Results of the kiln of 16th December!

Last firing of 2010... was a very succesfull one! And the real succes was my little black bird that came out of the kiln just perfectly!

It was quite a surprise because I wasn't sure that the black glazing would be like I wanted it to be. Even the red nose of the little bird was quite nice! I was particularly amazed by the black glaze that was really neatly melted and created a nice smooth surface even in the cracks and where two parts of clay were connected. You never really know what to expect... But I was very pleased with the result.

If you click on the pictures, you will be able to see them in the original size. And if you want to see it live, you will be able to see it in February in the CC Scharpoort in Knokke-Heist. More info to be found here later this year...

I have also made some nice plates and bowls, large and small ones all glazed with an ash-glaze, I use quite a lot. It gives the pieces a natural tone, which I quite like. On different types of clay you also get a different result. I will also try and make some ash-glazes with other types of ashes in 2011. So keep following my progress on this blog.

Here's a larger mixing bowl or dish or salad bowl, I also made. You can also see that the glaze colours darker where the layers are thicker. Even though it is quite thin, I like to see different colours appear.

And here are some more candle holders. The upper surface of the candle holders is treated in a special way so a design appears. The final creation is simply coloured with cobalt oxide wash and a thin layer of transparent glaze. Just to protect the holder. I quite like to make these. It's an intersting technique as you already know from previous articles and I'm sure I'll make more of these in 2011. 

I plan to create some decorative effects on the final product to give it a personal and unique touch. More to follow soon! Happy New Year to all of you!