Thursday, May 31, 2012

Playing With Clay (and Leaves)



Some process photos

What do you get when you combine silicon rubber leaf mats with a slump mold and some clay? A serving platter...obviously. And that's just what I made last week. I worked with the interns to roll some slabs and get our hands dirty (with clay).  Now I'm going to tell you the steps on how to make this project, too.

  1. Create a slab about 1/4” thick. Then we cut the shape of the leaf out of the slab and add pressure to transfer the leaf patterns into the clay. Then use a needle tool or your fingers to trim and smooth the edges. Now you have clay leaves!
  2. Next take the a slump mold and slump the leaves into the shape of the mold, overlapping them in places so your platter does not have holes in it.
  3. Score and slip the parts that overlap. Then smooth the creases so that it looks clean.
  4. Then take some plastic and some paper and fill the concave (top) part of the platter in and flip it over so you have access to the part that would normally be sitting on a table.  This helps to keep the slumped shape while working on the bottom side of the platter. Now you can clean up the bottom and reenforce the joints.
  5. All that's left to do is flip it back into the slump mold where you let it dry to leather hard and then plastic wrap it till it is bone dry.

Now I just need to bisque it and glaze it. I'm really excited to see how it will turn out. What glazes do you think I should use?

Tools used:

Close up on some of the leaves

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Time With The Interns


Spencer throwing for a demo video.

Today I had a chance to sit down and talk with our interns. Oh, yes! We have interns. Kevin and Spencer have been interning with us during the month of May. Kevin and Spencer have been in the ceramics program at Conestoga High School for four years and mostly focus in throwing functional work. They were recommended to intern at The Ceramic Shop by their teacher to get a better idea of how a business in ceramics might work. Their internship here will help them to better understand the art world and to see if it seems like a plausible career path.
So far, they have found working at The Ceramic Shop to be fun and engaging. I asked the boys what their favorite things where to do here. Spencer has enjoyed working with Tracy on making the HydroBats. He liked learning the process of making products, which is an experience The Ceramic Shop can give to him because we produce so many different items. Kevin has like helping make demonstration videos for our website and YouTube channel. The tool demonstration videos they have been making will be up on our YouTube channel soon!

Spencer and Kevin will be going away to college after they finish their internships with us. Kevin will be attending University of Colorado and Spencer will be going to the University of Ohio. Both Kevin and Spencer will be studying business with a minor in ceramics. They are hoping to maybe start their own businesses or even take their ceramics to the next level. Everyone at The Ceramic Shop wishes them the best. We've really enjoyed having them around.



Kevin centering.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Something New from Skutt



If you were at NCECA this year and managed to stop by the Skutt booth perhaps you saw a demo of their new front loading kilns. No? Well, we were able to see them talk and demo this amazing new kiln. Skutt designed their front loading kiln to have some really cool design features. Thanks to the light weight door and roof AND floor elements the kiln heats and cools more evenly. One of the coolest features has to be that it is designed to fit through a standard doorway. This may not seem like a big deal, but if you've owned another large capacity kiln before and had issues installing or moving your kiln because it didn't fit through the doorway you know how cool this is.

Artist, Tom Turner has been using Skutt's Front Loader to make some amazing work. He's been creating a never before seen combination of Copper Red Oxblood and Lunar Crystal. Lunar Crystal is a crystal glaze that is usually fired in an oxidation atmosphere whereas the Copper Red Oxblood is usually required in a reduction firing. The result is truly amazing. The red of the Copper Red Oxblood is brilliantly red and is complimented well with the light green to white of the Lunar Crystal glaze. To see some of his work visit his site: http://tomturnerporcelain.com/page084.htm
If you would like more information on this kiln give us a call (215-427-9665) or visit the product's description page on our website: http://www.theceramicshop.com/store/product/10738/Skutt-Front-Loader-KM16F-240v/

We are looking forward to seeing more work produced in this amazing kiln.


Thursday, May 03, 2012

Xiem Adds FLEX to Their Family of Tools



We've had a lot of items added to our store the last few weeks and they are all really exciting. One of the things I can not wait to try is some of the new Xiem tools. Xiem makes high quality and brightly colored tools. We have just added some of their new mini rollers for decorating. They have bright turquoise handles and each of the four sets comes with three different rollers. There is also a couple of tools that provide a bit of flexibility to your work. This includes a flexible ruler and something called a potter's wand which is used while throwing. These flexible tools provide the user with the angle or shape they need to get the job done. What I'm excited to try is the new clay cutter. It is designed to be customizable. This means you can change out the wire to alter not only the length but the kind of wire. For me that's really cool because the long wire cutters never really cut it for me, if you know what I mean. With this tool it's easy to change out the wire and it even comes with three interchangeable wires.  One is a straight wire cutter and the other two are spring wires to provide texture while cutting! How cool is that? A hex key is included so you don't even have to go looking for one that fits. And I don't know about you but I love tools that come with their own... tools.