SLAB SHOES

Our next project will to be making a shoe of our choice by using slab.Above are some different styles that i am looking at and thinking about trying to make. Right now im thinking that the boat shoes would be very cool. I also would really like to try the crocs but im not sure how that would work or if it would work at all. And then the converse chuck taylors are my last resort.

COMING SOON!!!

Because of the memory problem with the camera and computer i am unable to put up my new pictures. when we are able to fix the problem i will be able to show picutres of my completed wheel with the new stand that i just finished for it. You will also be able to see the three pinch pots that i made while i was messing around. they ended up really cool, i liked them, i really liked how the glazes came out with them and the melted glass at the bottom. Also there will be pictures of my chia football helmet, which i just put into the kiln yesterday to be fired. So just hold tight!!

Chi Chi Chi Chia

Chia Pets are traditional Mexican animal-shaped clay figures covered with chia that originated in San Francisco by Joseph Enterprises Inc. Chia Pets are grown by applying moistened seeds of chia , the sprout-like plant from whose common name the Chia Pet gets its name, to the grooved terra cotta figurine body. After three to five days of filling and refilling the Chia Pet with water as well as discarding water that has accumulated in the provided drip tray, the seeds sprout, having formed a gelatinous coat that adheres to the Chia Pet's body. At this point, little effort is required to maintain the plant covering of the Chia Pet. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chia_Pet)

Mark Leuthold

A couple weeks a ago we were assinged to look through Ceramic Monthlys to look for inspiration. While going through one i found ceramics artist Mark Leuthold. His collections have entered the collections of the Metropolitan and Brooklyn Museums and the Museum of Art and Design. His work reflects the influence of the arts of Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean. He is also a Associate Professor at the State University of New York and has taught at Princeton University and Parsons School of Design. The work that i looked at were his large porcelin slab wheels that he would carve into at the leather hard stage.

My artwork is at the right, it is aproximatly 6 inches in diamter. It has gone through its first firing and awaiting its second. Here is shown with the unfired glaze on it, the color should come out to turquoise, i am hoping that it will melt into the cracks and show the detail i have carved into it. Like Mark, i carved into it during the leather hard stage. I started with thicker and straighter lines and then moved to much thinner, highly curved lines. To do the carving i used a razor blade and the needle tool. Below is a picture of it in its leather hard stage after i had completed the carving.

The pictures below are pictures of it after being glazed. I really like the color and they way it came out, filling in all the dips. I have made a stand and am waiting for that to be fired for the final time.

RAKU

The raku firing technique was developed in Japan by Raku Chojiro over 450 years ago. The raku tea bowls were first made for Ceremonial Tea Ware of the Zen Buddhist Masters. The word raku signifies enjoyment of freedom. It was preferred by the Masters because of itshumility, tasteful unpretentiousness, simple naturalness, and its deliberate avoidance of luxury...all very important to the Zen philosophy. In Japanese Raku, the piece is quenched by immersing it in a concentrated solution of green tea immediatly after being removed from the kiln.

The difference with American Raku is after the red hot piece if removed from the kiln, it is put into a metal can with combustible material, like paper. The paper ignites and the smoke reacts with the glaze in unpredicted ways, affecting the surface differently. This is called post-fire reduction.

South African artists like Lorraine Marinkowitz have brought the raku technique to Africa as well within the last 20 years.

Steven Forbes-deSoule has been doing raku art for over 24 years, creating his own distinct style. His work has been featured in books and magazines and has been represented by galleries and museums nationwide. Recently he has been melting stained glass and glass rods on his unique "halo/opal" glaze, creating a variety of colors and textures.

Vicki Hardin is an established clay artist, working with clay for the last 21 years and producing raku and pit firing pieces. She has shown throughout the southwest region, e

xtensively in Texas, where she maintains her studio, Clay Art Pottery, home and family. She has recieved regional and national attention and praise for her work.

CLEANING THE GLAZE ROOM

Jacki and myself have been assigned to cleaning up the glaze room. It was a mess when we first went in but after a short 40 minutes it was looking ten times better. We swept the floor, organized powders, and gave all tables a good scrub down. It'll need more cleaning later but our first day was very productive.

Look how Clean!!!----------------->>

Jacki and I at prom! Nothing to clean there, just having fun.

GARDEN ART

The artist of these sculptures are unkown but are part of the the collection of Greg and Lynn. The two have been importing different types of artwork to place in their garden since 1997 from Bali, Thailand and Vietnam. They are said to be one of kind, all being hand carved or made. I find these sculptures kinda creepy but very appealing to the eye, i like the over exagerated head and seem to fit in perfectly if placed in the right setting. There is also a bird bath and ceramic pot that is part of their collection.

The picture above is part of different collection. They are vietnamese garden pots that are sold at Villiage Green Perennial Nursery. I really like the different textures and designs that the artist uses on them. I also like the different shapes and colors they use with them.

The pictures above are my own example of garden art. It is meant to me a sun. i rolled out a slab and as i cut it into a circle i added the rays. i had some problems with them staying on, three ended up breaking off, luckily they were all next to each other so now it gives it more of a rising sun look, which i like. During the leather hard stage i used a needle tool to carve rolling lines into it. i then used a light layer of ruby glaze that has given it the red look. I am awaiting the second glaze firing, i have added a layer of maize, hoping that the glazes with combine giving it an orange color. Below is the finished result, it did not turn out how i had hoped but there are hints of the maize.