Practical level 6 by Kelly Hughes

Altering Forms

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 06:27:28 UTC

want to practice throwing so decided to alter forms while still soft. I used the end of the needle tool, then a wooden tool to dent the vase. In my drawing I planned only four dents, but once I did them I realised they needed more. I found I was able to belly the vase more evenly (I went a lot slower than I use to) which made the altering easier. I would change the rim next time as it feels unfinished. I love the view from the top, reminds me off a flower

Altering Forms

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 06:38:24 UTC

I figured since I'm good at collapsing my pieces on the wheel I'd alter this way. However purposley making a piece collapse incredibly hard. It took around 6 pulls to do it. It made me realise how much further i can take the clay, if i'm slow and steady on the wheel. the way it fell mad eit look like a jug. So I went with this, hindsight I wish I had fettled it more.

Altering Forms

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:15:49 UTC

I loved this piece. I dropped it to alter. Sadly I didn't keep it as I was chatting while tidying up and accidently recycled it. I think it would make a great planter for a hanging plant, like string of hearts etc

Altering Forms

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:18:02 UTC

this by far is my favourite pieceof the altering forms task. I started with a cylinder thrown on the wheel. i wrapped macrame yarn randomly around the cylinder, i gently pressed it into the clay. turned the wheel on vry slowly, using one from the inside only i began to push the clay outwards and into the clay. abfter a while it wasn't giving me the look i was after, so took it off the wheel and with more force pressed into the gaps until reaching the the look i wanted. I wanted imperfect, abstract, one of a kind. I then removed the yarn which had a stunning pattern letft behind. I decided to fire this piece. I want to see if I can get a glaze to pool where the yarn was.

Altering Forms

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:18:50 UTC

Threw a cylinder, when I tried to get the bat off the wheel, I accidentally knocked it. Then squashed it randomly with my fingers. I don't see potenial in this piece. It's only good for recycling.

Altering Forms

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:19:18 UTC

Wish I'd kept this cyclinder and not altered it. I had no purpose when altering and it shows.

Altering Forms

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:19:47 UTC

I dropped this first on a brush handle which create a unique foot and tunnel. i Then took it to far but dropping it on to a concreate floor from about a metre high. I'd like to work on the first part of the alter

Altering forms

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:20:13 UTC

what can I say, looks like a two year old got their hands on my pieces.

Texture

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:22:42 UTC

Miniture textured cup

First mini bowl

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:23:09 UTC

With a accidental mini swirl

First try on the mini wheel

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:23:34 UTC

So much fun

Positives - Cute, cheap, quiet, accessible. Minimal set up, no wedging the clay and your using such a small amount, easy to centre.

Negatives - Makes a huge mess, water/slip flies everywhere. You need the wheel going fast because of a small motor, if going to slow you can't put as much pressure on the clay.

Notes - Lots of chances to experiment with firing and glazing with out it costing a huge amount. So budget friendly. You need to use tools to open and pull. Which is an unusual feeling as I'm use to feeling the clay. Not a negative but will take some getting use to.

Mini Pottery Wheel

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:24:18 UTC

Graduation present number two. My mini wheel

Mini microwave kiln

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:24:48 UTC

My first graduation present to myself. Its internal measurements are approx 12.5cm length, and 4.5 cm high. You can bisque fire in it, also raku fire. I brought as part of a grand plan I have to purchase a van, convert into a self contained camper, travel New Zealand while creating art. I already have a solar set up, just need to purchase an inverter to power a microwave. I want to show people pottery can be done at any size and for cheap. I'm especially excited to try raku firings as I've not had the oppotunity yet.

Extruder

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:32:41 UTC

Last year was challenging for a number of reasons, but not having the Taradale Pottery Club was huge. But thanks to so many after the cyclone, we are back. I get to use equpiment that I didn't have access to. First up the brand new extruder. I was the first person to use it. And it's awesome I made around 30 test tiles in 30 seconds. Just incredible.

Cura Software

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:33:16 UTC

I use Cura software to slice my designs ready for the 3d print. It turns them from a .stl file to a .gcode file. This is a preview of my first test prints of my makers stamp. I'm making different shapes and sizes. Different designs, including varying depth of the actual stamp. Once printed I'll test on clay. See what works and doesn't work and make adjustments before redesigning.

Makers Stamp Design Ideas

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:33:48 UTC

Having purchased my 3d printer I decided I wanted to design my own maker's stamp from start to finish. I used Procreate, a drawing app on my iPad to come up with these designs. I've finally come up with a business name "Revolving Potter". So did some examples with this, my initials from my name. And also mine and my kid's initials, K, S, N. I'll design them in Tinkercad (3d printer design software), and convert them from .stl to .gcode in my 3d printer slicer software. Before trying on clay and deciding which one I'll use.

First print of my makers stamp

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:34:14 UTC

Two were successful, two weren't. Sadly the two I hoed would work werent successful. the smallest didn't print the whole design. I believe this is because certain parts were to thin. The next size up printed half the design, not the outside, I believe this was because I used a curved square so the filament didn't adhere to the base. I want to reprint on a flat square. the two that worked are both to large and design to deep, but wth minor design adjustments, I believe it will become successful.

Successful clay opener

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:34:43 UTC

I tried one design I found which was poorly designed which didn't print correctly. srumbling across this file, i printed with no expectations.And it worked. Basically this tool is for once the clay is centred. You insert into the centre of the clay, until both handles hit the wheel or bat. you then slowly and steadily pull towards yourself until it has opened as far as you want it. You then continue as normal. It'll take awhile to get use to. But as you can see in the photos it makes the base of the piece completly even.

