glazed

Hoorah! After a long wait I finally got a phone call the other day to say my glazed ceramic pieces had been fired. (I can't wait till I have my own kiln wired in so I don't have to wait so long for firings, but its also nice to know my pieces are in safe hands being fired by the nice people at Pottery Supplies.)

Its so exciting and nerve wracking driving out to see how they had fared!

These are the first pots I've made completely at home and fired twice to completion. 

There are a million options for decoration in ceramics which is one of the really inspiring things about it. I've been trying to experiment with different techniques and materials. I've been a bit like a kid in a candy shop.

I've posted some before and after shots for those who are interested. Previous blog posts tell more of the history and show photos of my ceramics journey so far if you're interested, like this one and this one and this one. Looking back I see some of these pieces were thrown back in March. Sigh. It feels like that long.

I'm still a newbie. Its only been about six months that I've been making with clay. These pieces were the first I made with my new/old wheel way back when. Hopefully I am slowly learning more and improving slowly.

Oh, and can I ask a favour, if you have time can you leave a comment and tell me which piece or pieces you like. I'm so interested to know which shapes/designs/colours you like. Including any I haven't shown here, I have a limited palette of underglazes but hope to keep expanding my collection.
I'd like to make more pots and maybe offer some for sale down the track, so it would be great to hear from you guys who have such great ideas.

Thanks :-)

muted

I promised exciting making news last week, and here it is - I bought a kiln! 

I've been stalking Ebay for ages now, waiting to find a secondhand kiln that didn't cost very much and could work on domestic power. I love the idea of being able to experiment at home with my ceramics, which is why I accidentally got that pottery wheel too.

The less exciting news is that it will take time to get our wiring adjusted and put in a dedicated circuit so that I can finally plug the kiln in. So in the meantime I will still have to fire my work at the local ceramics shop which means a long drive and a wait until they have a full load for firing.

That first batch of bisque pieces have had their final glaze applied and gone back for a last firing. Luckily batch two, the newer pieces that just needed bisque firing came back in a few days.

For those of you that don't know, bisque firing is the preliminary firing that sets the clay hard. A second, hotter glaze firing is needed to really set the clay and the glazes and give the piece its finish. So its quite a looong process. Hopefully it will all be quicker when I have a working kiln and hopefully I can show some finished pieces soon!

I made up some rough test tiles to use in my kiln when its ready, for a first test firing. These sample my stock of underglazes (I got a few colours for mothers day!) at different strengths and with different finishes.

Actually I quite like these as little pendants or decorative tiles. I must make some more.

Recently I also caught up with the ABCD social girls at the Etsy Craft party. We had fun gossiping while we embroidered and modified old photos. Its always fun to see everyone, craft people are nice people, so if you are local and haven't been I recommend it. Its always nice to be among like minded craft addicts!

soup weather

The autumn winter weather has finally arrived in Sydney.

I'm taking credit! We went west on the weekend to our nephew Fin's 18th birthday party and brought the chilly temps back with us over the mountains on Sunday.

Our flying visit to the country was a breath of fresh air literally. Its always such a treat to have the whole family in one place. We got to catch up with the new babies in the family, the teenagers, the young adults and the oldies. Mr Flowerpress is the youngest of four kids which means lots of family in all shapes and sizes.

We made a quick trip out to his sister's bush block where she is building and decided to come back soon, hopefully in the next holidays, to help build a crushed granite floor in her straw bale house.

On Sunday we fitted in a visit to see our nephews' collaboration. They are milling sustainable timbers from a wide range of amazing trees, including bunya pine, casuarina, pin oak, English elm and poplar.

Autumn means soup weather and slow cooking and crusty bread and bakes (including Hugh Grant macaroni!). I have unconsciously changed what I'm cooking as the days get colder.

Off to the Etsy Craft Party tomorrow for a bloggy/craft catchup. Can't wait.

Oh and good news on the ceramics front, but more about that next week!