Ceramics, penultimate week

Trying out different swatches of metallic organza -

The trial piece ready to be gathered, and some other bits for dipping

The "flouncy" pieces have been steamed to set the folds, then the folds picked out by stitching metal threads - the dipping (and firing) process will transform them utterly, but will the metallic lines still relate to the folds? -

Distortion could result from the weight of the clay - they are dipped "upside down", then left to drip and the porcelain to touch-dry. The threads, being fine, disappear from view, so there will be a surprise when they come out of the kiln -

A flat (gathered) piece is drying too

These are going into the kiln -

Rolled from paper clay, with snippets of metallic fabric incorporated

These were left to dry, and will be fired after the next (last) class -

It's rather frustrating to have not just one week, but two, in between making the "pot" and seeing how it came out - it's hard to move forward on the basis of the results of the previous experiment. But the drying is important -- if the base isn't dry, the sand will stick. (Because these have metal in them, which could stick to the kiln shelf, they have to be fired in a sand tray.)

These two came out of the kiln -

Both are very fragile, and on the large side - about 15cm diameter. I wrapped them up and brought them carefully (I hope!) home, but haven't dared unwrap them yet.

Once the classes are finished, I'll use the 4 hours a week of class time "saved" to get on with documenting the pieces, and deciding which to keep and which experiments to pursue at the next opportunity. As for the several hours a week used to prepare the textiles ... that chunk of time is earmarked for a related project - clay and kilns are not involved, but fabric is.