Macabre Ceramics

in #art6 years ago

Here is a little ceramic vase I made. I guess it's too small to be considered a vase now that I think about it. I just really prefer making little things :p

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understand that you threw this as a vase, but kinda looks like an inkwell to me...really cool piece. and I like the skull on the base...

hi @official.dwr that's a really great observation, maybe I'll refer to it as an inkwell from now on. It's currently in the cupholder of my car collecting pennies. I'll have to buy a calligraphy pen and some ink.

Yo the inkwell.. interesting @official.dwr what type of feather do you see the ink being drawn in?

Yo samoa that is really cool. You should post more of your ceramic works of art.

What inspired you to put the skull on the bottom?

Most ceramic things generally lack glaze on the bottom. I was inspired to reverse this common practice; a simple smooth bottom lacking design seemed boring. So why not carve a skull and glaze it out, know what I'm sayin.

Eye seeeeeeee....... The skull is on point!

So what temperature do you bake that clay at?

Well, first you use a low-fire kiln setting. This temp generally ranges between 1950° F / 1100° C up to 2109° F / 1154° C. This essentially evaporates all of the water from the clay and solidifies it. Then you apply glaze. This particular piece has a high fire glaze, which requires a second kiln cycle of about 2381-2455° F / 1305-1346° C.

excellent............ .....and is there a special clay we use?

There are dozens of types of clay. In pottery they can be divided into three basic classes: earthenware clay, mid-fire stoneware clay and high-fire stoneware clay. So in short, the three classes are earthenware, stoneware and porcelain.

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The three categories are based on the duration and temperature in which firing takes place in order to reach optimal hardness. Earthenware clay is the hardiest, followed by stoneware which has basic workability, then comes porcelain which is the most delicate; delicacy is the result of lack of impurities.

Porcelain clays have the highest firing temperature. They are characteristically whiter shades as they are made of fine-grained white clays with high contents of kaolin. Stoneware clays fire at a medium temperature, they are very durable and non-porous; they are generally shades of brown or gray due to low levels of impurities. Earthenware has the lowest firing temperatures; these clays are the classic terra cotta commonly seen. Earthenware is also really cool because it can be fired without a kiln - just in your backyard if done successfully. This is why most ancient pottery is earthenware.

The piece above is porcelain.

Cool. Thanks for the info. 3 is a great number. Have you worked with all 3?

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Wow that's cute! And then you have the skull at the bottom. Hahaha. Good work! 👍