Jeff Campana

So, this work is by Jeff Campana. You see those lovely, flowing lines, there? He throws his vessels in porcelain and then he CUTS THEM INTO PIECES before reassembling them. I had to do deep breathing both before and after cutting my first steeks into knitting. HIS chill knows no bounds. Either that or he’s a heavy drinker.

One of the planters tumbled from the balcony in this morning’s rain, hence the rescue bouquet of Coleus Campfire and Persian Shield (Strobilanthes dyerianus).

And a good opportunity to grab a picture of a recent project. The pitcher is made from Tom Coleman’s porcelain. The glazes are Elaine’s Best Honey Amber Celadon with stripes of Fire Opal Art to give it some run and texture. Fired to cone 10 reduction.

All right, here we go. Taking a stab at a bit of sculpturing. Here it is in process. The porcelain is at a soft leatherhard stage, so it’s about the consistency of cold Swiss cheese, except a little grainy. 🙂

Here’s what I’ve been up to lately.

Took a pottery class a while back and the teacher challenged me to start combining some of my interests. Here’s a couple of the results: an acorn pot with the funny little cap (clay = standard 266, Amaco glazes smokey merlot underneath and seaweed on top, cone=5/6) and a spider web bowl (Porcelain Black ice – no glaze).

The snack/tea time/coffee and a bagel set are the result of FINALLY finding glaze combinations that I like. (clay = tom coleman porcelain, Spectrum glazes: Texture Navy underneath and Hot Running Chowder on top)

Some odds and ends

I’ve taken up a bit of glass fusing.. see?

That scattered green on the wave was a bit more olive than I liked, but overall a success. The one on the right was all kinds of fun. The first layer of glass on the bottom was “french vanilla,” which reacts with chemicals in other glass and with silver to produce the effects you see in this piece. The circles you see there are fine silver rings that I simply set atop the french vanilla glass and sprinkled with the same aqua and light green frit what was used in the wave on the left. Then you just pop it in the kiln and see what is going to react with what.

And finally was able drop by the studio and pick up some stuff that had been fired recently. Mainly a set of six of the ramekins below, as well as a bunch of glaze tests which weren’t nearly as exciting. (Tom Coleman’s porcelain. Non-iron blue celadon glaze. Cone 10 reduction.)

Also went to a week long pottery workshop taught by Birdie Boone at Arrowmont in Gatlinburg, TN (the week before they lost two of their dorm buildings to the fire there). Made a few mugs. Cone 6 red clay. Three firings. One to fire the pot to bisque. Another to bisque the white crackle bisque slip over it. A final firing to add the transparent glaze.

Took a test tile with the crackle bisque slip home and tried it with a cone 05 crackle glaze. Am pleased.

~*~

Finally finished my first Calder-esque mobile. (yay!)

Tom coleman’s porcelain. 12 gauge coppe wire. My hands are tired. 😛

Attempt #3: ready for bisque firing

Tom Coleman porcelain.

Amaco velvet underglaze: black, teal blue, blue green, and white

Effort #2 at soft leatherhard stage.

Shallow bowl/tray. Tom Coleman’s porcelain. Amaco’s velvet underglazes.

Ready for bisque firing.

Thomas Coleman’s porcelain and Amaco’s Velvet Underglazes (Jet black, Radiant Red, Flame Orange, Turquoise Blue, and Mint Green). Three coats of the black, brushed on and then burnished. Sgraffito. Dots of color added last – 2 to 3 layers of underglaze.

I also made some test tiles to see how well the color holds up at cones 05, 6, and 9.

Think I want to make a series of these kinds of pots with a bit of a striking “surprise” on the inside, in contrast with a very smooth, flat outside surface.