Sort of.
I mean I fired the thing three times and each time, it did not come out of the kiln the way it was expected.
Sometimes it turns out that way.
So, the Industrial Teapot is finally done.
Here's the before and after shots:
The glaze on the body smoothed out a bit, it's not as streaky as before.
I lid/cap matches better, the slight difference you see in the bottom pic is mostly lighting.
After consulting with the folks at the ceramic place, I fired the whole thing two cones hotter in hopes of getting the glaze on the bands to mature.
In doing so, I lost what little contrast I had between the bands and the body.
Then, I decided to lustre the rivet thingys for I wanted them to pop.
Get it? Pop? Rivet? Pop rivet?
Nevermind.
Now you are supposed to use a lustre glaze on a glossy surface. I was hoping the glaze was glossy enough; I was wrong.
The lustre is supposed to look like bright silver; it's actually white gold.
Yes, real gold.
Presently, the lustre sells for $16 for a two gram vial.
Luckily a little goes a long way.
Anyways, the white gold didn't come out as expected, it appears to be more of a tarnished silver:
Being a fan of bright shiny things, I was disappointed when I opened the kiln.
After looking at it for a bit, I decided this "accidental" finish looks better. Sort of an "antiqued" look.
Now, if I can only do something about those handles.
Okay, now I'm done.
I think.
So you've seen the teapot from start to finish. It doesn't always go this way, flying by the seat of my pants, though sometimes making the ones like this are the most fun.
Most times, I'll have at least some sketches of what I want to do and I'll even have the glazes picked out. When working with clay though, you always have to be ready to improvise and make changes for things don't always work out.
Hey, that's kinda like life!
Tomorrow, the Unidentified Flying Teapot comes out of the kiln.
To tell you the truth, as I was glazing it up, the more I looked at it, the more I kept thinking it was missing something.
I may have to refire that one too.
4 comments:
limom, I was in San Fran when this one finished up - you're getting way too prolific dude I can't keep up with you! But this is gorgeous. I love it, it's a smash out of the park.
Thanks for the kind words!
The more I look at it, the more I like it too.
Except for the handles.
I found a glaze I like for the handles and I'm tempted to fire this AGAIN, but that ain't happening.
Maybe.
What is it about the handles you don't like?
You know, somebody's going to try to heat that teapot on the stove-top!
The gloss black of the handles just doesn't seem to match.
I was hoping for contrast, but now I feel like it doesn't match the weathered look of the other parts.
Maybe it's just me.
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