Ceramic Drawer Progression
Posted: April 20, 2015 Filed under: Exhibition, Field | Tags: ceramics, clay, furniture, glaze, hybrid, kiln, porcelain, wood Leave a comment
I successfully glazed a drawer front which fired to 1040 so that it wouldn’t slump in the middle. I’m going to use this piece as the final drawer front as the off-white colour of the clay works well with the oak body of the bedside table.
I also did some coloured glazes to demonstrate what the table would look like with oak against colour. The purple and coral below are a clear and underglaze mix on white St Thomas slip that fired at 1100, there was slight warping at this temperature however it isn’t that noticeable.
I also tested out some colours on porcelain but they slumped significantly due to being fired to 1280. To get around this I am going to try propping the porcelain up with a crank support underneath and fire it to 1260.
new test tiles
Posted: November 29, 2014 Filed under: Subject | Tags: clay, crank clay, glaze, oxidization, porcelain, porcelain slip, recipe, reduction, slip Leave a commentMy last batch of test tiles didn’t turn out so well as the glazes weren’t thick enough, so the colour of the clay showed through. I tried them again with a thicker layer of glaze, they came out more opaque and are a better match to the examples in the glaze book.
I’ve made some more tiles with a layer of porcelain slip on top to provide a white base for the glazes to go on so that the colours are more exact.
Combining Wood and Ceramic Elements
Posted: November 21, 2014 Filed under: Subject | Tags: ceramic, furniture, glaze, porcelain, porcelain slip, press mould, slip, slip cast, table, wood Leave a commentI’m experimenting with bringing together wood and ceramic into my furniture designs. I want to show a contrast between the hard wood and delicate nature of ceramic by incorporating structural and decorative elements into them.
I made a plaster cast of a table top with an edge detail and leg holes, then press-molded clay into it. I plan to glaze to top and cut wooden legs to fit the holes.
I am using crank clay for the table top to test out how well it holds the shape. I initially planned to use porcelain and slip cast it in a two part mold, however porcelain has a tendency to warp at high temperatures and the top needs to be flat. I’m testing out crank because of its high grog content which will give it the strength it needs due to its large surface area. I also want to see what kind of finish it produces, as the top needs to be a smooth base for the glaze.
(bisque fired)
The top is quite heavy so I press moulded another and hollowed out the back. I’ve also added a layer of porcelain slip over it to create a white base for the glaze to go on.
I am experimenting with how to show the physical properties of clay by dripping and pooling slip, and twisting, pulling and making impressions in it, so that it will still show its properties when fired and glazed.
I dripped slip over a plaster slab to create pieces that dried as they dripped over the edge so they look as if they are still fluid.
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