I see the light!!!

"And at last I see the light

And it's like the fog has lifted

And at last I see the light

And it's like the sky is new

And it's warm and real and bright

And the world has somehow shifted

All at once everything looks different

Now that I see you"

Setting stones for our final year

WOW! what a fantastic year it has been and I can honestly say I have loved every minute of it, but things are getting so real by the minute that is starting to get scary.

I'm entering in the final stage of my course. 6 weeks left and still so much to do, right now we are focus in making our final pieces for the degree show and preparing our samples for the Brochure and group photo.
So yes!!! Too much stress right now and if I stop to think about it I might start having a panic attack so I decided to focus my attention in one task at the time.

Right now I'm preparing my work for the brochure. I've got a good camera as a Christmas present last year, so I'm hoping that with time my photo skills might improve.

Since I'm not a photographer and don't have money to hire a professional one, this is revealing to be quite a challenging. No idea what I'm doing here!!!!

Ohhh I love the smell of luster in the morning

So I finally enter the final stage of my process. Applying the platinum luster. I started by washing my pieces with a dish-washing soap to remove all trace of dust or grease. Then I dry them with a soft cloth .

Using a soft brush,I applied a thin layer of the luster. I also use the thinner to help diluted the luster. It´s also very useful to clean the brush or any smudge that I might add to the piece with my sloppy hands.

Am I the only one who thinks the smell of luster thinner is so addictive!?!?! it smells so good!!!

After applying the luster , the pieces were  set on a smaller Kiln (glass kiln) and Fired at 850ºC (3rd fire stage).
 Like I said once, ( and I learn this by own experience)- The glaze has to be a perfect shiny glaze for it to work. Any little defect that shows on the glaze will show threefold on the luster.

I´m very pleased with the final outcome so far. Now its time to think about other shapes/and forms where I may apply this surface pattern.

A normal day at Uni

Testing and Sampling

    Porcelain paper bowl and porcelain paper slip samples 5% and 2 % turquoise and mustard yellow

 It was suppose to be purple but came out cobalt blue

A beautiful turquoise blue, I was happy with this one

Armed & dangerous

So today I´ve been preparing my pieces for glazing and this is not my favorite part of this hole process. It’s probably because I´m sloppy glazer and I sometimes rush through it a little more quickly than I should even though I'm obsessed with making my own recipes. sometimes I spend a hole day in the glazing room mixing recipes but the results are almost to cry for.

So to start the second firing stage firstly I start by sanding all my pieces . Since bisque dust is extremely abrasive to our lungs , I always use a mask !!!
After sanding, I wipe with a damp sponge to remove all traces of sanding dust. Use a damp sponge instead of rinsing, which should be kept to a minimum.

 

While preparing my glaze, it must be well mixed, so after I mixed all the ingredients together I like to sieve it at least three times to make sure that its really well mixed.

I Glaze all the interiors of my pieces first by pouring the glaze in then rolling it around for complete coverage or if the piece is shallow enough I will spray it. Them I Glaze the outside with a brush or with the spray gun.

This Photo its from an Old Stoneware Pot that I made on my second Year, In example I applied Blue and Brown Slip and after the first firing staged I glazed it with a Shinny Clear Glaze. I was very happy with the final outcome

There was a time ...

"There was a time that I wanted to write a very simple story about a girl and a forest, now I just want be that girl and lose myself in that forest!!!" by me

The first batch just came out of the kiln today, ready to be sand and glazed

Finding myself through the materials that I choose

"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. " by Maya Angelo".

The beginning of a process ‪

Vessels

Experimenting with form

Lino Printing on Clay

Lino printing with velvet underglaze on Porcelain. Trying to build some shape/form

Paper Maquettes

Shapes and form for my wall panels and vessels

Ideas and forms

I've been thinking on creating a series of 20 or maybe 30 vessels in black ( I haven't decided yet) with different sizes that will capture the marks and patterns of my paper clay panels.

I will start with some well made ones and finalized with a few really broken. I want them to represent a forest with nature elements and life imperfections.


I don't aim for perfect things because even my life isn't perfect. The struggles and ways of living gave me scars that will remain forever and it's what made me in what I am today. Just like life, once we understand nature beauty and its delicateness, then we will surely protect and cherish all of its forms even the imperfect ones .


I´m also consider other forms and pallets and thinking in creating some functional item with a splash of colour

Laser engraving on Lino

Freedooooommmmmmmm!!!

Business plan done and turned in. I can't believe 30% of my degree is done! What a day to be proud of. I'm so happy.

Product Visualization

Using Photoshop to see how my panels and illustrations would look like as home decor element. I´m quite pleased so far.

Rocking my computer skills

I've been working on my business plan all day and still don´t know what I'm doing!!!

Assessment, assessment, assessment!!!

So my mid-term review its finally here and its assessment day, scary!!!!hum not much but its nerve wrecking.

So Far I can say that I have a good drawing/sketch exploration in my sketchbooks that could work as a product it self.

I tried to take control of the materials that I used to get the best results. The slip and glaze testing has contributed to the success of this work. My Paper Clay recipes worked really well, I documented processes and backed up with supporting samples.

I think that as a group my panels are cohesive and the lustre certainly adds something to the overall effect.
The work is still under development and hasn't moved much from the early to mid-stage with some interesting experimentation and potential. My work needs to be more refined due in time to become  more mature ( is this even a  correct sentence!!!)

So at this stage, since my work its not yet complete, for me its more about the process and not the finish piece per se (ahh look at me!!! Using  Latin words and everything).
The colour pallet that a choose its not everyone preference and its a shame that my clear glaze isn't compatible with the purple lustre. Different temperatures need to be consider for further investigation

 What kind of object could a I make through this process. Would it be functional?! Decorative!! Both or just Abstract.I see great potential in exploring this patterns and marks further I need to start think about shapes and forms..

Holidays are finally over

Its good to be back. Christmas and new years were amazing. First Chistmas in almoust 10 years with all the family around. So many emotions. I though that I was going to die, and the food, ohhh my goddesses, I think I gain so much weight that I actually might roll over

So after this is time to try to get back to work