28. ROLLED RIMS AND CHATTERING.

Hello Potters and Friends.

Well, despite the freezing temperatures here in Warwickshire I've put on a few extra layers, turned my heater to high, and started the new year with some new work.
As you can see from the post title I've been trying my hand at chattering. I've seen it done, and loved the results, but this is my own very first attempt. So I just had to record it.
This is how it looked on the wheel two days ago.

I am really pleased with this, not to mention amazed. So often I try something technically difficult and have to work at it for several weeks. But my success might have something to do with starting with the right tool.

This piece of metal came from Alan's tool bag. I don't know what it is, and I hope he doesn't need it, but it's a little bit springy – enough to fire a ping-pong ball across the room – but definitely not bendy. A stiff spring is what you want and this is how I used it -;

As the wheel turns – medium speed – hold the metal quite firmly against the clay. You can see that I held it pointing slightly inwards towards me in order to get it bouncing or you could say juddering against the clay. It leaves behind a unique repeating pattern that will be emphasised by glazing.

The bowls I am chattering on are going to be good-sized breakfast bowls with a pouring lip. And to add to the rustic feel, I have given them a rolled rim. This serves two purposes. Firstly, everyday bowls are likely to get chipped, and so a thicker rim gives them a chance of preventing this. Secondly, a rolled rim stops the bowl from warping in the kiln. It also gives a lovely finished look.

So here's how to do it.

With your right hand supporting the side, gently flair out the top with your left.

Keep pushing it round and in – all the while keeping that right hand on the outside.

Tuck that right finger upwards and into the rim. Don't worry about trapping air – you won't.

Finally, use a piece of chamois (or a strip of plastic bag) and finish the job with a smooth rolled rim.

Chattered and Rolled. 

Not only were the pots chattering – my teeth were too!

This was our street about a week ago. View from our upstairs sitting room.

Alan loves it. He can't wait to get out with his camera.

And Rosie's new knitting classes are just the thing for keeping you warm. If you're in the Warwickshire area then look up the Caroline Rose School of Sewing, Regent Street, Leamington Spa, and learn to wrap up warm.

HAPPY POTTING FOLKS.

27. Something Old, Something New.

Hello Potters and Friends. And A Happy New Year!!

I thought that this post could take a look back over the past year, make a note of what was most popular with customers, and see what gave me most satisfaction in the making.

Small is beautiful, and my very popular pots on wooden blocks are always a joy to make.

And you never have to worry about getting all of them the same size. In fact it's better that you don't.

A Japanese look for my tea-light holders.

Then back in May I started making Grab Jugs. This design was very popular in the 1930s and these small jugs were used mainly for cream. Grabbed by the neck they fit very comfortably in your hand and look very dainty on the tea table. About 8 or 9 cm high (just over 3 inches) is a good size.

For anyone who gets frustrated and a little nervous about attaching handles, then this is the jug for you.  

But while on the subject – when attaching a handle, never make it curve out more than half the diameter of the rim. i.e. it can still be chunky if you wish, but don't let it stick right out like a massive question mark. That unbalances the whole piece.  

You may remember that the summer of 2012 saw me struggling with porcelain. But the purest of whitest of clays kept me persevering in order to produce simple, clean-lined forms.

                                     

 A lot of what I produced was miniature – tiny versions of larger stoneware pots. Someone had said to me that buying a large vase was easy, but trying to find something for small flowers was impossible.

I myself have picked little yellow primroses and ended up putting them in an old glass or a Marmite jar.
Very nice, but something in porcelain would please the eye so much more.

My tip would be to wedge it and knead it well and don't use too much water if throwing with it. And above all keep it clean. I kneaded some on a board that I thought I'd cleaned after rolling out a flecked stoneware. Disaster!

Towards the end of the year I experimented with Mayco brush-on glazes. I'm pleased with what I've got so far.

This is called Smoke. (2 coats)

Wrought Iron (3 Coats) with my own satin glaze inside.

And finally can I recommend this terrific book written by Tony Birks.

He tells the story of Lucie Rie's life which, unusually for a biography, reads like a novel. Then a large section towards the back has some great photographs of her work. If you're a fan of Lucie Rie, as I certainly am, then you'll find this book a little treasure.

HAPPY POTTING FOLKS.  

26. FAMILY FESTIVITIES

Hello Potters and Friends,
And a hello from Alan.

Click on the tunes back at the top which are played by himself on his Irish whistle.   

And, the fiddler on Castledawson is none other than me!!

As my foot is still in plaster my main occupation this month has been watching the festive preparations from the comfort of the sofa.
Alan, Rosie, and her partner, Rich, decorated our Christmas tree last week.

Meanwhile, I could only look out on one of the coldest days Leamington Spa has seen in years.

View from the bathroom.

But the kiln kept the basement nice and cosy but not entirely with my pots.  Rosie decided to try hand-building some bowls, and came up with a rather good idea for gifts that have a very festive look.

When the pots were leather-hard she made two holes in the sides, about 2cm apart, and when all were glazed and fired she threaded ribbon through and tied a fancy bow. As with all small holes, scrape out a good deal of the glaze before firing, otherwise there is a danger that the holes will close up and disappear.

I fired some gift tags which will be added to my presents.

These little ceramic leaves have become my signature now, so I no longer need to sign the underside.

I also decided to re-fire a pot that I thought looked dull and pretty uninteresting.

As you may know by now, I love my white satin glaze but this large bowl needed a bit of jazzing up. So I painted these copper oxide leaves straight on to the glazed pot. It sticks to the pot very well without having to be mixed too thick, and it won't run in the re-firing. It takes on a black metallic look with a slight bleeding of green into the glaze. So there you go, saved from being relegated to the back of the shelf. 