Shaping ribs

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:35:11 UTC

I've never used shaping ribs so i found this hard to use However Jill showedme the correct hand/rib placement and it's a lot easier. I am making two sizes of each, one standard and th other for my mini wheel, they'll be approx 2.5cm tall.

Cutting in half after using opening tool

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:35:56 UTC

Quite blown away with how even the base is. I like a deeper foot so won't work for some projects but will for a lot

First use of the opening tool

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:36:22 UTC

Positives - easy to open, flat even base, 90 degree angle.

Negatives - an extra tool to clean, when opening the clay it can create a suction with dryer clay (I found if I pulled it out half way and before opening and adding water then it was better. You need to remove the tool at least once when opening to compress otherwise looks like second photo, even thouh a needle tool will remove no issues

3d printer in action

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:37:48 UTC

love being able to create my own tools to suit my needs while learning a new skill

test tiles and handles

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:38:55 UTC

All this in only a few minutes. Ive yet to master handles, so its fun to try different styles.

Day one of course 2024

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:39:26 UTC

feels good to be back in the studio. Great idea for the wedging station, cynder blocks and concreate slabs.

Different kinds of test tiles

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:39:54 UTC

Made these heart test tiles, for couple of reasons. One they will fit in my microwave kiln so I can't practice firing. Two the glaze may behave differently with the shape, some have a smaller heart which could be goog to see the glaze thicker

Practicing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:40:29 UTC

Centring the clay and attaching the bats to the wheel. As I took most of the holidays off pottery and have a bat system at home

Extruding handles

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:40:57 UTC

Extruding handles is by far my favourite techique

Slab Roller

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:41:38 UTC

again learning to use a new piece of eqipment, the slab roller. I actually prefer the rolling pin and my acrylic sticks. I find I have more control of the size and shape of the slab I'm rolling out.

Press Moulds

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-06 08:42:03 UTC

From the slabs I made these small bowls in press moulds. It was a technique I didn't do a lot last year so wanted to practice abit more. They're also a perfect size for my microwave kiln.

Altering Forms

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-10 02:08:41 UTC

so cool having the pinths to photography my work. I'm going to make an effort to learn how to photograph my pottery. I have loved photography for years, I'm excited to expand into product photography. I believe learning this and lighting will help with future exibitions

Press mould bowls

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-10 02:09:19 UTC

My press mould bowls all fettled and smoothed ready to dry. I found it frustrating as the moulds weren't sanded after they'd dried so they had so many flaws that needed to be fixed.

Cardoard construction

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-10 02:10:04 UTC

now to the fun part (not) me and slabs have a love/hate relationship. I can't seem to get the dryness right. I messed up, I rolled out slabs using the roller. then cut the clay using templates, then realise they'd warped. A few days later I realised I should've dried them to the leather hard stage before trimming. to prevent warping. So recycled the clay and will try again.

Cardoard consturction

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-10 02:10:28 UTC

I spent to much time on these two cardboard vases. To be honest I don't gt th point of the task. I would rather do a drawing, template and start into clay.

Altering Forms

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-10 02:10:54 UTC

These cyclinders I allowed to go leather hard before altering. I also drew ideas first. Usually I prefer to just make, but in this case designing helped. I liked all of these, But why? Im not sure. Partly because I'd already started shaping them. They're simple alterations, and I feel this allows them to shine. I want to work on using textured ribsAs I love the bottom left but it needs finesse.

Function to non-function

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-11 00:57:00 UTC

I found an incredible inspiration of teapots and vases, that were altered to a spiral. I messaged the artist to see if they could offer guidance with how to achieve the look. I hadn't heard back, so I got started. I did see similar where the potter used sponges. I used the pinch and coil techinque to make the vase. I had a lot of issues with trying to get the shape semi symetrical. I then used the needle tool to get a basic spiral, following up with a knife.

Function to non-function

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-11 00:57:26 UTC

I tried to use sponges to create the gap for the spiral, as you can see it just warped the piece and it nearly collapsed. I put it back together and walked away, I came back a while later and decided to try to cut about a cm around the line. this worked better. However, the biggest issue is the weight. I made the coiled quite thick, which made the vase to heavy. I will make a marquet smaller and thinner. I think this will help recreate my vision

Cause why not

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-20 06:44:33 UTC

My mini 3d printed toy kiln, wheel and pottery pieces. This was way to cute to not print

My proudest pottery moment

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-20 06:44:59 UTC

I've not made many bowls. So decided to make Nat and I a ramen bowl each. My girl choose this one. It's my proudest moment, because it's my most sucessfull shaping and trimming of a foot. Love everything about this piece

Function to non function

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-20 06:45:24 UTC

I've set myself a challenging goal with this idea. Jill and I massively brain stormed how I could achieve this sprial vase. After my failed hand built try. I changed things around. Yes it's rough as, but it's successful. I threw this on the wheel, and allowed to dry to between wet and leather hard. I then scored with a needle tool and cut. I then used clay lugs to hold the pieces apart. Once it was leather hard I was able to remove the lugs and it stayed seperated.

What I'll change for the next attempt.

1- I will throw thinner

2- I'll score the piece while its centred and wet on the wheel

3- I'll allow to dry abit longer

4- I will make sure the lugs are firmer, and make sure they're the right size for the pieces

functiont to non fuction

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-20 06:45:52 UTC

another example of the second attempt at the spiral vase.

