Week 8 Research, Reflection and Goals
Notes: Last week one of my goals was to incorporate stamped patterns into pieces, so I made fifteen or so test tiles that I could experiment on. Typically I don't go overboard on my surface designs, so this time I decided to push myself to really layer patterns in multiple levels. I started by impressing a stamp pattern into wet clay, then allowing the clay to become leather hard before painting a thick layer of white underglaze on it. After the clay and underglaze became bone dry, I took a rib and scraped away the top layer of underglaze so that the stamped impression was filled with underglaze and the tile was flat again. I thought this looked really pretty and elegant, so I left it at this on some tiles. On the backs of these, I stamped one layer of pattern in a contrasting color to make them double sided. On others, I painted underglaze on the stamps and put multiple layers of different colors, slightly off from the previous layer, on the tiles. I had a lot of fun layering and playing around with the stamps and patterns that I had and would definitely like to incorporate them into more of my future ceramic work. Images at left of some of the tiles that I worked on.
Research: As the project is wrapping up and I have made pieces that are ready to be glazed, this week I decided to take some time going through the Val Cushing Glaze Handbook to pick out some recipes I hope to try. Again, some of the recipes depend upon the availability of the ingredients needed and I may need to save some recipes to try during the school year when I will have more resources. Goals for the upcoming week: Make pieces lighter; throw walls thinner and trim away as much as possible. |