In-Depth Numero 6 :)

Well this week has been one of my most eventful, even though I didn’t really have time to do much in terms of actual work on my clay (That’s what weekends are for). What did happen, and what has left me in such a wonderful mood, is the fact that my first pieces are finally finished!

What this actually means, for those of you who aren’t sure, is that they’ve been fired twice. A bisque fire, and a glaze fire. This takes a lot of time to complete, because each fire takes around 8 hours to finish, and it takes equal time to cool down enough to actually be able to touch without seriously damaging your hands. Add in the drying time, and painting time, and the days quickly stack up.

I guess that’s why I’m so proud to look at those few pieces now, the first ones I had made back when I started all this. It seems so long ago that my hands were molding the wet clay into forms that would one day be beautiful. I can remember sitting at the counter, looking at them as they dried, and trying to envision what they would turn into.

I couldn’t really envision it properly; the vibrant colours and smooth, glassy, surface. I love each of them, even the ones that didn’t turn out quite right.

As I moved along this road, patience, or rather impatience, has been my friend and enemy. My desire to see the final result gave me motivation on the days which I haven’t really felt like working, but knew I really should. Yet at the same time, the waiting has been dreadful. At a certain point, you just want it done. Especially for the things which turned out badly, it sometimes feels like a waste to continue on with each step on each piece. I just keep reminding myself that everything I do is a learning experience; even waiting.

Asides from getting these finished pieces from my wonderful mentor, who fired them for me, and placing them proudly in my clay work space, I also have another job for this week. With my second round of clay pieces, I am ready to paint them with I their under-glaze. This batch is a bit bigger, so will take me more time, but I’m hoping this weekend will be excellent time to make a dent in some of that.

One thing I would like to clarify in terms of glaze, is that one does not have to under-glaze every piece. Under-glaze is applied with a paintbrush, can be used with great precision and detail, and with more variety in colour. Then, a clear glaze goes on top. This doesn’t have to be the case; when making pots, many ceramic artists use only glazes in maybe a couple of colours to create interesting effects. Glaze is usually applied by dipping the clay piece in a bucket of glaze, where as under-glaze is applied with a paintbrush. Both are effective ways of finishing a piece, but for my purposes (mainly my detail oriented, obsessive side) I’m sticking with under-glazes for now.

Just as one more thing to add, my mentor has presented me with a wonderful opportunity. Next weekend is a ceramic tour in Pitt Meadows, in which different artists sign up, and people tour around the houses looking at all the beautiful work. My mentor asked me if I would like to participate. As she is already signed up, she told me I could set up a little table of my own and show some of my work to the community. I wouldn’t be selling anything, but I can’t wait, for I think this will be an awesome chance to display some of the things I’ve done.

Well, that’s all for this week. Lots of exciting things going on right now, and I’ll post some pictures when I have a bit more to show.