Continuing to practice

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-20 06:46:30 UTC

Despite having completed level 5 and doing level 6. I'm still not confident. So while completing the course I still want to practice my skills. One goal throwing taller and larger. Another continue to create my own dinner set, to go along with my dumpling bowls, I'm now making ramen bowls

Step by step

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-20 06:46:59 UTC

Over all I'm happy with my moon vases. There are things I'd change. I was orignally going to have a foot ring but changed my mind. And the tops of the rim would have been better had I rolled a slab and cut the rectangles of clay to make these the size I want. I also need to make some slip which would make it connect more securley. I was happy with the fettling and smoothing out of the pieces, I did need to do it earlier as they had set abit to much

Opposites

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-20 06:47:22 UTC

for the opposites task I chose my moon vase from last year, I used creator textured glaze. Here I made a number of smaller moon vases so I could experiment with the decoration of them. I used the slap and mould techiqnue last year. so Jill taught me a new way. This using pinch and coil. At first I wasn't sold on the idea. But once I got to my second one I was hooked. I found it easy to create a sphere this way. However I don't like that you can't reach into the middle to tidy propley. I also found they were alot heavier, then a, needed, b, I like. Given my finanical situation I found it wasted more clay than I like. So I want to try again and fix these things

3d printed toy kiln

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-20 06:51:51 UTC

a video of the inside of my toy kiln. I want a kiln so I decided having a visual would help me manifest one.

When things go wrong

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-20 06:52:34 UTC

The joys of 3d printing. People think it's click a button and go. Nope not at all. Not only do you have to manually level and check the printing bed every time. But also learn how to fix the actual printer when things go wrong. With filament it can't get moisture as it becomes brittle and breaks, or affects the print. Sadly I didn't know how quickly this happened. I learnt the hard way when filament snapped of within the bowden tube. I did alot of research, forums, google, youtube. Before I descovered how to fix it. I had to turn the machine to 250 degrees celius, remove the nozel, the hot end of the tubing, the cold end and only then could I remove the filament. Why am I doing this and including it on the course padlet? Because I want to learn a new skill which I can use for pottery tools. And have a hobby that's not a huge clean up at the end. Plus I get to experiment on a cost effection way

Makers stamp

kelzhughes31 — 2024-03-20 06:54:37 UTC

My first time using my makers stamp on my work. Feeling really proud of how far I've come in my pottery journey. I've been struggling to find one stamp I want to use. Jill said I can use one or more. My stamp can evolve as I do. She showed me examples of others makers stamps. So I'm excited to make a few.

Patterns

kelzhughes31 — 2024-04-30 09:33:28 UTC

Repeating patterns on soft clay using a range of random tools, from forks to wooden stamps

First bisque firing of the year

kelzhughes31 — 2024-04-30 09:34:19 UTC

Even though it took a good 2-3 weeks before it ended up in kiln

Cricut Machine

kelzhughes31 — 2024-04-30 09:34:58 UTC

I had a plan to do water etching and saw a reel of someone using there cricut machine to make the stencils. So good to be able to design anything I wanted to transfer onto the clay

Water etching

kelzhughes31 — 2024-04-30 09:35:27 UTC

Starting on bone dry clay I used my semi-permanent vinyl stencils I made on the cricut machine. I carefully attached to the piece before using a damp sponge and water to etch away the clay to show the design. I'm really excited to continue with this technique, it opens up so much possiblity

Finishing ideas

kelzhughes31 — 2024-04-30 09:36:03 UTC

This is where I hit a wall. I tried to underglaze the raised portion of the cups, however because the etching is on an angle I couldn't get a clean line. I researched and discovered latex wax would be the best option moving forward as I can pull the wax off and continue glazing. I hope to get some soon so I can finish these

Aotearoa research

kelzhughes31 — 2024-04-30 09:36:40 UTC

For this project, I used hokey pokey ice cream as the inspiration. For the first time, I could take inspiration like this and brainstorm for it to be translated into clay. It made me realise I take things very literally, making it challenging to use random things for clay projects. And I just had to get the ice cream to make sure I got the colours and textures correct for educational purposes lol

Mini failures and successes

kelzhughes31 — 2024-04-30 09:37:09 UTC

about two weeks after my first surgery I really wanted to go on the wheel. Knowing it would set back my recovery I pulled out my mini wheel instead. Mixed results but still got my fix

What is this?

kelzhughes31 — 2024-04-30 09:38:09 UTC

An attempt to make another version of my dumpling bowls. Was way to thick and chunky

Video of the last piece I attempted

kelzhughes31 — 2024-04-30 09:41:01 UTC

I've been really challenged by this design idea. I want to continue to explore how to make this work. Not being able to throw stopped me from being able to progress. But now I'm on the mend I'm teaching myself to throw taller and thinner which I think will help me achieve the outcome I want.

Always test the new spray bottle first!!!

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:39:59 UTC

Paul Masic's slip

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:41:18 UTC

Preparing for the surface design and texture by making slip

Stencils

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:41:48 UTC

We used a stencil to carve into the clay tile, covered with a slip I made and gently and slowly scrapped back the slip to reveal the pattern. While fun to do I don't see myself using this technique moving forward.

Loadin the kiln

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:42:00 UTC

Complete mental blank on what I added to the clay!

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:43:11 UTC

My first attempt at this technique (and I can't for the life of me remember what it's called) I began by throwing a small cylinder. Using the heat gun to dry the surface slightly before painting on the ??? and allowing it to become touch dry. Then slowly bellying the piece to reveal the cracks. It wasn't as detailed as the others and I realised I used Mac's mud speckled buff. I'll try again using a non-gritty clay

Attempt two

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:43:28 UTC

As you can see compared to attempt one this turned out beautifully, the cracks are more defined and regular

Carving into wet clay

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:43:43 UTC

After the previous post I decided to carving lines before bellying the pot. I'm not excited about this piece yet, however I'm curious to glaze and see if the glaze will pool/break where I've carved

Seed pod

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:43:56 UTC

Moving onto making a seed pod to get used to hand building again and learning how to manipulate the clay using only my hands

