I'm In Business!!

I made my first sale tonight, officially. Money exchanged hands...so I'm truly, really, fully, in business. I don't even mind if I don't sell anything tomorrow at the Sale Day here in town...I really think these Belly-rinas will find a niche...

And I am deciding to drop the price of the whistles down to $10 because I just didn't like the glaze. I'm still not sure exactly what happened, but it shouldn't have. I put it on too thick, and they look like it. But the whistles still work and are cute, so selling them is still an option, I think.

I also decided that I'll try for just one weekend at the renaissance faire, and that way I don't have to worry about commiting to the whole 6 days if it doesn't work out, yet I'll still get enough flavor to know how to prepare for next year.

So I need to start making some ocarinas for that, and my aunt commisioned a project from me...I'd like to make my own pendant oc, and one for Amber and Caleb. And then there's the few I need to make for Julie to take with her to the next doula workshop she's holding so she can try to sell them there.

And I don't even know when I need to start keeping paper work and receipts of the stuff I sell - or start charging tax...

But here's a pic of the whistles and ocs with the tag attatched:

I really like the look of the necklace all tied up - it looks professional. I hope the ladies enjoy them and spread the word. My goal? To make enough money to keep pursuing this hobby of mine...

I want to start experimenting with porcelain, colored porcelain, and paper porcelain. So between trying to make money, that is my next project.

Beeswax Finish

Well I bought some beeswax and melted it, then mixed it with some olive oil. It wasn't very smooth after it cooled, so I did add some more oil last night in the hopes that the consistency is more like shoe polish and won't flake as I apply it to my pieces.

But I polished all my smoke fired pieces, except for the belly-rinas, in case I re-do them again. The color definitely became stronger, though it wasn't a magical effect or anything. There was only a slight sheen as I didn't burnish most of the pieces. The two I did burnish have a nice sheen to them. I'll probably try to burnish every piece I plan on smoking in the future.

I got a few possibilities as for the glaze problem. It was recommended that I sponge down each piece prior to glazing to that the glaze breaks over the moisture instead of bubbling. Also, stir my glaze slowly, not lividly, as I was, which can also create bubbles.

And of course I know not to touch bisque, but since I never had a problem before, I figured I'll just wipe the pieces down...but perhaps there WAS oil from hands that caused the glaze to peel off in spots...which would explain some things.

Only time will tell when I try my next glazing.

I am contemplating trying to sell at a local new renaissance faire. I'd have to sell one ocarina a day for the 6 days (3 weekends) I'd be there, just to break even. After that, it'd be profit. If they sell at the price I'm thinking, that is. The hardest part, besides making a ton of ocarinas, is getting a tent of some sort, getting someone to watch the babies, someone to sell with me so I'm not lonely and can take bathroom breaks...

But the idea is so appealing! I'll have to talk it over with Jim when we get a chance. He's in Akron today for a football camp, and I'm still visiting my family here in Ohio. We'll cross paths tonight before I head for home tomorrow while he stays here until Saturday evening.

Glaze Firing Done

Well, I finally got all the pieces glazed and fired. I tried dipping some of the dishes for sake of time, but I think I made a mistake because the glaze pin-holed and in some places had large bubbles. On one dish the underglaze was peeling off. I'll have to ask around on my Yahoo Pottery group and see what might have caused that...

I was using a different glaze - Spectrum. Before I had Amaco. This one says to use one to two coats, but Amaco was three. The spots where the glaze was thick also turned milky. Kind of disappointed with that.

And once again, the top shelve of the kiln reached a whole cone higher than the bottom shelve, which is frustrating. I had a cone 04 in the sitter, and only the top shelve hit cone 04...so next time I'll try a cone 03 and see what happens.

I also re-bisqued my lady ocarinas, and smoke fired them again. But once again they turned out very dark...I'll also have to research that.

But otherwise things turned out pretty good, and I'm happy for that :)

You can view the pics here.

Two Steps Forward, Many Steps Back

I'm creating this blog in the hopes that someday it may benefit others who might learn from my mistakes. Or that at least I will learn from my mistakes, or perhaps that even people who might buy from me will be interested in the process of discovering this wonderful medium of clay.

I recently just started back up with my clay after a two year haitus. It was not on purpose, but surprise twins kind of threw me for a loop for awhile. Before that, I hadn't really gotten into my clay very deeply, either. I had done a total of 3 glaze firings, one at a friends' kiln before mine was hooked up.

So to say that I am a beginner is an understatement, yet it is also true that I have felt clay as my calling since 2007.

Recently I have been making ocarinas (globular clay flutes like the ancients used to make), and even more recently I've begun experimenting with barrel firing (or smoke firing.)

Barrel firing is a technique that allows one to fire clay at a low temperature in a container with sawdust, straw, or other combustables, and let it burn very slowly over several hours, which lets the smoke penetrate the pourous clay and leave shades of gray, brown, black, and even reds, greens or blues if you add colorants.

Well, my first two "test" firings came out terrific, considering it's my first try. But then the "real" one I wanted to do failed...twice. I'm not sure if there was two much air, or what went wrong. I'm using a popcorn tin as I don't have much to fire, and the size is perfect. But I punched holes into the sides, and the seam busted open, leaving a gap. The first time I fired it I used duct tape to keep it together. But this slowly melted and the gap popped open.

So I used a smaller tin this time around, and burnt my ocarinas (what I happened to be firng) instead. Some even had a few melt marks on them...

So after 3 days of trying to get a good firing, I have slightly burnt "pots." I know this is all part of the process of learning, but I also want to make these ocarinas the best I can in the hopes of selling them. It takes hours to make a good ocarina (all practice, I know), and I don't have the time to make them just to let them sit around here all day.

So in order to make myself feel better, I ordered two books today - one on smoke firing, and the other on coloring clay. I am extrememly interested in inlays and other coloring techniques, and even the lady who owns the "local" ceramics supply store doesn't know many people who "marble their clay." Apparently she isn't aware of the tons of OTHER techniques out there that one MIGHT persue besides marbling (which I hadn't even considered as I don't throw pots, yet.)

Anwyay, I'm taking a break tomorrow. But I need to do a glaze firing at the end of this week, so hopefully that turns out okay. And then it will be back to making more ocarinas, and hopefully some stuff for my kids (like ornaments and piggy banks.)