I was very grateful to receive an order for a 16 piece dinner set. this specific dinner set consists of 10.5" plates and bowls that I call "grain bowls". the customer requested two specific glaze combinations and here is a sneak peak at the process of glazing them.
It was a relief when they all come out of the bisque firing looking perfect... no warping and every piece made it safely, hooray. I'm also pleased with the consistency of all the pieces. It's satisfying how well they stack.
I have been loving the effect of pouring glazes, especially on plates. With this technique, a lot of variation happens simply because the glaze will have different areas of thickness. Here I applied the first glaze, pouring around 2/3 of the surface area and leaving the other side raw.
this is the same plate. I went ahead and poured another glaze over the other 2/3 of the surface. the middle part is where the glazes overlap with each other.
the same was done to this grain bowl, just using different glazes. I like to be very loose & relaxed when pouring glazes because I have fallen in love with all the splatters, drips and other variations. It truly makes every piece unique.
once all pieces have been glazed, the rims are carefully sponged off. this takes a bit of time because you have to be careful not to sponge any of the interior/exterior parts of the piece. I like exposing raw clay whenever I can.. I am very drawn to the earthy colors & textures and I love the look of raw clay. they are now ready to go into the kiln for their final firing!
pretty obsessed with how they turned out! every plate and bowl made it out safely which is always a massive relief. I always make extra's just incase the kiln gods are in a bad mood but luckily no extra's were needed.
I personally think the customer did an incredible job choosing these glazes, as they compliment each other nicely. She said "it looks like the beach- sand & water" which is honestly the perfect description! The blue glaze creates an interesting "wave like" effect and has so much variation especially when poured. It really does look like water, I can't unsee it.
I thought this was a pretty cool before & after shot.. the plate shrinks from 12" wide to its final size of 10.5" wide.
I really did love making this dinner set and have goals to make customizable dinner set orders available more often, with many multiple glaze options.
you would think everything is done, but one of the hardest steps is coming up.......
SHIPPING!! packing pottery and shipping it is an art form of its own & this set was sent all the way to Minnesota. so far, it's the largest set that I have had to ship but everything made it safely.
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