My first raku firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:44:13 UTC

My first raku firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:44:55 UTC

I'm in awe of this process and frustrated. I loved the copper glaze on this piece. It survived the making, firing, cleaning everything. Until it was just sitting there looking pretty and randomly the lip broke and I couldn't find the piece to fix it

Kay Blazzard Workshop - Torsos

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:45:12 UTC

So much knowledge and inspiration in one place

Kay Blazzard Workshop - Torsos

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:45:28 UTC

Carving

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:46:23 UTC

Trying to find a tool that will help for the carving series I want to do in semester two. I learned I'll need to measure and draw lines on the clay before carving to get the perfection I'm after. I find carving super challenging and I can't get the evenness I am looking for. I find there's so much room for error

Mixed techiques

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:46:35 UTC

Here we experimented with slips, carving, mocha defusion, newspaper. I struggled to get into this way of decorating. I think I need a clear plan going into decorating for me to enjoy it

Harvesting wild clay

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:47:11 UTC

I went on an outing with my children when my son was home for a holiday. In the waterfalls near Havelock North, my son spotted wild clay. So I took a small amount to process. Sadly I couldn't crumble it down beyond this point and despite weeks in water it didn't breakdown. It was weird because it's definitely clay. So I'm not sure what went wrong

The beautiful need kiln at the club

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:47:41 UTC

more cutters

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:47:58 UTC

Again exploring the best ways to design cutters. The thickness is the most important part. To thin and it just collapses, to thick and it doesn't cut properly

Cura

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:48:17 UTC

This shows my design in the slicing software cura. This is were you can adjust the size of the design, apply all settings and converting into a stl. file

Making the individual pieces for the installation

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:48:42 UTC

testing my 3d printed rectangle cookie cutters I made for this project. I'm new to designing 3d printed items, so exploring the thickness, size, heights, etc

Making glazes

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:49:15 UTC

Made a white crackle raku glaze to use with my microwave kiln

First time using my microwave kiln

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:49:25 UTC

I learned so much in this first firing. Turns out I knew nothing about raku firing and really should have researched first. I learned this when I went to an actual raku firing. But I was happy that the kiln actually worked. things I learned. Firing takes approximately 20 minutes in the microwave kiln and before firing the next piece allow the kiln to cool down a lot or you'll get explosions within a few minutes. Secondly to make the glazes work you have to have them go into reduction. I couldn't work out why the glaze wouldn't crackle. Turns out I'd completely missed a whole step.

Exploring different clays

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:49:35 UTC

We started off testing a lot of different clays with pinch pots before I started my sculptures.

Sculpture One

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:49:44 UTC

Using balls of clay to start with in an attempt to get the shapes I wanted. From the side was to flat yet from the from to rounded. But progress

Opps

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:50:01 UTC

I was so proud of this piece. Until I broke its neck. The base wasn't flat enough and kept tipping over but I didn't realise until it was dry. I attempted to fix it with paper clay slip, and looked great until it dried and developed another crack.

Progress

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:50:12 UTC

Love this one, slowly developing the shape, curves and belly I want for this vision. I need to work on the arms especially. But I'm seeing major improvement in the back, chest and stomach

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:50:25 UTC

My second raku firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:50:39 UTC

I have no words

My second raku firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:50:50 UTC

I have wanted to do horse hair and feather raku since I started pottery and finally got to do it. It's a big learning curve with apply them and getting the correct temperature but for a first attempt I'm beyond happy. The white crackle wasn't was I envisioned but its all learning

My second raku firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:51:10 UTC

So happy I got to join in again with this firing. Whilst still recovering I felt a bit better and more focused than the first firing

My second raku firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:51:23 UTC

Glaze day

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:51:34 UTC

I've just started using wax for the bottoms of my pieces and is so much easier. Speeding up the process

Glaze day

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:51:47 UTC

Attempting to get ready for my assessment

Kay Blazzard Workshop - Torsos

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:52:18 UTC

My piece i made during Kay's workshop. the main things I took away from the 2 hours were proportions, movement, and not needing tools. I'm really proud of this pieces Kay described as "elegant". I didn't quite get the proportions between the chest and belly button correct and the neck needs work but I love it

Clay

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:53:05 UTC

Excited two clays I've never tried before

Anatomy

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:54:44 UTC

learning about anatomy so that I could get the sculpture looking as realistic as possible.

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:54:57 UTC

Glaze paper installation

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:55:18 UTC

For our glaze paper, I decided to work with the crawl glazes and work with mac's mud-speckled buff which I've not used before. The crawl glaze for the sea foam, raw clay for sand, and yet undecided blue/teal for the sea. I am basing it off my love of the ocean

First time firing my microwave kiln

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:56:23 UTC

First time firing my microwave kiln

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:56:35 UTC

First time firing my microwave kiln

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:56:45 UTC

First time firing my microwave kiln

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:57:00 UTC

First time firing my microwave kiln

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:57:17 UTC

Wild clay

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:57:36 UTC

Attempting and failing to rehydrate wild clay

Unloading

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:58:16 UTC

No explosion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cookie cutters

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:58:39 UTC

My first attempts at designing cookie cutters before I branch out and create more elaborate designs. I'm having issues with string on my prints which I'm working on. Whilst learning new software for drawing, tinkercad for the actual 3d print file, cura to get it sliced ready to print.

First time firing my microwave kiln

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:58:41 UTC

Elegant

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:58:55 UTC

My first raku firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:59:13 UTC

I was so overwhelmed with this experience, sadly post-op brain fog was in full swing. But it was such an amazing experience that I've wanted to do for a few years.

