Thursday 28 February 2013

Saving a bowl from the reclaim bucket

Before I went on my trip to the West Country I made a few pots that I wrapped up in plastic so that I could dip them in slip when I returned.
Here is one of the bowls with the slip added to the inside, I thought it was ready to biscuit fire and I had put it aside to dry.  I was unhappy with it because the slip had a few lumps in it and about four or five small lumps were stuck on the inside of the pot. Yesterday I picked it up and was struck by how heavy it was and its clumsy shape, so I decided it would have to go in the reclaim, no point in firing something you are not happy with.  Then I decided to give it a second chance.



I wrapped it in wet cloths to soften the clay and put it back on the wheel, I reduced the size of the footring and lifted the shape by trimming where the curve changes at the base (I always leave too much clay here when turning)



I have mixed up a new black slip but never used it so I decided to try it on this bowl.  I masked the bits of the pot I wanted to stay white using torn till receipt paper.  I scrapped off the small lumps of slip and made sure that the black slip covered that area.


When the slip was dry I removed the strips of paper


I was a bit worried when I took the strips off, the paper had crumpled a bit because of the curve and some slip had seeped underneath.  I quite like the effect it has produced and my Union Jack style bowl.


This bowl is destined for the Ceramics Show at St Joseph's on 9th March.  I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

March 6th - The bowl comes out of the kiln


It has a lovely shine to it and I really like the rich black colour of the slip, it has a real depth to it.
There is a bit of roughness on the black slip but it isn't too bad.
I must practise dipping bowls into glaze buckets and getting the level right!


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