new studio

The best part about my new studio is that now everything is in its place. I have room to do all the different parts of the casting process. The process starts by making the original piece, either thrown on the wheel, or carved out of plaster or wood. Sometimes I will make molds from found objects, like the gourd bowls. I make the molds from plaster, two to three of each original shape. Each mold takes a few hours to set up, and a few days to dry.

Then I mix the slip, liquid porcelain, my own formula. I pour the slip into the molds. The pieces pop out, I finish each edge with a sponge by going around and around the rim. The pieces dry and go into the bisque firing. Then they get glazed. If the color is different from inside to out, the inside is glazed first, then dried, then glazed on the outside, and dried again. The glaze fire takes 36 hours, counting the cool-down time.

After the glaze firing, the image transfer is applied, and the piece is fired one more time. This firing takes about 30 hours.

My new studio allows me to move between all the different phases with ease, not having to pack one up to allow for the other. I breathe easier here.

oh moving

The hardest part about moving my studio was packing up all my molds. They are heavy, and fragile. Thankfully, my friend Alec is an expert packer, and created quite a sculpture with the molds he packed. This is just one of the shelving units loaded up. There were three total.

to keep Bethanie company arrives Big T

Most of you know Bethanie, my 10-year old Skutt kiln who has been serving me faithfully for the past 5 years. The wood carving on the wall behind Bethanie was done by my father when we lived in Russia. It is of an ancient pagan god, and he looks over my firings.

My work load has increased drastically since the NY Gift Fair, and Bethanie just can't keep up. So I got her a friend, Big T. Big T is a ConeArt kiln, and fits three times as many pieces as Bethanie. He is all chromed out, and a super fast fire-er.

Having Big T makes my life so much easier, and delivery times three times faster. He was a gift from my mom, my biggest supporter. Thank you, mom!

typography trays: in process

For the first time ever I am making typography trays for a store (that same one in L.A.). I’ve only made a few of them in the past, four or five in total, I think. This is because they are a pain to make: I practically have to stand on my head, hold my breath, and say many incantations. My acrobatics seem to be working, and I’m super excited to have twenty (yes twenty) of them ready to ship out in a few weeks. Above the trays are pictured in their ”bone dry” stage, awaiting to be bisque fired.

pretty bethanie

I am working on a large order for a store in L.A., and Bethanie the kiln has her work cut out for her. She has to bisque and glaze fire about 200 pieces in the next few weeks. Good luck, pretty Bethanie.

in studio, dusk

It was dusk in the studio when I took this photo. I loved the blue-gray light and how it tinted Su’s set drying on the shelf. Click on the image for a larger view.

in studio today

The light in my studio was beautiful this morning, so I took the opportunity to document some of the piece I have been working on for the past week. I also have a great new camera that I am just getting to know. So far I love it. Thank you, Mom!

glazed, finally

The glazed boat vases came out of the kiln today, and I’m pleased. Making these has been such a long drawn out process, that it’s very satisfying to hold a finished piece. I experimented with glazing a bit, layering and alternating colors. I like the direction it’s going, and will continue to play with layers of glaze in the future.

boat vases, continued

I’m a little surprised that the boat vases survived the bisque firing completely intact. There have been so many issues in their making, that I keep expecting next steps to bring more trouble. I was happy to discover that was not the case when I unloaded the kiln this morning. I proceeded to glaze their insides, the exteriors will be glazed once the interior dries. Here they are, happily drying.

fail and pass

Yesterday I walked into my studio to find Bethanie, the kiln, flashing “FAIL” on her control panel. Not a good way to start the day especially since the kiln was filled with orders that were in their glaze firing. The pieces did not reach the necessary high temperature, and look all shriveled up and color-less.

Bethanie’s “fail” message pretty much summed up the day to follow: I had another failure casting the large boat vases I have been working on for months. Huge cracks formed on the sides, as the porcelain was not shrinking off the mold evenly. Sigh. That was my fourth attempt. Coincidentally, a potter from Austen, TX wrote me asking for my advice on her plate molds. Her pieces were forming huge cracks as they dried in the molds, too. Needless to say, I did not have a solution for her, but wait, maybe I do now...

