Thursday, November 02, 2006

The finished pieces....

As I emptied the kiln this morning, I picked out some of the small boxes and a bowl that I had posted on the blog several days ago. I took another photo of them in their finished state for comparison purposes.

These pieces are just a few that I had in the kiln for the final glaze firing. This firing permanently coats each piece with a clear, glossy glaze. This also causes the colors to deepen and gives each piece a more finished look.

The glaze also seals the clay making it non-absorbent and impermeable to liquids. I always use lead-free glazes so that the pieces, such as the bowls, pitchers, mugs, etc. are food safe.

Now they are ready to be priced, inventoried and taken over to the local store where they will be displayed and, hopefully, sold.

Most people don't realize how long of a process it is to make a single piece of pottery. From forming, drying, painting, bisque firing, glazing, and then glaze firing....the piece can take several days to complete.

But, it is very satisfying for me to see the finished product after all of my work.

Back to work for me as today I am going to start back into the wet clay to form some new pieces.

..and, so, the process begins again....

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5 comments:

Clara....in TN said...

It's nice to see your finished products. They are so beautiful. God has given you a talent...thanks for sharing your handiwork with us!!!!

Moobear said...

All the pieces are beautiful grammie. I admire your patience to be able to do that. Also, like Clara, you have a God given talent and a gift. Those pieces will mean so much to whoever purchases them. Little treasures they are!


God Bless!

Gattina said...

Great ! Nice job, what a difference ! and you are so right people don't realize what a work and also material costs are behind the end product, they only see the finished thing. That's the same with paintings, how many hours you sit on that. But with all the cheap mechanical products on the market only connaisseurs are willing to pay an adequate price. I wish you good luck and that you sell them all !

Teresa said...

Those are beautiful peaces. I love the colors. Are you artistic in other areas? I'm sure you'll have no trouble selling them.

L. said...

Thanks for all of your sweet comments! These pieces are just a small sampling of what I do...but I wanted to show the process and they were what I had on hand. I do a lot of whimsical and colorful pottery in hopes of making people smile and enjoy owning a small piece of affordable art.

Teresa, I have always been artistic and did some free lance graphic design while my boys were growing up. The pottery has given me a whole different "canvas" for my art and I really love it.