Mud is My Medium

Dinnerware

2012-01-11T22:57:00.000-08:00

I finally put the final touches on the 3 seats of dinnerware for my wife and two daughters. 54 pieces (18 each of 11" dinner plates, 6" bread plates, and 6.5" bowls, all finished in a light green celedon glaze with gold temoku accents. I'm very happy with the results. It's amazing how much time goes into 54 pieces to throw, trim, bisque, glaze, and finish them all. I have a new appreciation for production potters and the work that goes into their products.

Here are some pics -

Drying plates


Drying plates

Trimming bowls

Bisque firing

Finished !

Latest Bisque Load

2011-12-28T10:37:00.000-08:00

Kiln-load of Glazed Pots 12/5/11

2011-12-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

Click on photos for larger version
Celedon bowl - White Stoneware


Set of 6 plates Celedon with Temoku accents - White Stoneware


3 qt. Mixing bowl - White Stoneware


Handbuilt Vase - Stoneware with Speckled Green Matt glaze and Red Iron Oxide wash.

4 qt. Casserole - White Stoneware

Dinner Plate - Green Celedon with Temoku Gold trim

Set of 6 Dinner Plates - Green Celedon with Temoku Gold trim

Kiln-load of Glazed Pots

2011-11-18T21:48:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a few new glazes and this is the first load of pots thrown and trimmed using a "chattering" technique. Some experiments really turned out well. Others, not so much. . .
Here are some shots of my favorites. Click on the photos to see slideshow.

Green Celedon w/ Gold Tenmoku

Tea Bowl w/ Speckled Green mat

Green Celedon w/ Gold Tenmoku

Lidded Pot w/ Red Iron Oxide treatment

Tea Bowl w/ Gold Tenmoku

Tea Pot with Clear Crackle Glaze


Tea Pot with Clear Crackle Glaze

Lidded Pot w/ Variegated Blue Glaze


Lidded Pot w/ Variegated Blue Glaze

Kiln Load 12/16/2010 All Glaze

2010-12-17T13:02:00.000-08:00

This load included some of my bigger pieces, thrown with fresh clay that allowed some experimentation. After throwing nothing but smaller pieces with my recycled (and less bodied) clay, this was a lot of fun. Click on photos for larger view.

Slab-built Tea Pot. 16" tall

The pot at left is built of slabs with a pulled handle. It stands about 16" tall. I just love this form - it looks sexy from all angles. This one survived the rigors of drying in my busy studio. A similar form lost its handle last year.

Thrown vase with black slip. 12" tall

The vase on the right was thrown and coated with black slip. A coating of Sodium Silicate was applied and allowed to dry. Then the pot was expanded to its final form, creating the surface texture you see. A verigated blue glaze was applied with great results.

This is a 16" tall carafe with red iron oxide accents under a Nutmeg semi-matt glaze.

7" tall pot using the same technique as the larger pot.
Waterfall Brown glaze over clear over black slip.

A very nice & light 10" mixing bowl with verigated blue glaze providing nice color breaks.

This slab-built piece is for our daughter's coffee house in San Luis Obispo. Sally Loo asking people not to put stuff on the pot-belly stove.

This is a nice vase about 10" tall. I had good results with Waterfall Brown over Verigated Blue over clear. Some crawling on the rim (not sure why) but it's a good effect.

I had a few more coffee mugs to fire. These will probably go to the coffee house for sale.

My Latest

2010-12-03T15:21:00.000-08:00

This is a design I've been working with for a while. I fired a similar piece last year at about this time, but the handle broke prior to bisque firing, and I modified the piece to a handle-less design. I'm hoping this one survives to completion.

It's assembled out of 5/16" thick slabs and has a very striking shape - much like that of a woman's ankle. . . I has a different look from every angle. I really like the flowing free-form style of the form. I'll be producing more of these, and cups, to explore the form and allow the evolution of the design to take its course -

Tim

Latest Kiln Load 11/2010 and some fun stuff

2010-11-30T14:11:00.000-08:00

I just completed a cycle of my latest batch of mugs and miscellaneous other pieces. This whole load was thrown with recycled clay. I had about 100 lbs. of the stuff and decided to use it all up. Because it's recycled, the clay body is a bit 'loose' - it doesn't throw well above 5 to 6" tall. Because of this limitation, I threw a boat-load of mugs and lidded pots. It was good practice though, because I was only allowed 2-3 pulls before the clay lost its character, so I used a minimum of manipulation of the clay. I hope to use this 'conservation of contact' technique in my throwing of larger, more complex pieces.

Click on photos for larger version

The mugs will make good Christmas presents and some will end up for sale at Sally Loo's, our Daughter and her Husband's coffee house in San Luis Obispo. I've even listed a few on ETSY.COM.

The lowly coffee mug is a good form to work with while I was refining my techniques. Throwing, trimming, building and forming handles, all are good skill-building exercises that I will apply to my future projects. . .

Covered Casserole

Now I'm working with some fresh B-MIX stoneware and loving the way it responds on the wheel. Here are a few of my latest:

10 in. Bowl

Wine Decanter 15" tall

Water jug - 18" tall (3/4 view)

Tea Bowl

Trophies!

2010-10-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR LARGER VERSIONS

I've been playing with the idea for a while; I finally made a prototype and mocked it up successfully enough to pitch it to Jug. Jug organizes the NorCal XC league and provides trophies every year.

When he bit, and ordered 9 trophies I got to work. Lots of pieces later - each trophy consists of 8 individually crafted pieces - I had this gaggle of paragliders.

The wing, pod, and 'fake rock,' are fired stoneware. They came together well and I had surprisingly few disastrous moments.

The next batch will go much easier and, I expect, will have more consistent results.

I hope everybody likes their trophies!

Tim

Latest Kiln Load 10/2010

2010-10-08T23:46:00.000-07:00

Click photos for larger version

Today I pulled out some good results. I've been trying to dial in some glazes, and finally worked out some combinations that resulted in a comfortable surface and great complex breaks.

The mugs are Christmas presents and all have a good feel. I included some lidded vases and tea bowls also.

I had a 1/2 full kiln because I had some ceramic paraglider trophy parts that I needed this week. The parts are being assembled and I will post photos soon.

Tim

Kiln Load 12/17/09

2009-12-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

I just pulled my latest batch of bisque from the kiln. The pieces are now going to be glazed & refired this week. Here is a sampling:

Kiln Load 12/17/09 from Tim O'Neill on Vimeo.

Kiln Load 11/30/09

2009-12-10T14:06:00.001-08:00

I'm developing a palette of glazes. These glazes are mostly from the book by Ron Roy called 'Mastering Cone 6 Glazes'. I have 500 lbs. of glaze making materials and felt the need to use it. . .

Kiln Load 11/30/09 from Tim O'Neill on Vimeo.

Glaze fire

Tim

artistic outlets

2009-12-10T14:05:00.001-08:00

I haven't been flying my paraglider lately and have, recently reactivated the Clay Studio in my dungeon. Some of my recent work is included in the video clip below. I have a great 10.5 cu.ft. Olympic kiln that just eats up the KWs. . .

Christmas presents will be handmade this year. HO...Ho...Friggin' HO! ;-)

Art is good for the heart and good for the soul.
Tim