Next Experiment with Clay

My next experiment is to achieve some different effects when glazing. For this, i'm going to layer different colours on top of each other to see what I get, and use some wax to try and make crisp patterns. I'm also going to incorporate some glass frit to see how this works with clay.

Watch this space!!!!!

Clay Garden Girls

Finished Garden Girls

I do need to write up all of my notes on the clay and which clays I liked the most, and how the colours of the glazes worked on the different clays.

One thing I did find; when I applied the glaze, I applied two to three coats, which looked like a pretty thick layer of glaze, but once the garden girls had been kilned, there were some thin and patchy areas of glaze. This did not ruin the overall effect of the Garden Girls, but when I make the next batch I will apply another layer (4 layers) of glaze.

Experimenting with different types of clay

I am new to pottery/ceramics and am experimenting with different types of clay and glazes.  I've been having a play with different textures and colours of clay to see which ones I liked the best. I bought a number of 1kg sample packs, and made lots of yummy Garden Girls and Funky Flowers.  All in all their were 16 different types of clay and they varied in texture, colour and firing temperature.

The garden girls before their first firing.

Despite some of the clays having different firing temperature, I used the same temperature and schedule to bisque fire them all.  On the whole I was pleased with the results.  There were only a few of the garden girls that broke during the bisque firing.

Here are the funky art flowers