My first raku firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:59:36 UTC

My second raku firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 05:59:50 UTC

The smell, damn lol. I applied the horse hair with the pliers, next time I'd hold it firmly between two hands to prevent the curly. I got less smoke on this one so was closer to the temperature it needed to be

My second raku firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-02 06:00:10 UTC

Deep concentration

Finally back on the wheel post op

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 03:39:00 UTC

Relief, calmness, and a quiet mind. That is what I felt at this moment. Aside from one quick session on the wheel the day before my second surgery I'd not been able to throw in 3.5 months. Not only was I happy to be back, and still be able to actually throw, I had no pain.

In action

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 03:41:03 UTC

Printing my maquettes for my sculpture

My favourite piece from the gas firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:51:01 UTC

I wish the photos showed the true beauty of this piece. It has beautiful blue pooling near the bottom, a bit like oil spots. Just stunning

Gas Firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:51:13 UTC

Sadly I brushed on this glaze, it looked even and had three coats. However it would have suited being dipped instead

Gas firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:51:29 UTC

I wish gas firings were a more regular occasion, Id love to work with this glaze more. I love the contrast between the purples and teal

I'm back

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:51:42 UTC

Throwing taller and thinner then ever

Last years bubble glaze attempt

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:51:55 UTC

I loved this however the bubbles were fuzzy/blurry and I wanted them to be more defined. I used dishwashing liquid, water and added underglaze to the mixture

Wow

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:52:13 UTC

I am 100% going to be using this again. I tested on bisque-fired tiles two ways. One with blowing bubbles and the other a single bubble using a bottle.

I have an amazing daughter

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:52:39 UTC

I had 5 teeth out the day before and went to Yasmin's workshop. I came home in pain and tired. But so happy my girl had not only cleaned the house but cleaned my wheel and tools, she even used a toothbrush to clean the foot pedal

Felt like a kid again

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:52:48 UTC

Bubble blowing. This time I used bubble bath and water (whatever soap is used it needs to be clear). Blowind the bubbles and deliberately placing them on to smaller areas of the clay, before adding the underglaze to the bubbles. I didn't realise the clay needed to be damp to prevent the bubbles from bursting as soon as they touched the tile. A fact everyone I researched had chosen to leave out of the steps. I used a henna bottle and pipet to add the colour. The henna bottle was the best option for control. I also discovered you can you a paintbrush. Another tip is to place the underglaze against the bubbles rather than above which prevents drips.

Indian Ink

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:53:00 UTC

I had this piece which was raku fired with white crackle glaze. I am doing a series next semester where you add ink to show the cracks from a crackle glaze in an electric kiln. So I experimented on this. While it did highlight the cracks they weren't as vibrant as I hoped

Opposites

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:53:14 UTC

My orignal was a moon jar with a purple/black crater glaze. I made five jars. One exploded in the raku firing (I believe this was because it was really thick, as I wasn't planning on firing. Also I wanted it to be a naked raku and we used a sacrificial glaze which I think the jar soaked up to much liquid and wasn't dry enough). The second one (results under glazing and firing) I used feathers and horse hair, the piece looked great, but thermal shock had it crack near the rim. These are the final ones, the top right I decorated with indian ink and the bottom two I used watercolour paints. I loved the texture of the bottom left which was created using a sponge.

Some success and some failures

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:53:26 UTC

getting back into the swing of the wheel was humbling

Straight off the printer

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:53:37 UTC

With my health working with clay has been challenging on many levels especially fatigue. I've only been able to work in short time frames. So decided to create some 3d torso minis

Trimming

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:54:07 UTC

Practice, practice, practice

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:54:18 UTC

So happy I can do pottery again and that my body is handling it so well

Love this

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:54:35 UTC

My very first single bubble using the bottle technique. I'm in awe of the details

Yasmin Davis Workshop - Underglaze

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:54:48 UTC

So excited to retry bubble glazing

Perfect tool for my semester two project

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:55:18 UTC

hunting high and low I finally found the perfect replacement tool for the dolan m30 which I've tried but can't ship from America. This lino tool I had in my cupboard the whole time. Makes the smoothest cut and the right measurements

Sick of wonky rims when adding a finger print

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 04:55:25 UTC

So used a stemless wine glass to hold it's shape. Really happy with the results and will be 3d printing a rim cone for this purpose

cura software

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 07:46:26 UTC

Making a cookie cutter in tinkercad

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 07:46:38 UTC

First gas firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 07:46:44 UTC

So grateful to be included in a gas firing, my first. I had three small slump moulded bowls. Thanks Jill for letting me be a part of this

My second raku firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 07:48:37 UTC

I think next time I'll research the temperature to start placing the feathers. While I do like the effect I'd like to learn how to get a crisper end result

My second raku firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 07:48:39 UTC

Michael Boroniec

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 07:49:20 UTC

I was really struggling to understand how to achieve my plan of turning the piece from functional to non-functional, having tried many ways to achieve the look. I reached out to the artist but sadly they haven't responded

Experiment with Aotearoa (1)

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 07:49:59 UTC

The next four slides so my brain storming for the Experiment with Aotearoa section. I was really excited to use the ice-cream ideal and translate it to clay. But sadly this was the time my health took a turn for the worse and I was unable to do so

Experiment with Aotearoa (2)

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 08:05:07 UTC

Experiment with Aotearoa (3)

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 08:05:17 UTC

Experiment with Aotearoa (4)

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-22 08:05:29 UTC

Rim cone

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-23 00:29:56 UTC

Was so annoyed with this when I woke in the morning. For some unknown reason, the print stopped just before it was due to finish. Being a 6.5-hour print was super frustrating. It's a cone to keep the rim from warping

Marquettes

kelzhughes31 — 2024-07-24 05:39:43 UTC

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Woven basket

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:32:00 UTC

Thankfully I made two because i broke one lol

Second woven basket

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:32:11 UTC

Very happy with this basket. the techique itself was easy but time consuming. I disliked the handles so I removed them. fingers crossed for drying

