February 3, 2016 at 2:13pm

It is funny you said that. I just made some platters this afternoon, and shallow wide bowls. The biggest that will fit in my kiln is 14'' unless its the top shelve then 15''. I have a little 2.7cuft kiln L&L, so I can't get a gigantic platter in there. Sad Face. I make them about 16'' then when they shrink to about 15-14''. As soon as I started developing this idea the main thing I thought about was making large platters and shallow bowls with the design throughout the inside from rim to rim. I plan to make the wave much more wavelike, but as I said if I focus I think I can get it much better. The key thing is going to be figuring out ways to make the wave more curled in and have the spikes, probably going to have to use my brushes for that final touch instead of the spray guns. I also need to get more ocean on the underside of the wave, but hey, all in good time.

I totally agree about people not connecting the dots. I was worried about that when I started, the first ones were very rough and looked like a big swoop or swirl, eventually I started getting the foam around the wave and the highlights of darkness better, and this last mug gets the detail a lot better. There is still tons to improve though.

My last kiln load I had like 7 mugs that I threw away because of the bad combinations, and I realized, I can't keep doing this and expect to ever make money. Spraying is a lot more time intensive than dipping and saying done. So I have to make sure the things I am spraying get to be sold. Plus I really like the ocean and the challenge of trying to put nature on a pot with glazes that melt and change and form crystals and all sorts of beautiful things. It would be wonderful to still be working on creating huge waves that are epic 10 years from now on like 50 10x10 tile murals or something. 

Comment by Denice E. Demuth on February 3, 2016 at 1:57pm

Sorry last sentence I meant those who can't.  Denice

Comment by Denice E. Demuth on February 3, 2016 at 1:55pm

The ocean wave mug is great, that is the first thing I thought of I hadn't even read your comment yet.  I think your right on with your glazes you need to start selling.  Have you tried making any small platters with the ocean waves. Sometimes you need some pieces that are more dramatic so the customer who doesn't have a very artistic eye can connect the dots.  I was a decorator for 20 years there is a lot fewer customer who can connect the dots than those who can.    Denice    

Comment by Joseph Fireborn on February 3, 2016 at 1:34pm

I think it is. My wife likes all my handles and she is about as honest as you can get. I get a lot of very disturbing looks when I show her some of my new ideas. She is like the Yes and No man when it comes to me going to far. 

I wont be making any more in this glaze combination though for a while. I am narrowing down my glaze palette to 5 colors based on some results I have been trying to achieve making ocean colors and ocean effects on my pots. This is my ocean wave mug. This is the 9th attempt at creating this effect. I finally got it pretty close. This is a combination of 4 glazes to create the colors of the wave and sand. I really love this mug and these colors and I have had a lot of good things said about it. So in an attempt to make less mistakes in glazing trails and make more money I am dropping everything and focusing on 5 glazes for a while.



Comment by Denice E. Demuth on February 3, 2016 at 1:12pm

That other photo does show the handle being smaller.  I had no concerns on the size I have huge hands so I like large handled mugs. It was something about the flow of the handle that caught my eye, it just look like it would be a comfortable handle.    Denice

Comment by Joseph Fireborn on February 3, 2016 at 7:39am

The handle feels good, to me at least. The picture kinda shows the handle at an odd angle and it looks much bigger than it is in reality.

This one shows the size better. It is pretty close to the mug. 


The handle was made bigger at the top because I wanted to replicate the texture from the mug on the top of the handle. I am not sure if I did it well or not. The idea was the lines and texture from the mug came into the top of the handle. 

Not sure if I pulled it off or not, but it feels good to drink from and has nice balance.

Thanks for the nice comment.

Comment by Denice E. Demuth on February 3, 2016 at 6:19am

Great mug, how does the handle feel.   Denice

Videos

  • Add Videos
  • View All

Use These Links to Support Us

Low cost flat lapping disc can be used on you potters wheel if you, drill bat pin holes in it, and provide a trickle of water to cool it. At amazon.com, 120 grit for aggressive material removal. Click the image to purchase 

Members have had great things to say about John Britt's new book, Mid-Range Glazes. Click the image to buy from Amazon.com

Purchase Glazes Cone 6 by Michael Bailey, The Potters Book of Glaze Recipes by Emmanuel Cooper, or Making Marks by Robin Hopper, all available at amazon.comMastering Cone 6 Glazes by John Hesselberth & Ron Roy is now out of print.

Harbor Freight is a great place to find unbeatable prices for better HVLP spray guns with stainless steel parts and serviceable economy models, as well as detail guns, all tested by our members for spraying glazes, as well as compressors to power the guns. As yet no one has tested and commented on the remarkably inexpensive air brushes at harbor freight.

The critter siphon gun is a spray alternative that is well liked by some of our members, and is available at amazon.

Amazon is also a competitive source for photo light tents for shooting professional quality pictures of your work. They also have the EZ Cube brand favored by several of our members. You might also want to purchase the book Photographing Arts, Crafts and Collectibles . . .

If you are up to creating videos of your work or techniques you might want to invest in a flip video camera

Following are a few scales useful for potters. Ohaus Triple Pro Mechanical Triple Beam Balance, 2610g x 0.1g, with Tare $169.00

And finally a low cost clone of the OHaus. The Adam Equipment TBB2610T Triple Beam Mechanical Balance With Tare Beam $99.62

ebay is a great alternative for many tools and the equipment used in the ceramics studio - kilns, wheels, extruders, slab rollers are often listed there both new and used.

Tips for Members

If you just want to spout off, it is best accomplished as a blog posting. If you want to get more guidance and ideas from other members, ask a question as a new discussion topic. In the upper right corner of the lists for both types of posting, you will find an "+Add " button. Clicking it will open an editor where you create your posting. 4/16/2014

© 2024   Created by Andrea Wolf.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service