Pinched tea cup

Nothing like a leftover bit of clay (or clays) to invite one to pinch a pot, or in this case, a small tea cup. This one used up what was left from the small, two-color anvil bowl.

Pinching clay is one of the simplest methods of shaping and is usually reserved for objects small enough to fit in one's hand. Still, it is a little tricky to get things even. Multiple pinched shapes can be joined to make larger pieces. I added a foot ring to this cup.

The pinkish orange color is from a mason stain. After a bisque firing, I applied clear glaze to just the inside.

Another small object of questionable value except as an exercise and experiment for the potter.

Mushroom anvil bowl

There are all kinds of doodads to help the hand-builder make things that are uniform (more or less). One of them is what is called a mushroom anvil. Made from wood, a variety of forms may be attached to the handle. To shape the clay, the potter makes a slab, lays it out on a piece of foam rubber, then quickly presses the form into the clay. (See my anvil here.)

I tested out the anvil a while back, using two different colors of clay, one colored with mason stain.

After a bisque firing, I applied clear glaze to just the inside to display the difference between the glazed and unglazed surfaces.

As you can see, the bowl is quite small. There are larger forms available, but I haven't coughed up the bucks for those yet. I believe these are hand turned and made from fine wood, so a little pricy.

Popcorn bowl #2

Bowl #2 was made at home, by slumping a slab over a pyrex mixing bowl that I sometimes use for popcorn.

Again, a dearth of notes, not even photos of what I was doing. If memory serves me right, the inside is glazed in 'Stoned Denim' and the outsie in 'Cinnebar'. The rim shows a layering of the two.

And AGAIN, I didn't allow for shrinkage, so this bowl would be better for pasta or salad instead of popcorn. One of these days, I will learn to make everything at least ten percent larger than I want the end result to be.

Popcorn bowl #1

Bowl #1 was made in class. No construction pictures. The method was one kind of coil building. As I recall, mine started caving out, so I had to make a "dart" - cut out a section and "glue" the edges back together. Initially, I was unhappy with the thing, but decided it wasn't so bad after all.

After firing, I decided to try the "peacock" method of glazing (at home). The idea is to create runs of color that resemble a peacock's tail. I used Mayco 'Stoned Denim' for the base, Amaco 'Honey Flux' for the U's and big circle, and Mayco 'Cinnebar' for the dots. I really don't know what I am doing - can you tell?

It didn't turn out the way I had hoped. Basically, the glazes did not run.

I *think* what I did next was overglaze the inside of the piece with 'Oatmeal' (or was it a layer of 'Honey Flux'? I really need to get better at making notes.) Anyway, the idea was to get some movement of the glaze. After yet another firing, the result was much better, closer to what I was aiming for.

Again, I did not allow for shrinkage, so this isn't much of a popcorn bowl by today's standards. When I was a kid, we had a set of salad bowls we used for popcorn, and they were about the size of this bowl. It just goes to show you how serving sizes have grown over the years.

Dog bowl #1

For this dog bowl, I used Clio's food bowl as a mold of sorts, draping a slab of clay over it. (The bowl was covered in an old kneehigh stocking, to prevent sticking.)

Then, after bisque firing, my granddaughter glazed it. I have no idea which glazes she used other than those from a Mayco sampler, and I'm sure she doesn't remember. She selected them based on glaze combinations as shown online. The results are interesting, though.

The lesson learned with this project is clay shrinks. This pic shows the dog dish sitting completely inside its model, making it more appropriate for a cat than a dog (at least, my dogs). Going forward, I will need to keep this in mind.

I will offer the bowl to my granddaughter, in case she wants it, but I would be happy to keep it for myself.

Fluted plate in 'Green Tea'

This started out as a bowl, specifically a dog bowl, but it turned into a plate. Then it had so many fingerprints on it, I went all the way and added more, plus the fluting.

My granddaughter came over and I tasked her with glazing the bowl. I suggested Mayco 'Stone Denim', but she thought Mayco 'Green Tea' would be better. I was hoping the texture is deep enough for the glaze to "break" over it.

I am enamored with the results.

I'm not sure what this plate could be used for, other than be an object to admire. Almost all my finished pieces sit on a "sideboard" by the front door, so that visitors can pick one if they so choose, but this one may be a keeper.