Today I walked into my studio to find the vases dried off the mold perfectly! Tears of relief welled up as I popped open the molds. Here is the result, next to it’s wooden original. Whew.

How did I finally achieve this, you are asking? Simply by dusting the mold with a light coating of Nepheline Syenite (no, it’s not something you find on the ingredient list of Twinkies, but a genuine mineral). This trick was suggested by my former professor at RISD, Larry Bush, so I can’t take the credit. My somewhat uneducated guess is that the fine particles of Neph Sy allow the porcelain to slide along unhindered as it dries and shrinks in the mold. Oh happy day.

As for Bethanie’s “fail” message, once I stopped hyperventilating, I looked it up in the manual. It meant that I needed to replace the thermocouple. All that drama for a simple fix. If any Skutt Kiln techs read this, please consider programming something like “time to change that pesky thermocouple, don’t panic” instead of “FAIL” into the control panel. Gentler wording might prevent a heart attack... just puttin’ it out there.

small swirl plates

For the past few months I have been working on a new shape of plate. A small plate that can be used for a salad or dessert. I was motivated by a client who liked the swirl plates, but requested a set of eight slightly smaller and the swirl in a variety of bright colors. A good challenge, making a new plate shape from scratch is time-consuming.

First step is to pour a block of plaster, and carve it to the shape I want. I use stainless steel sheeting due to its bend-ability. It works well to create round shapes.

After the original is carved, I make a set of casting molds, or negatives of the original shape. Before I can start pouring in the porcelain, the molds have to dry, which takes a few weeks.

When the porcelain is poured, the sides are always a mess and need cleaning. I don’t mind this step as it gives me the opportunity to create a variety of edges, making each plate unique.

The cast porcelain takes a few days to dry out before it can be fired for the first time.

The swirl is painted on during the "green" stage, when the plate is dry, but not yet fired. The color appears dull at this phase, but that will change in the firings: a bisque followed by a high-fire glaze.

In the glaze firing, the porcelain turns white, and the swirls brighten to their true color. I’m happy the way this particular clear glaze retains the color’s juiciness and makes it look like watercolor.

The final plates are a handy 7" in diameter, perfect for a slice of cake or cookies. Click here for ordering information.

fig vases

The large vases are finally done, and I’m happy with the way they turned out. So much could have gone wrong in the making process, but all went as planned. Even the glaze behaved. Click here for the making details. I’m calling them “fig vases” for their shape and for my favorite fruit.

the month of molds

January was a month of making plaster molds. Remember these shapes?

I finally finished sanding and sealing the wood with polyurethane to get ready for making the molds out of plaster. I started with the largest shape. It is a two-part mold, and half of it was made first:

This plaster half was then sealed with mold soap, and set up with coddles (the wooden parts) to pour the second half:

The two parts have to dry out completely before I can start casting with porcelain. The vase will be 15"h and 6" across, and I will start casting it next weekend. I can’t wait.

xo bowls

It’s not too early to think about Valentine’s day, and I’m preparing by making some “xo” dessert bowls. They will come out of the glaze kiln in a few weeks, just in time for Cupid.

a very big mold

For the past few days I have been casting from a new, very large mold. It was made for me by Silvershell Ceramics, in New Bedford, MA. The mold is so large, I am unable to lift it, and have to "roll" it along the 2x4's to be able to empty out the porcelain slip (liquid clay). It takes five gallons of slip to fill up this mold.

The cast piece emerges as mold parts are removed one at a time.

The mold is made up of three pieces, two sides and a bottom.

The original vase is on the left, I hand-built it with coils a few years back. The black lines indicate the seams for making the mold pieces. The cast vase is on the right, slightly smaller, but in every other way exactly the same. As water evaporates from the clay, the piece shrinks. It will shrink again in the firings, ending up about 10% smaller than the original by the time it is glazed.

all better

Bethanie the kiln is fixed and all filled up with freshly glazed porcelain. I am especially excited by an order of 12 wee tea cups, each stamped with a different letter for a family member. How fun. Here they all are tucked in for their glaze firing, don't they look cozy?