3 Sep 2016

Legalize Pottery’s 4th Anniversary

by linnell | posted in: Blog, General | 1

Summer 2016 marks the 4th year of my foray into pottery. Here’s the first picture of my initial effort (June 2012):

Here’s my most recent project, currently in the drying-out stage:

Along the way, there have been some disappointing results. I was advised early-on to smash up anything that turned out sub-par — we don’t want future archeologists to dig up 21st Century crap and declare that we were really, really lousy potters. Below is a photo of my latest landfill contribution. It was disappointing to accept that all the hours spent on this piece had resulted in something that was just plain awful, but it feels good to know that I will never have have to look at it again, reminding me of my shortcomings as a ceramicist.

On a brighter note, the fish dishes that I started in mid-June (1st set of photos) are now completed and I am happy with how they turned out — especially the lipstick red lips (2nd set of photos).

I also wanted to mention that lately I’ve been adding items to my Legalize Pottery Shop, on Etsy.com. It would take a miracle to sell anything via that outlet, due to the millions of offerings that I’m competing with. But I’m proud of my “storefront”, which is starting to look pretty decent.

15 Apr 2016

Glaze Craziness

by linnell | posted in: Blog, Uncategorized | 0

Glazing is my least-favorite part of the ceramics process. I know I’m not alone in this. Classmates of mine are always griping about not knowing what glazes/glazing techniques to use and being disappointed with the end results. Also, googling “Hate Glazing” reveals a bonanza of complaints.

Of course, every step prior to glazing has ‘failure’ possibilities. But, as a piece survives the gauntlet, your attachment grows. With glazing being the final creative step, and fraught with problems, there’s a good chance that all that hard work will be for naught, destined to be smashed to pieces and tossed in the garbage.

Some recent glazing disappointments include this set of plates to which jade green was applied — came out murky blue:

This set of plates was underglazed with black — came out dark silvery blue:

This casserole was intended to have stripes of my favorite glazes — but, the colors ran together:

This urchin bowl & spoon had a wash of green copper carbonate under a coat of clear — came out ochre (more aptly termed baby-poop brown):

Nevertheless, despite the prospect of more unpleasant surprises, I look forward to opening the kiln after my next glaze firing just as a child looks forward to opening Christmas gifts!

5 Jan 2016

Tall Vase with Leaf Motif

by linnell | posted in: Blog, Uncategorized | 0

This recently-completed vase (measurements 9-1/2″ tall, 3-3/4″ diameter) was made from slabs, using a cylindrical form. A half-dozen interesting autumn leaves were pressed into the damp clay, and 3 coats of black slip were applied. After the bisque firing, the inside was coated with John’s Black glaze, and the outside was dipped in VA Clear glaze. The imprinted leaves turned out speckled, and their stems and ‘veins’ show up nicely. The overall effect on the outside is streaky and bark-like, enhancing the appearance of the leaves.

31 Jan 2015

Boxes with Driftwood Handles

by linnell | posted in: Blog, Uncategorized | 0

Recently I made a trio of small boxes with driftwood handles attached via wire wrapping. The perfect size for wish boxes or jewel boxes. The dimensions are in the range of 2-1/2” more or less. The pieces were extruded from mid-fire porcelain.

At the bisqueware stage, underglazes were applied, plus a coat of clear glossy glaze. After the pottery was glaze fired, one coat or multiple coats of lusters were brushed on. Lusters contain metallic elements, to give an iridescent effect.

The mottled halo effects that appear in the top picture were made by touching and re-touching the surface with a dispersing agent using a brush point. The pieces were then refired at cone 020 (1180 F).

13 Sep 2014

Summer Projects

by linnell | posted in: Blog, Images, Uncategorized | 0

As usual, I skipped the Summer Session of my ceramics class, and instead worked on my own. Also as usual, accomplishments fell short of the goal, and there are only a few finished pieces so far, and fewer still are worth sharing.

Fish Dish #18, per customer’s specifications . . .

Plaque (reversible), wire hanger with beads . . .

Spindly-legged stand with fish carving, inlaid with colored glass particles . . .

I spent most of my time slip-casting and trying to alter the results into something unique. I acquired several different molds and 4 gallons of slip, and spent lots of time/effort making the pieces ‘artsy’ rather than ‘crafty’ BUT not quite there yet.

Pyramids embellished with fish . . .

Work in Progress . . .

16 Aug 2014

Video – Applying Underglaze to Greenware

by linnell | posted in: Blog, Uncategorized | 0

Here’s a brief impromptu Legalize Pottery video which captures the “fascinating” process of brushing underglaze onto greenware. In this case, the greenware is a slip-cast pyramid which was hand-carved with images of birds.

Short Studio Tour from Mr152 on Vimeo.

9 Aug 2014

Legalize Pottery Step-By-Step

by linnell | posted in: Blog, Uncategorized | 0

Here is a series of pictures showing the Legalize Pottery Process.

Greenware stage – clay is drying

Clay Drying - Greenware — Clay Drying – Greenware

After bisque firing (Low-Temp, Cone 06)

After application of oxides, underglaze/glaze

Loading the kiln for High-Temp firing (Cone 10)

Final results

Glazing (and the glaze firing) is the most stressful of the steps, as well as the most amazing, with unexpected results, some ‘fails’ and plenty of lessons learned!