: OffCenter - Viewing Profile

I finally have a little time to read the posts in the communities, and I love that there are so many talented people in the group. I notice that when I view profiles it helps to visualize and TRY to solve problems if I can get an idea of what the final products you make look like. Please take advantage of the gallery benefits of your Ceramics Arts Daily accounts. This would be of good use for people that don't have web pages, and at least Ceramics Arts Daily participants can view your work. Never know, might work like free advertising!OH! I FORGOT! Please let me know when your update your gallery!

The relief work on good Yixing is not sprigged. Each element of such designs is hand done with remarkable precision (and the ability to replicate items at a very high level).

I was watching an undergrad class on a very similar type of surface technique at Wuxi Institute of Arts and Technology (in Yixing) a couple of weeks ago, and the painstaking time taken with every movement and the intense focus of each student was what struck me the most.

While the cheap stuff might involve sprigging.... the decent pots don't.

WuxiInstitute-SurfaceDecoration1.jpg

WuxiInstitute-SurfaceDecoration2.jpg



best,

..............john

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I'm having some problems with bisque firings and would like to run this by you...

I use stoneware which I underglaze at leather hard, then I sgraffito the piece. I let it get to bone dry and do the bisque in an old kiln - it has 4 on/off switches; the manual said to flip one switch an hour and then wait till the kiln sitter turns it off (^04). then I apply clear glaze to the cooled work and fire to ^5 using a newer kiln with an electronic controller.

Then I started having a problem. After the glaze firing some of my pieces had areas, usually circular, where the it looks like the glaze has pulled away, taking the under glaze with it. So there's a small area, sometimes several all near each other, where the clay body is exposed. In the photo, hopefully you can see the white spots, center right. Because I use their products, I called Amaco for help. I was told my bisque firing was too fast, that out gassing was not complete. And I was told a bisque to ^04 should take 10-12 hours! So now, hearing about these fast bisques, I'm confused.

I was an advocate of bisqueing as fast as possible - my little old kiln could fire off in 5 hours. But lately that doesn't seem to be working for me, so I'm going to to do a really slow bisque next time, as Amaco recommends. But why is it that some of you have no problems with a fast bisque? Wouldn't incomplete out gassing affect your glazes? Any thoughts on this? Thanks!

I just made the first dinner set I have made in a couple of years. I didn't lose one plate and I was throwing Frost. I ended up with a set of 8 place settings and a few extra plates.
http://ceramicartsda...wimage&img=2527

Like Pres says, weigh the lumps to be equal. center, flatten with a fist, open and keep it flat Keep the calipers there, before you start pulling/pushing out and and several time after. Rib the plate to relieve stress.

I use a chamois on the lip with a practiced edge and they are all the same. Dry slowly. Flipping them over to dry after they have firmed up enough not to sag.. I trim with a soft thin sponge in the center for support.

Marcia