Decorating Ceramic Pieces

Naked Raku was the process used for decorating most of my pieces. This was done by using a resist slip then crackle glaze on the pieces. They were then fired in an updraft kiln to 1000 degrees. Once removed from the kiln, the pieces were then put into chambers with sawdust and sealed. The flames and smoke need oxygen and the only place to get it was in the clay. This turned parts of the clay, without the slip, black. Here are photos of various stages of the process:

Here are the pieces cleaned up. I have incorporated wire with some of the pieces.

This is the final display for assessment.

I had a great time over the last 2 weeks.

Ceramics Elective

My third elective was Ceramics. To start we had to take photos of patterns / designs we saw in both the natural and urban environment. Here are a few of the pics I took:

We then used our photos to make some marks on paper. In the studio be got paper and indian ink and created marks. Here are the marks I worked with:

Marks made with a plastic clubcard

Marks made with a brush

Positive and negative copies of marks

We then went to the Ceramics Department and were shown coiling, slabbing and how to make pinch pots. I won't bore you with each step, but here are the final pieces I made prior to firing:

This was done by coiling

Coiling also

These are made by the pinch pot technique

This was done by slabbing and adding in coiling to join the edges

Slabbing also

I then had a go at throwing a bowl!!! Well!!! This didn't go so well. I'm calling it my 'Drunken Bowl'! 'Tis a bit lopsided.

 

Update on Drawing Competition

Well! Ya never guess what!!! One of my pictures got picked for the exhibition!! I'm over the moon!! This is the one that got picked:

It's a great feeling seeing it in an exhibition. My first time! Woo Hoo!!!! It has made me want to go back doing more of these types of drawings. I love doing this kind of thing. I've started already playing around with some ideas. I'll update with more when I have something to share.

Drawing Competition

There is a drawing competition on at the moment and I entered two pictures to see what would happen. Here they are:

I have to say, I really love doing these kind of pictures. They're done in ink pen. My mind just flows when I'm working on them and feel really good about them.

Bag and Newspaper Combination / More Video Tape

I wanted to work more with shredded bags, so I stuck a bag to the wall and started cutting slits in it. I then filled another bag with air and put it in the cut bag to see how it would look:

I decided to attach shredded newspaper to the bag filled with air and put it into the sliced bag:

I then suspended the piece with some string:

I then used more video tape as a drawing tool and incorporated my other experiments with the tape. Here are photos of different stages and different angles:

Cutting

I had been looking at artists such as Eva Rothschild, Charlotte McGowan-Griffin, Gabriele Basch and Robert Morris, and wanted to try more cutting. I love working with paper and card, and decided to combine these elements with the black plastic bags I had been using.

I first cut the bottom off the black bags and put them on the wall. I separately worked at a desk with cutting out shapes on sheets of card. Next, I attached the card to the wall, on top of the bags.

Next, I put a cutting mat behing the plastic, opened the flap on the card and started slashing and cutting the plastic behind it. This is what I ended up with:





Hanging Around

I decided to go a little further working with the black bags. I cut strips on the front of three bags, made circles out of wire and attached them to the tops of the bags. I then went outside and hung them on some trees. Here are a few pictures of what I got up to:

Here is a link to a video I did of them hanging in the grounds of the college: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAqXO0caDws&feature=g-upl&context=G2e06e92AUAAAAAAAAAA

I then brought them inside and hung them from the stairs in the college:

To be honest, they were more effective outside - but it was a bit of fun!