I’m embarking on a new round of material tests. This time, I’m seeing what molybdenum, volcanic sand, carborundum, titanium siliconite, peridot, lapis lazuli and finally, some red garnet, will do. All of which have different textures and consistencies and change how the stoneware clay throws and trims.
This is the subject of my YouTube video this weekend, (a link to which you can find in the Linktree in my profile’s biography), and it’s worth noting, that this is part one of a series I’ll be producing over the next couple of weeks or month—meaning the results will come, just not quite yet.
I always have a rough idea about what some of these additions will do, and in truth, it’s never quite as exciting as what you might be picturing in your mind. Often, glass and minerals melt, metals bloom and flow, and more commonly than not, things turn brown or black and are underwhelming. Yet, sometimes there’s some real gems, there are oddities that create beautiful bursts of colour, like the bronze I’ve used a lot in the past.
I know that testing these on small test tiles would be “better” technique. They take up less space in the kiln and are faster to produce, yet then I wouldn’t have what’s a growing collection of somewhat unusual bowls. These are pots encrusted in glass beads or rivulets of metal, some have collapsed and others are simply fascinating to look at, not that they’ll ever be used practically for food.
As always, if you have any material suggestions, I’m all ears and a huge thanks to Alan and Thomas, who sent me some of what’s seen in this weekend’s video. Thanks for watching!
It's time for yet another round of exciting raw material experiments. This time I'm wedging all kinds of things into the clay I use. There's molybdenum, volcanic sand, carborundum, titanium siliconite, peridot, lapis lazuli and finally, some red garnet. All of which have different textures and consistencies and change how the stoneware clay throws and trims.
With these, I'll be throwing and trimming a batch of test bowls and I apologise in advance for the 'teaser', as this is only the first step in the creation process, the initial wedging, throwing and turning of the bowls once they're leather hard.
My YouTube channel closely follows the day-to-day activities in the workshop, which often means I don't get to immediately see the results but that's working with clay, it's a slow process full of long periods of waiting for pots to dry, accumulate and then finally cool down in the kiln.
Rest assured, I will share the finished results when the time comes, when they've been reduction fired to cone ten, (1290ºC), but it may be a few weeks yet!
⚙️ • How to attach pots onto the wheel: https://youtu.be/mfTZU3lQsLY
📚 • You'll find many more guides on how to centre and pull up the walls of clay here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2WJhtTF0eGhQwf8g2LHcom_KrvJpH_JT
📖 • ORDER MY BOOK: https://geni.us/bymyhands
📢 • Find out much more about my work here: https://linktr.ee/floriangadsby
⏱ • Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction & mixing the raw materials into my clay
0:22 - The materials I'll be using
4:15 - Preparing the clay
8:22 - Throwing the bowls
11:55 - Drying the bowls slowly & evenly overnight
12:25 - Trimming the bowls
21:26 - A failed attempt
22:15 - The 7 bowls
23:45 - Clean up
*I throw using both a Rohde HMT 500 & 600 potter's wheel and fire using Rohde kilns too, the electric is a TE-200 and the gas kiln is a KG-340.
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