October 2006 Firing
This work is soda fired in a small wood kiln.
Here are the big pieces. The bowl is 34cm diameter and the jug is 23cm high and holds about 4.5 UK pints.
The themes in the work continue to include the ridges I've been exploring for a couple of years now. In addition to the ridged bowls I've started to explore the idea of cutting the ridges which is a theme I'm already exploring further.
I continue to be interested in reeds after a visit to Stodmarsh in Kent. I was struck by the way all the leaves and flowers bent in one direction over the entire field. The firing has created flashing and ashing that frame the brush work brilliantly. The design on the back is more abstract is about the play of light on water.
Inspired by my teaching work, I've been making some slab built pieces which I'm really pleased with. At the moment the vases are quite small but expect them to get bigger! The flower is intended to hold a tea light candle but I guess it could just be an ornament too.
In addition to soda firing my old espresso cup shape, I've got a new tankard style mug design which I'm quite pleased with.
For the technically minded, here are the test rings as they came out of the kiln. You can see the glaze and colour development during the course of the firing as I added more soda. The last ring was taken when the kiln was cold. As you can see, the colour only really develops as the kiln cools.
