Under Fired

Just before, actually the day before the gallery opening, I got a substantial quantity of stuff from the kiln. Unfortunately about half of this stuff was under fired. It was like a sucker punch to my stomach, but I dealt with it ,I had to. In addition to this I extensively used a newly made batch of a glaze called shiro matto that I've often used in the past. I had always used it in reduction, this time I used an oxidation firing to try to speed things up but what I got was instead was totally unrecognizable, and in some cases under fired! ugh! Sho ga nai as they say over here... Again, nothing I could do about it, had to take it in stride, but I can say it had a demoralizing affect on my emotions during the gallery. I know that this is only the result of my expectations. Most of this work sold actually. Outside of my own thought processes there were no expectations for color texture, or design, perhaps other than a reasonable level of expectation concerning quality. It makes me wonder, how do you balance your own desires and artistic vision with that of the public to which you are totally unknown, and who have no expectations of you? In other words... How do you know what is crap?

Kudo san

Takano san

The Moment Has Arrived

Here are some pictures from the gallery, It's actually over now, and though it was unbelievably stressful in ways that I was unprepared for it was still a success, but I can say I am really glad it's over.

The show was called san-nin or the "the 3 amigos" the first picture is of an amigo you might recognize, standing in front of his work, next is a better picture of said work, followed by pictures of the tables containing the work of the other two amigos. First, Kudo san the real star of the show, and an outstanding potter. And secondly, Takano san my Sensei, and a real rock, although our communication is limited, she really helped me to get through my anxiety during the show.

Urawa Reds

Went and saw a Reds soccer game on Saturday, it was really nice, me and sensei and a couple of other characters... the Reds lost really badly to Yokohama whose fans seemed elated and overjoyed some of them even taking their shirts off in the freezing weather.

Getting set up

Well Sunday we went and started setting up. I have to admit I was stressed out! Maybe I'm crazy, I should be enjoying this, but I was stressed mainly because I see the flaws in my work very acutely. I also am dealing with cultural and language barriers that make me more likely to feel unsure in these kinds of situations. Anyways , enough about all that...

Yunomi

A small sized cup for drinking tea, here is an attempt at a very ubiquitous cup. I don't think I like it to be honest, I think the shape of the lines are not strong enough, and the iron oxide is kind of blase. I'm debating whether or not to put them in the gallery, there's 5 of them. One of my first sets of 5 things.

Pink

I like pink. It's an unusual color in pottery I think, this was created by mixing a pink under glaze with Shiro-Matto free hand and then I painted it on, several coats because Shiro-Matto turns a chocolaty brown if it's applied thin. The first two pictures are of the same cup, its supposed to be Sakura, aka cherry blossoms. That last cup is part of a pair set, the bump was just something I was playing with, I've used it again on a 5 set of beer mugs that I think I've already shown on the blog because my Sensei said she liked it. I think she has good taste.

White Slip, part two....

Here is the white slip I've been using at the studio at the finished stage. I think it looks very cool, I know it's my personal taste, but that's what counts the most. What do you guys out there think? Strangely, this pot looks small because of the way I'm holding it in the picture, it's actually kind of big, like about the size of a fish bowl, or a fruit bowl. As you can see though, from the bottom pictures, the glaze has a problem, it crawled!!! WTF After I got it back my Sensei told me this particular glaze is pron to do this... Wow, crap I used it on a set of real nice coffee mugs as well, (sigh) I think they'll be coming back from the kiln tomorrow. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed till tomorrow.

Water and Gravity!

Not a good combination... I lost this pitcher due the the overabundance of both... no big deal, the clay would live again as a different pitcher.

I'm crazy about white slip

I can't remember the name of the white slip I've been using, I think there are several different kinds, but it's really cool. if it's applied thick or uneven it cracks and in the most interesting ways. I love it, it really stands up. I just fell in love with this white clay body, but this slip is making me want to use only dark bodied clays... The first image with slip on it is a vase that I made from 3 pieces all thrown separately, the spout, and the halves of the body, and then I joined them all together. I don't know if it came out all that good or not. It looks a lot like a ring vase I made 2 months ago, which is the top image, and which doesn't have any white slip on it. I think they look very similar, but it wasn't done on purpose. The bottom image is just a small tokuri, or vase.

Some more stuff...

Here is a pitcher, it looks a little small in the picture, but its like a normal pitcher in size, that's a little vague, but anyways it's not small. Strange that it came out grey in color, last time I used this glaze it came out bluish. The tea pot is just black, I painted a chrysanthemum on the side with iron oxide, (bengara) but it didn't show up. I've had that problem with this black matte (shiro-matto) glaze, sometimes it shows other times it doesn't. I think the first time I used this combo it showed a lot so much so that it caused the glaze (yuyaku) which is pretty inert to run, so I modified the amount of bengara down; but it's not an exact science, it's mostly a guesstimation done with a paint brush; anyways I can't seem to find a happy medium, and the last couple of times it hasn't shown up or there's just a faint ghost of the image which is barely perceptible. ...I got to change the resolution on my cell phone camera. Sorry such low resolution.