Colouring clay

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:32:22 UTC

I thought I'd done something wrong as I could barely see the colours. Forgot that I had to glaze fire to get the true colours

Loading the club's small kiln

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:32:30 UTC

I have mixed feelings about this kiln as I had a number of bad results. I tested glazes in this kiln and Jills, and Jills was far better. I like it being up higher, as it's better on my back to load, however the shelf are more challenging to get in and out. I also think you can get more in a round kiln vs rectangle. With the loads I've done so far. I've also learnt how to start and programme this kiln

My very first cake stand

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:32:49 UTC

Wheel thrown in one part

vase

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:32:59 UTC

I kept seeing these types of vase on Instagram so decided to give it a go. It looked easy. but once you cut out the piece and flip it, it no longer fits. so took a lot of fettling to make it work. One of my biggest social media pet peeves is when they leave out a whole step on purpose

Fortune Cookies

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:33:18 UTC

Another project i've wanted to make for a long time. Next time I'd roll the slab thinner. but still happy with the over all look and feel of them

Test Tiles

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:33:28 UTC

Attempting to achieve the perfect "toasty/cooked dough/pastry colour. Also blue berry

Explosion

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:33:40 UTC

Preparing for the pit firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:35:09 UTC

I used a combination of Terra sigillata in orange and white. I had issues with peeling with the orange. I used both with and without tin foil. And a number of different combustible, plants, seaweed, wire, salt etc

Pit firing loading day

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:42:05 UTC

pit firing day

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:42:16 UTC

And it's firing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:42:27 UTC

Breath taking

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:42:36 UTC

in Awe

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:43:56 UTC

Tissue transfers

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:44:09 UTC

More blueberry testing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:44:18 UTC

kintsugi

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:44:29 UTC

I've always wanted to try kintsugi. And now I have I'll never use it again lol. I didn't enjoy it at all. I felt I had no control over the placement of the mixture, and got it everywhere. I'm not happy with the results, however it goes with the theme. And I am happy I pushed through and completed this series

First break

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:44:37 UTC

When I was getting ready to transport it to its bisque firing. I wasted time attempting and failing to fix

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:44:47 UTC

Roses

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:44:56 UTC

I made a lot of roses for my cakes when I was in business and wanted to attempt to replicate that in clay. For a first attempt I'm happy. I do think with more practice I can make them more elegant. Using coloured clay would also help with the glazing process.

My Cake base

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:45:07 UTC

Take one

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:45:31 UTC

I've always wanted a monstera leaf platter/plate. Easy I thought, roll a slab, cut out, tidy, fire, and i'd have a platter. So funny how wrong I was.

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Time consumng but worth the result

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Bisque Fired

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:48:29 UTC

With only one tiny crack i was excited to reach this step

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:48:38 UTC

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Cinamon Rolls

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:49:18 UTC

Pancake stack

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:49:26 UTC

Recycling more clay

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:49:37 UTC

Step One - Desiging

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:49:48 UTC

I first designed the cupcake. Using Autodesk fusion 360, cad design software. This was more challenging then expected, taking hours and requiring me to reach out to support forums for help. I used many skills to create it, the hardest was getting the realistic cupcake wrapper as it needed to be a taper.

I printed a miniature version on my ender 3 v2 3d printer, using silk pla, at temps of 210 degs.

Onto designing the 2 part mould, followed by its on casing.

I also printed a full size version of the cupcake.

This took many hours to print around 3 days continuous printing

Recycled clay ready to use again

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:49:57 UTC

Handle practice

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:50:09 UTC

The making of my Chopping Board

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:55:15 UTC

So happy with the first strawberry, I'm going to make them different shapes and sizes so make them look more realistic

Strawberry punnet

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:55:24 UTC

Fabric bowl

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:55:33 UTC

I like where i can take this technique. But it sadly didn't work this time as the slab needed to be a lot thinner to get the true fabric look

too thin

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:55:45 UTC

Where as the fabric was to thick this was to thin. on my to make again list

Paper bag

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:57:10 UTC

While I like aspects of this idea, I dislike the shape in the end. I need to work on templates before remaking

sgraffito

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:57:17 UTC

I've never been a fan of sgraffito but this has opened my eyes to explore it further. I never thought to trace the design first.

Cheesecake

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:57:26 UTC

was very nervous removing the slice from the cheese cake but surprisingly was easy to simply mark the clay and cut.

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:57:35 UTC

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Ready to glaze fire the final batch.

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:58:04 UTC

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perfection

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:58:54 UTC

My ultimate favourite kiln before and after

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:59:17 UTC

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:59:26 UTC

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 08:59:54 UTC

Long wait for the silicone to arrive was finally over

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:00:05 UTC

And I took the gamble and continued making the mother mould

Demoulding

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:00:11 UTC

To being with I thought I had success, which in many ways I did. These came away from the pla filament very easily.

Personal project

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:00:56 UTC

Keeping in theme of bringing the past into my present. I have this vase which I made at eve ceramics when I was around 7 or 8 years old. I wanted to recreate it with a series of glazes. I made a two part mould and thankful it worked so I could keep the original

Step three

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:01:10 UTC

Time to cast the moulds, I used two different techniques. The original I learnt using wooden boards, clamps and clay plus the silicone. Silicone was the easiest by far

Designing 3d printed cutters

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:01:18 UTC

Trying different sizes, and thickness

Piping Clay Slip

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:01:33 UTC

I was so excited to be able to pipe clay. It's a very similar feel to buttercream icing. it didn't hold it's volume as much,which I'd need to account for. I tried clay slip and paperclay. I was uncertain about the paper clay as it came out grainy. But once fired the grain was gone and was the smoothness I need. In future i'd use paperclay that was coloured with stain, again to reduce the time of handpainting the underglaze.

