Part II of Newest Kiln Firing

Hi,

Sorry for the short post earlier today. Like most, I enjoyed a nice Easter dinner and relaxed.

I'm really happy how the last firing turned out. I seem to be getting the conditions just right for Mochaware decoration. It took a lot of tinkering with glazes, slips, and clay over the past year to get where I'm at now. It's a great feeling. I had always thrown with stoneware, but over the past three months, I'm working in a low-fire range with a terra cotta body. The clay I've been using now, is in my opinion of great plasticity for larger forms (which I think are my specialty), and I used the stoneware out of convention since I had always used. Needless to say, I now know that one clay body doesn't necessarily fit all pottery artists. Now, I season commercial clay with my own special mix: a little bentonite, some grog to taste, and some ball clay. It suits me.

I love experimenting, for those who don't know me. But, eventually it's nice to see an idea actually make it on a pot after much testing. The following is an example. It is a sky blue pot with black Mochaware decoration and black banding. Experimenting with 1/2 % increments of cobalt carbonate in my slip, I was able to get a good color swatch - the trick is to make the test batch bigger than usual because the amount of cobalt in grams is so low it can be hard to reproduce the result. It helped that I was able to procure 5#'s of Cobalt Carbonate on trade with a potter in Washington who was getting out of the business. She got some of my nice glacial blue pots, and I got a lifetime supply of Cobalt, pretty good deal.
Mochaware decoration on a plate.
Close-up of above picture.
A nice mug. Good Mochaware decoration here. Mug attached without any smudges. I use my own special formula for attaching handles. Many potters experience cracking problems, but with my method I have very few handles cracking.
A little marbling using a black and white slip with a clear glaze.
I have so many pictures to share, so I hope to keep uploading them over the course of the next few days.

I'm planning to start selling on Etsy. I have started a shop there, www.mochaware.etsy.com, and am still working on it. I'm debating on whether to accept PayPal. I'm leaning towards no because PayPal waives your right to consumer protection laws, and why pay for the service (?), whatever happened to trusting someone to send a check or a money order??? If I experience any problems with that, I'll just stop selling online and keep selling locally. By the way, if any galleries in the area read my blog, and you have space at your gallery, please contact me as I'm looking to sell my work via those channels.