Friday, November 9, 2012
American Craft Council
This blogpost has been sitting in my drafts for about a year and a half. This was my first and only time taking part in the American Craft Council show. I was honored to have a spot for new up and coming artists. But taking part in the show had some snags and stresses in it, as well as being not very lucrative, so I decided to do it again. At least for now. Here are some pictures of booths that I found interesting. Figuring out the display is probably one of the hardest things.
What's in a mug?
A lot of people I meet have no idea about the process of ceramics. So I made a little process diary I would like to share about the different steps it takes to make one of my mugs.
Day 1: I typically throw multiples, typically about 10 in one day at the moment. Since the process is relatively elaborate I prefer not to do too many at once if I can.
I pull the handles first and let them dry on a table, then I throw each cup, cut it off the bat with a wiggle wire and line them up on a board. Depending on the season, I wrap it up lightly for the next day, so they can all dry out a little for the next step.
Day 2: I attach the handles and wrap everything up again. This allows the handles and cups to reach the same level of moisture, so they can dry evenly without cracking. If one part was drier than the other, cracking will most likely occur.
Day 3: Now the cups are still slightly moist, but not too wet. The trick with a lot of the process is catching the clay at just the right moisture level. At this stage I can still carve and stamp the clay.
Day 4: The clay is bone dry. It can still crumble in your hands if too much pressure is applied.
Now the underglaze is applied. Right after I brush it on, I wipe it right off with a moist sponge. The underglaze stays in the cracks and shows off the drawing nicely.
Day 5: Cups are ready to be bisque fired. That involves loading them into the electric kiln and firing it to cone 04 (about 1800 degrees Fahrenheit). Takes about a day with the cool down period.
Day 1: I typically throw multiples, typically about 10 in one day at the moment. Since the process is relatively elaborate I prefer not to do too many at once if I can.
I pull the handles first and let them dry on a table, then I throw each cup, cut it off the bat with a wiggle wire and line them up on a board. Depending on the season, I wrap it up lightly for the next day, so they can all dry out a little for the next step.
Day 2: I attach the handles and wrap everything up again. This allows the handles and cups to reach the same level of moisture, so they can dry evenly without cracking. If one part was drier than the other, cracking will most likely occur.
Day 3: Now the cups are still slightly moist, but not too wet. The trick with a lot of the process is catching the clay at just the right moisture level. At this stage I can still carve and stamp the clay.
Day 4: The clay is bone dry. It can still crumble in your hands if too much pressure is applied.
Now the underglaze is applied. Right after I brush it on, I wipe it right off with a moist sponge. The underglaze stays in the cracks and shows off the drawing nicely.
Day 5: Cups are ready to be bisque fired. That involves loading them into the electric kiln and firing it to cone 04 (about 1800 degrees Fahrenheit). Takes about a day with the cool down period.
Day 6: Unload the bisque kiln (pic 1 is how the cup looks after firing 1), glaze the cup (pic 2 with glaze applied), fire it again for one day to cone 7 (about 2100 degrees Fahrenheit), and then you have the finished mug! Ready for close up so it be uploaded to etsy!
Each cup has gone through my hands about 8 times during the week at various stages until it was done. Did you know that's what's in a handmade mug!
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