Let there be Light?

My first oil lamp - essentially a thick bottomed bowl with the sides pinched in and sealed. Glazed in a yellow outer with a clear semi-gloss coat to seal the interior. A simple triangle pattern was carved into the greenware prior to bisque firing along the foot.

A bamboo torch wick and citronella oil for firing, both purchased from Bunnings. Due to the kink in the neck the wick was a little tricky to insert but this does prevent the oil from sloshing out the front.

The lamp was pretty easy to fill and the wick adsorbed the oil very quickly. I cannot completely fill the reservoir as the wick lip is around the same height as the rest of the bowl so oil will seep into the open and pool under the wick.

This lamp produces a rather large flame when lit. This could be related to the loose wide weave of the wick (too large), the protrusion of the wick (too long) and partly, the strong wind. I'm going to modify what I can when it's less windy and see if I can get this to be sufficiently manageable that I'd risk having it inside.

I may have to carve a dragon into one of these.

Pot throwing results

On the 20th of September, I took a casual class in pot throwing at Claymake. This was my third ever time using a wheel, and my first exposure to an electric wheel. Thanks to the expert tuition of Master Simon at Pennsic, I understood the basics of what I was trying to achieve even if I couldn’t quite get my hands to do it properly. In that three hour class, i made many objects, scrapping most of the asymmetrical ones. I retained 5 olive bowls which were bisque fired.

I then signed up for their monthly guided glazing class so I could glaze my treasures.

I am rather proud of my creations even through one of the rims snapped. I tried a different glaze technique on each one. From left to right: green and yellow englobe with a translucent green dip; Matt blue interior with blue englobe rim /painted on for the scales in a transparent outer glaze; blue englobe belt with blue interior and aubergene exterior glaze; translucent green glaze throughout with aubergene angle dip and finally englobe interior scratched back to create design with transparent clear over.

Notes: the englobe is a coloured clay tweaked to ensure no shrinking occurs during firing. The glazes and englobe are very powdery when dry and make further decorative work challenging. I’d probably add more gum or something to reduce the powder effect if I were to make my own for the painting or scratching applications.

Notes II: it’s likely the underglaze I used for all previous work won’t stand up to the firing temps at Claymake. Well, the blue might because that’s generally a sturdy colour. The others might not. It’s worth an experiment though.

Sneak peak