The last week has been a frantic one consisting of making and decorating pots ready for the gallery. On one hand I’ve had to ignore the Christmas rush and concentrate on the task of producing ware, but on the other keep in mind the fact that people will want to stop and talk to find out what we’re doing. Something of a necessary distraction.
The rush to produce has involved a few mistakes. The first is that I haven’t always tested glazes properly, relying on a the manufacturer’s guidelines rather than my own empirical methods. I know this is a cardinal error, especially given that the kiln is new and thus its heat is particularly fierce. Some mugs I had glazed rather too thickly, with a dark glossy, and rather attractive, grey-green colour ran onto the kiln shelf. Although they weren’t stuck, the bases of the vessels were a mess and only a couple could be salvaged by grinding the excess off. The same mugs were also decorated with a band of a white stone-like glaze which turned out to be much rougher in texture than I had thought, really quite unsuitable for a drinking vessel.
There have been other errors, mostly to do with the consistency of glazes, which I corrected easily, but not before several pots were discarded, relegated to the role of studio tool containers, or marked as seconds. Let that be a lesson to me! I’ve slowed down now and I’m testing everything, no matter how long it takes. More haste, less speed!
Earth Pig Pottery 