Any lessons learned here? So far, most of my vessels don't have feet or rings on the bottom, but I think that is something I should work to add next.

Dipping bowls

When I purchased a set of wood forms, I didn't think about how small the resulting objects would be. I thought they would be good for mini-experiments, and they are, up to a point. Per usual, most of the pottery I create is a learning experience.

I started by tracing the outline of each form onto a slab of clay (3/8" thick, I think). I applied the underglaze tissue pieces and wiped them down with a damp sponge before positioning the clay on a piece of foam rubber (purchased at Joann) and centering the wood form on the clay. A quick push downward created the shape. Only then did I remove the transfer.

These pieces are so small the cat underglaze tissue objects barely fit. Being a bit frugal, I cut out some of the half-cats along the paper's edge, then placed them so that they look like they are parading across the dish. I squeezed one cat onto the triangle piece.

The flamingos could not be snipped out individually, so I used the wood form to trace a shape for each of these. As an experiment, I applied pink underglaze before adding the transfer. I have to admit, I like the results.

These were all bisque fired, then I applied clear glaze to just the tops. In the future, I plan to apply the clear glaze all over, and use stilts to keep the pieces off the kiln shelf.

Even with the wood form, there is still a bit of wonkiness on the finished items.

One lesson I learned doing these is to smooth the edges of the slab *before* making the shape. Another lesson is to be more careful creating the shape to eliminate that wonkiness. Yet a third lesson: make sure most of the underglaze transfers from the paper to the clay. I purchased some other transfers, so plan to continue these experiments.

Heavy duty tool caddies

I made these two tool caddies (a.k.a. handleless mugs) a while ago, while I was still getting into the habit of documenting my pottery journey. They are really heavy - 20 oz. and 23 oz. If I wanted to use them as short vases, I doubt Beau could knock them over (although with felt feet, they might slide off a table very easily).

After watching a video provided by Amaco on layering PC-31 Oatmeal over PC-33 Iron Lustre, I glazed these. The one on the left has three coats of Oatmeal over three coats of Iron Lustre, with the Oatmeal restricted to the top third of both the inside and outside of the mug. The one on the right is the opposite: three coats of Iron Lustre over three coats of Oatmeal, with the Iron Lustre on just the top third of the inside and outside, plus the heart.

So how did they turn out? Pretty good, if I do say so myself.

Each one is about 4" tall with a 3" diameter. The heartless one has some surface texture.

The way the colors emerge and interact is really interesting. Something to do with chemistry, in which I earned a D in high school. (The only reason I passed is I could balance equations.)

Here is my lesson learned: it is difficult to see in this pic, but the inside bottom did not get fully covered. However, they both hold water.

The purpose of these pieces was to improve my slab-building skills. I have since switched to less thick slabs, although if I wanted to etch deeply into the surface, I would stick with this thickness. (I think these were rolled to 5/8" thick; I now aim for 3/8".) I was concerned the glaze would run right off, so put "cookies" under them, but it was unnecessary.

Chopstick holder

One of the pieces I made recently at home was a holder for chopsticks. I had been using a drinking glass - perfectly serviceable, but not very decorative. Also, I wanted to improve my slab-building technique.

I posted about this earlier, but I'll repeat myself here so that I have all the information in one place, more or less.

Instead of using a stamp or roller for the design, I snipped some tips off an arborvitae in my yard.

Each side is about 3"x6". I left the sprigs on the clay while I assembled the container, to prevent smudging of the design. That's something one can't do with rollers and stamps.

This is where things get hazy since I didn't take any notes, nor did I post about the progress. I *think* I had it bisque fired, then added detail using underglazes.

I *think* I did not like this red underglaze, so removed it and started over with the original underglazes?

At some point, I applied wax resist to the bottom, using a brush. Then I covered the whole thing with Amaco Celadon 'Snapdragon'. It came out darker than I expected, covering the detail more than I wanted.

But it's functional! It even holds water.

Lessons learned:

• The wax resist looks uneven along the bottom. I would prefer to dip pieces into wax to get a more even edge.
• I wish I had used a darker underglaze to accent the detail.
• The whole thing is a bit wonky, so that is something I need to work on.

Initially, I did not like the transparency of the Celadon glazes, but they are growing on me.