Making paper clay

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:01:43 UTC

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The work with clay begins

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:02:00 UTC

The making begins. Rolled a thin slab and individually cut out each rectangle, once leather hard I cut two holes per piece and tidied. I wanted the speckle to come out so used water. I made around 250 pieces, so there was room for breakages and failures

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:06:02 UTC

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Fondant cookies

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:06:31 UTC

I made these using 3d printed cookie cutters and embosser which I actually used when baking them. Here I'm testing on the off cuts

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:06:41 UTC

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:06:50 UTC

FOndant cookies continued

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:06:59 UTC

Here I was joining the "fondant" and "cookies". I scored and used paper clay to join

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:07:08 UTC

Doughnuts

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:07:19 UTC

These are wheel thrown, with slab icing and individually rolled and attached sprinkles

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Cleaning up the moulds

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:08:51 UTC

Using a shoreform and sandpaper these mould's tidied up nicely

New Design

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:08:58 UTC

New testing and designs for my maker's stamp. I can't choose between my initials and my business names, so going with both.

More testing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:11:43 UTC

attempting to find the perfect "food" colours has been the hardest challenge of the whole project

Macarons

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:11:51 UTC

Coloured clay, in three colours, piped "buttercream" paper clay. I tried different tools for the "foot", from tooth picks to tooth brush. Ended up using two needle tools at the same time

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My most disappointing unloading all year

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:12:18 UTC

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:12:27 UTC

Glazing the doughnuts and cookies

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:12:51 UTC

For the bee cookies I mainly used watercolours. The hearts I used underglaze for the white and watered down flicks with the tooth brush for the decorating. the doughnuts took a lot longer to glaze than expected. Using so many different colours for the sprinkles added to the timing. I did 3 coats for the icing and two for the sprinkles but had to go back and do touch ups.

Take Two

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:13:24 UTC

Looking good

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Taping success

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:14:39 UTC

To do - Learn how to take decent photos of my pottery

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:14:58 UTC

Biggest fail glazing of the year

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:15:06 UTC

For two reasons, one the kiln, but two mainly my glaze application. I was trying to learn how to layer. But it was extremely thick. hindsight, I should have washed of the glaze and started again

Very disappointed

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:15:15 UTC

I really focused on the application which looked flawless. However this was in the kiln that had 100% fail rate

Stroke and coat

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:15:23 UTC

I've had little success with stroke and coat. No matter how I apply or how many layers, this case was 3. It never comes out evenly

One of my favourite pieces

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:15:31 UTC

Love the contrast between the glaze and the raw clay

One thing I noticed

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:15:42 UTC

Is I don't tend to like glazes on a test tile, however when I put it on a piece I love it. Hence my testing was on actual pieces of pottery rather than tiles

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:15:53 UTC

Using 1 mm masking tape

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:16:02 UTC

I learnt alot about taping on this piece. The main I had the pattern to close together which mean the glaze wasn't crisp. I also need to choose the correct glaze as you don't want movement

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Magic glaze

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:20:15 UTC

Same glaze + different clay body = magic

Doughnuts

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:20:24 UTC

I'm proud of these while not perfect, they're a perfect first try. I plan to use colour slip and clay for the icing and the sprinkles. THis will remove the amount of time it will take to glaze. I also need to work on being quicker with the clear glaze as it went cloudy in places. I love the shape and will continue to make on the wheel

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:20:32 UTC

Fondant Cookies

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:20:40 UTC

This was my first try using watercolours, I need to practice more to get a more even coverage. I did like the ability to mix colours. I felt the were close both before and after the glaze firing

Amazing what left over watered down underglaze and a tooth brush can do

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:20:48 UTC

Macarons

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:21:08 UTC

Over all theres' not much I'd change about these. With the exception of colour choices and variety

The feelings that these envoke

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:21:16 UTC

in me leave me with no words

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More testing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:22:02 UTC

This time i chose to dip for 6 seconds using wire. Speed the process up, how ever was longer to wipe the glazes back

Coloured slip

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:22:12 UTC

Attempting to use coloured slip to decorate a few pieces.

Monoprinting

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During Printing

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Silicone mother mould

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:24:52 UTC

I choose to make a silicone mother mould as I'm following a couple of guys on Instagram who do this. While it adds addition cost, time and materials in the short term. In the long term, it reduces this. As silicone lasts years whereas plaster moulds has a limited shelf life if using regularly due to wear and tear. By using a silicone mould you can pour and as many plaster moulds as you want without starting the whole process from scratch.

Being the first time using silicone I was nervous. I prepped my casing and mould with duct tape and vaseline. I combine the parts a and b, which was easy and poured.

But I hit a problem not enough silicone. With research I discovered you could sometimes add fresh silicone to cured silicone. So I placed in a zip lock bag to prevent dust ruining what I'd started.

cheese cake Failure

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:25:03 UTC

I often dry my pottery in my sons room with my dehumidifier. But I did have doubts about this piece. and sadly I was right. when Making I got a call that I had to pick my child up from school urgently. So I didn't attach the top correctly. Which in turn completely separated. This was only a few weeks out from assessment so decided to add this to my future projects.