Some new stuff

Just a few pictures from my cell phone of stuff that I just made. I need to go back to the studio and trim them. The one on the bottom is about 1700 grams, it's going to be a pitcher. The one in the middle is 1 kilo, and the one on top is about 600 grams. I want to get back in and do a really big round shape, like about 2.5~3 kilos, although as this shape is only for decoration I don't know if I should justify using so much clay. It sucks but I gotta keep my eye on how much I spend on this "hobby" I think right now I spend about $150~250 a month on it. If I had the space where I live ( I don't) I could just buy a wheel and kiln it would be much cheaper. O-well. I'm not complaining, I like my studio, it's just a matter of practicality.

Well...

Been busy lately but not in the studio. Time is getting close, real close, and I don't think I'll have made my 100 pieces. I'm going to get into the studio and get busy tomorrow and Sunday, I think if I can get a couple of good hours I'll be able to pull it off, I just hope I can get it all bisqued and glaze fired by the 2nd week of next month.

Gumbata

Well, I was back in the studio early this week and got busy, I think I'm up to about 70 something pieces. But it's now past the last Kangen (reduction) firing that will take place before the the show, so it'll all be oxidation from now on.

YES WE DID!!!

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there."

- President-Elect Barack Obama - November 4, 2008


Congratulations to all Americans and people of the world affected by Americans, It's a new day, the long national nightmare that George W. Bush and the so called conservatives brought to our country can finally now end. Let's have hope, lets celebrate the goodness in humanity, Heck! Let's start to solve some of the big problems we have instead of contributing to them!

I can't express the feeling of Joy that I feel over the Obama victory. This is the first time ever in my life that a politician that shared my views as closely as he does has ever been a viable candidate, let alone won anything! It's also the first time someone from my generation has taken the white house, That alone is very significant, but Obama is also the first African American president, and that is historical, and in a good way as opposed to the historical disasters that have befallen us during the last decade. My grandparents who've passed away would have never dreamed it possible, though they most certainly dreamed it, when they dreamed of a better life for themselves and their families. It's weird, but for the first time I feel old, I grew up on the back side of a major transformation. I think of the kids, and how their lives will be shaped by the events that are going to come of this and I think.... wow. We don't know what the future holds, but for now I am hopeful, and I'll even dare to dream of a better world.

All right, one more garden picture

Speaking of raspberries, I just thought I'd put this up, it's from this spring...

Some more stuff

Here's a "large" plate, it's really round, I think the picture makes it look a little warped. The second one is a warped bowl, it's such a shame, I think it was over fired, but to be honest, I'm not sure why it warped. The third is a large decorative pot I made a couple of months ago, I was really going for round, but didn't quite pull it off. I've learned somethings from that experience, but getting what looks like "perfect round" is still a challenge, but that's partly why I find ceramics fun, the challenge.

A surprise from my balcony

The other day I was out watering my plants on my balcony when I saw this. I had planted yellow and black raspberries earlier this spring and they really took off, I got a small batch this summer and a ton of new growth which according to Google that means a lot of berries next year. The other one is just some small flowers that are looking nice. Anyways I though it was nice, since the weather is changing and my "garden" is winding down.

One More Month

I'm a little concerned, I've got about 60 pieces right now, and I'm not sure I can make up the rest to get to 100. Ideally I'd like to make about 120 because I know things will not come out good, or they'll break etc, maybe 100 is possible, but 120 is out of the picture. There's one more reduction firing between now and the show, and maybe three more oxidation firings, but I've never really done oxidation, I'm not a fan of it, and I'm totally unfamiliar with what it'll do with the glazes, but I'm not optimistic.
To be honest I really have no idea of what to make. Like of that 100 how much of each thing should I be making? For example how many mugs is good? how many cups? how many etc... I really have no idea. This is totally uncharted territory for me, it's things I've never though about before. I really need some help, like right now I have 10 coffee mugs, should I make 10 more? Will they sell? if not I'll be stuck with a bunch of mugs, maybe that's a good thing because I could easily make them into x-mass gifts. Not as easy to do with tea pots, its hard to give away something that takes so much time and effort to make.

In The Studio Today

Its getting a little chilly here, I like it, but I really miss the hot Florida sun right about now too... But anyways, some new stuff from the studio. Today I was far from productive, I've said it earlier, but this is a real stretch for me, I've never had to make more of the same thing ever before, I usually never do, just because I don't have to, and as a result I've never practiced, as a result, it's challenging for me. Also, I like to keep experimenting. So for me making sets of bowls is not exactly the funnest thing to do, but it's a necessary skill, and one I've been struggling through and developing lately. Sorry no pictures of said sets of bowls as of yet. Maybe when the come out of the kiln. Just a new mini tea pot and a mini vase. Made from Kyo-Shiro.