As Christmas and New Year draws closer I sit and think of what I might do next year. I was told about a porcelain clay called Royale; great for throwing apparently. So I've ordered a bag to try out and see if it's better than my Ming porcelain. I'll let you know. 

But until then I hope you all have a jolly time over the holidays and I look forward to reporting back on my discoveries, experiments and hopefully successes next year.

HAPPY POTTING FOLKS

                  From Alan           

From Rosie

  

And from me.

25. KILN BACK ON TRACK

Hello Potters and Friends,

Thank goodness, my kiln is now back in action. The programmer was not controlling the temperature in the kiln. I nearly lost a whole load of porcelain but I switched it off just in time, before the temperature rocketed up at a frightening speed.

However, the kiln might be in tip-top condition but my left foot is not. Owing to a dislocated toe I cannot continue potting in the workshop for a while. But I can show you what came out of the kiln after I’d re-fired the near disaster. And I’ll show you how to make my origami Christmas creations that have kept me busy whilst putting my feet up.

So here we go - first some porcelain; 

My pots on stands are very popular, look great as a table centrepiece, and I love making them. 

Now something a bit bigger ;

Porcelain and stoneware. Black stain and a dab of red underglaze. One of my favourite forms.

'Morning Glory' in the Delft style. Cobalt oxide decoration.

And here's some stoneware ;

Tall pot with incised lid. The motif was painted with red iron oxide at the greenware stage so that the lines would stay sharp, then I dipped it in my favourite white satin glaze. The oxide burns through the glaze. 

'Pot-Bellied Pot'

White satin glaze with manganese and copper carbonate. Each end dipped leaving a bare neck, which was then painted with the oxide mixture.

'Black Daisy Bowl'

Red iron oxide and gold decoration with transparent glaze. 

But now here comes the origami ! 

I love paper, and used to make paper bowls long before I got hooked on clay. 

STEP 1.  Fold a square piece of paper into a triangle.

STEP 2. Fold the bottom right corner to the top angle and then repeat with the bottom left. You now have a diamond shape.

STEP 3. Unfold each triangle, open them out by inserting a finger, then press them flat.

STEP 4. Fold back the little triangle on both sides.

STEP 5. Fold again to hide the white paper.

STEP 6.  Fold into a cone shape having put a dab of glue to hold it in place. 

STEP 7. This is the end result and then you make 4 more. Don't worry, they're very quick once you've got it.

STEP 8. Dab of glue on the side and stick all 5 together.

VOILA !

Mine are going to be strung together and hung from the mantlepiece as well as adding one to each Christmas gift.

HAPPY POTTING AND FLOWER MAKING FOLKS.

24. SITTING BACK FOR A WHILE

Hello Potters and Friends,

Well, just as my Christmas exhibition approaches, guess what? My kiln starts misbehaving again. This time it's the control box. It's not reading the correct temperature in the kiln. Instead of beginning at 80 degrees an hour, it decided to start at about 200 degrees an hour. So, it's going to get another overhaul and I'll just have to "hold fire" for a while.

Potclays Supplies held an open day recently and so I dragged Alan with me up to Stoke on Trent for what he dreaded was a morning of clay shopping. But no, he actually quite enjoyed it, as there were lots of demonstrations to entertain him.

I, meanwhile, chatted to the sales people. Now, I never use brush-on glazes but on the Mayco stand I was given a small pot of glaze free of charge. So I gave it a go.

I was very pleased with this result. 

This red/orange with touches of black is called Copper Float. The metallic drips are my oxide mix of 4 parts manganese to 1 part copper carbonate. The black band around the neck is just manganese. It's the copper part that creates runs - manganese alone stays put. And these were fired to 1245ºc with a 30 min' soak.   

With brush-on glaze you apply 3 coats, letting each coat dry before applying the next. I was so impressed that I bought myself another pot. But it is more expensive than a dipping glaze so it's good to remember this when pricing. But it's just the colour for a Christmas display.

But I went a bit crazy when I bought some clay. I thought I'd try something different - and it certainly is.......

They call it Grogged Pink.

It's a mixture of Stoneware coloured with Earthenware and very, and I mean very, heavily grogged. Garden pots, birdbaths and ornaments or anything for the garden will suit this clay. But I did manage to throw one pot.  

Quite rough on the hands but not impossible.

I painted on wax in large leaf shapes in order to see the clay, then dipped it in my white satin glaze. As you can see it's reacted quite strongly with the clay and has changed the glaze to pale green. It looks gloriously rustic on my white dresser. I love pottery, just for surprise moments like this.

So as Christmas approaches it gives us all an opportunity to show off our favourite pots in the form of Christmas cards.

Every year Alan works his photographic magic, and produces a personal card for family and friends.

This year we have had our cards printed as postcards and I've added tartan ribbon for hanging.

While my kiln has been out of action I have been enjoying discovering other blogs and websites. There are two that I particularly enjoyed.

"The Beat That My Heart Skipped" was my first discovery. "A blog dedicated to daily design inspirations". It covers anything and everything and is very entertaining.

And it was on this blog I found Natasha Newton's paintings on canvas and stones. 

Delicately painted stones collected from a Suffolk beach.

They made me want to go out and get digging in the garden. I didn't of course. But it did inspire me to get painting on my pots again. 

I'd forgotten how much I enjoy doing this. 

I don't use underglaze for this, I use black glaze stain before the bisque firing, and on porcelain it shows off the crisp lines.

But, unfortunately, I'll have to wait until I can fire them so, in the meantime.................

Happy Potting Folks