Countless counting

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:25:11 UTC

Sorting the different rectangles with how many I needed to glaze

I underestimated the amount of time and steps needed

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:28:35 UTC

Glaze day

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:28:44 UTC

Straight out of the bisque firing to glazing. Use a caramel and red underglaze on the cinnamon buns with a drizzle of while glaze for the icing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:28:54 UTC

Gutted To have broken the blue berries and butter off the side

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:29:02 UTC

I attempted to fix with a bisque fix but it would not adhere. so chose to remove them completely

Glazed

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:29:11 UTC

I used caramel underglaze for the pastry, painted the blue berries in red underglaze before coating in a blue/purple glaze

Learning to load kilns successfully

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:29:20 UTC

I was so grateful to have to weeks as Jill's kiln loader when she was away. I now feel confident loading and unloading, glaze and bisque firings. I feel like I've got a handle on choosing shelf heights, and where to place things. Here shows why I am fixated on kiln fillers. no wasted space

Successfully fired and ready to assemble

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:29:30 UTC

Fresh out of the kiln

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:29:38 UTC

Finishing glazing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:29:56 UTC

with yellow underglaze for the seeds and dipped in a clear glaze

Kiln fillers

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:30:05 UTC

making the individual pieces for wall hangings

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:30:17 UTC

I dry them between bats and dry wall to prevent warping

Take three

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:30:27 UTC

My frustration levels were high. With two failures, I was determined to still make one. So I made three in the hopes they worked. One had a small crack when it dried but it was fine. So bisque fired anyway and keeping my fingers crossed

fern imprints

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:30:34 UTC

I waited with a lot of nerves

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:30:43 UTC

and everything turned out so well

How do I even begin to

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:30:54 UTC

describe this moment. I'm finally a potter, an artist. Defining moment in my pottery journey

Fondant cookies

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:31:19 UTC

Pottery with my girl

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:31:27 UTC

Trinket dishes

Devasted

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:31:37 UTC

Time to pivot

Replica of my first chef's knife

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Blue berry pie glaze test success

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:32:12 UTC

After testing so many options to create the correct colour for my pie, I finally have the result I'm after. I'm using red underglaze to make the colours pop

Photo day

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:32:21 UTC

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:32:34 UTC

Filling up my shelves

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:32:53 UTC

Cones

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:33:06 UTC

I struggle with cones. But I believe this reached cone 6. I'm going to explore these more once I finish course

Glazing my first set of mugs

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:33:14 UTC

Taking an idea from last year with sayings on the mugs I created 5. I'm using floating blue to fill the letters, inside and an angle of the outside

Pie dish

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:33:26 UTC

Faceting with coloured slip

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:33:37 UTC

Sums up much of my year

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:33:45 UTC

Very happy with my glaze application on this piece, and achieving the toasty look between the raw clay and glaze. I'm going to remake with macs mud speckled buff, which will have an even better reaction

Jump rings

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:33:54 UTC

sgraffito

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:34:03 UTC

Grapes in a paper bag

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:34:20 UTC

was really unhappy with the grapes so have chosen not to continue. I couldn't get the size or shapes I was imaging, nor how to connect to the storks

Underglazed cake

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:34:30 UTC

Strawberries

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:34:40 UTC

Underglazing my strawberries with two coats

Especially love the chopping board

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:34:50 UTC

Underglazed the chopping board using a wash which created a more graining look. The paper bag I couldn't find a brown that would work and I changed my mind on the grapes so I mixed all the underglazes to create a new one and not waste what I'd already mixed

More counting and more adjusting

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:35:00 UTC

Connecting with jump rings. Another step I underestimated from the amount of jumprings needed (well over 600) and the time it took. Also the pain to my hands

Spraying on glaze

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:35:10 UTC

My first egg tray

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:35:18 UTC

Paint brush holders

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:35:27 UTC

wall hangers and beads

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:35:44 UTC

Time crunch

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:35:54 UTC

I've got a real fixtation on filling the kiln properly, so have been making pieces for wall hangings and flower frogs. But needed them dry for the kiln the next day. so my trusty dehumidifier to the rescue

Completed Strawberries in a punnet

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:36:05 UTC

Bisqued wall hangings and flower frogs

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:36:13 UTC

Some success and some fails

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:36:22 UTC

I have a plan of creating a installation of wall hung doughnuts and wanted to try moulds (I usually wheel throw them) the mould was a bust as I made it in an ice cream container which shifted. I did make a successful square hump mould though

Business idea testing for when I finish course

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:36:33 UTC

I've thought a lot about where to next when I finish course this year. As there's so many ways to make money with potter. One of the paths I'm going is designing and manufacturing my own series of pottery tools. Beginning with makers stamps, ribs, dies for extruders, and handle formers

Testing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:36:39 UTC

Was happy with the toasting on the raw clay. However I wasn't happy with the lichen crawl glazes, I tried to different types and painted on, from one to three coats. There was either no crawl or flaking.

Blue Berry Pie

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:36:52 UTC

So so happy.

Pit firing results

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:37:09 UTC

My favourite unloading to date

Paul masic slip for the icing

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:37:24 UTC

Made it thicker to begin with so I can adjust to the project I'm working on at the time

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:37:31 UTC

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:37:38 UTC

Making handles

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:37:47 UTC

I've always struggled with handles, so when Jill lent me her handle formers I had to give them a go. And wow so much easier then I was expecting. I made approx 50 which I'll keep in my wet box for the future

Successful Print

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:38:00 UTC

I individually used brush on wax

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:38:07 UTC

On the back and sides of the pieces, while it added another step it made the glaze process smoother.

Dipping the strawberries in clear glaze

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:38:16 UTC

Moment of truth

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:39:34 UTC

So excited

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:39:42 UTC

The first time i've unload a kiln and video called my kids so they could see my work straight away. It's a very proud moment

Progress

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:39:55 UTC

I finished this step, gratefully walking away for a break. Came back in the room as the sun began setting. Watching the pieces sparkle, and shimmer made it worth it.

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:40:04 UTC

First attempt using thin masking tape

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:40:14 UTC

I purchase 1, 2 and 3 mm masking tape to attempt using to create geometric shapes

kelzhughes31 — 2024-11-04 09:40:19 UTC