Thursday, December 9, 2010

Inevitable cheetahs




At Adam's studio the pots stood waiting. I sat and painted on them and scratched into them and all the while he mixed chemicals to make a glaze and started packing the kiln and bringing in great long pieces of wood for the firing.
Having no idea what I was doing or what the finished thing would look like I did a few pieces, some hares, some birds and inevitable cheetahs.
Outside there were chickens and ducks and distant foxes over sunbleached winter fields. 
Ailsa made us soup and we sat by the big window looking out on the beautiful land and then worked on a few more pots, watched by the donkey. When I left Adam was dipping mugs into a white glaze and scraping and sponging moonjars and packing them with wading.
The kiln will be opened by lunch time on Saturday. I love the sound the pots make as they cool, like a strange music box. 

Ceramics is a much more physical thing than I am used to. The kiln itself is a large space. The pots when packed in look so vulnerable. The wood for firing is heavy and needs feeding in to the oven to make the heat. And then there are all the things that can go wrong.
I was nervous, not wanting to ruin Adam's shapes with scribbles. Adam is nervous as he doesn't want to blur and smudge my scribbles with too heavy a glaze. I have absolutely no idea what they will look like when they come out. They shrink. Colours change. With luck they will shine. 

 

18 comments:

  1. Can't wait to see what they look like once glazed and fired.

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  2. Very odd working in someone else's workspace and a different discipline, although really it was just painting. Listening to Adam and his friend talking and they speak a different language of glazes and temperatures and fire and clay.
    For the white glaze something called Cornish Stone was added, beautiful slightly turquoise coloured powdery stone.
    I want to do more.

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  3. wow, they look beautiful. want. WANT!

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  4. Wow, very cool. How could you even draw inside the bowl.

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  5. ANTICIPATION!!!!!! Will these be available????

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  6. Depends how they come out really, Ann. My head is full full full of ideas and I want to find a better way for me to draw on them. Adam had some that I scratched into but I think it needs a thinner slip to get a finer quality of line. Very much experimentation at the moment.
    When I left Adam was beginning to pack the kiln.

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  7. This sounds like you had fun working with decorating the pots.

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  8. Oh my goodness Jackie, these look wonderful! I can't wait to see the finished results!
    Dan
    -x-

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  9. Oh they look gorgeous even at this stage, the vessels themselves as well as your beautiful drawings. I look forward to seeing them after firing.

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  10. How thrilling - can't wait to see them. Only then I'll want them. YOU BAD BAD WOMAN.

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  11. Gosh, they look fabulous and sooooo tactile, it must be v exciting to work on a 3D object this way. Ooh, and all the lovely anticipation waiting to see how they turn out... The boxing hares mug looks VERY cool - you will have to let us know if we can buy...

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  12. What a wonderful collaboration: perfect shapes and the hares and cheetahs are so beautiful. Can't wait to see them glazed.

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  13. I'll bet when John gets wind of these, he will want some.

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  14. Jackie-I think that you now have a line forming..........!!!!!

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  15. I do hope we will be able to buy these at some stage Jackie:-)

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  16. maybe. Adam is thinking about making some more. They would be about £35 which has to be the cheapest way of getting one of my drawings.
    He does so hate making mugs though.

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