Getting back in the groove,,,,,

Greetings!!

Yesterday was my first day back to glazing and let me tell you, its not easy getting back in the groove after taking the winter off, LOL.

My hand was pretty shaky for the first hour or so.  So I will have some touch up to do for sure.  Banding is not as easy as it looks to begin with.  You have to make sure your piece is perfectly centered on the banding wheel.  Otherwise you come out with a band that either wobbles or does not connect when you make the first circle.  You have to turn the wheel with one hand and hold your brush with the other.

Some of my pieces are too big for my wheel so I put the wheel on top of a child's stool and turn the piece upside down.  But doing that means it becomes not just a centering issue but a balancing one as well.  To get it set up perfectly takes a lot of patience and I have been known to take as much time to center and balance as it did to glaze the entire piece.  But the finished product is worth it.

My pieces do not come out 100% perfect.  But they are hand painted.  No one can ever accuse me of using a machine to paint my wares!! 

I did not get as much done yesterday as I had hoped to but its a start.  I guess it is going to take a few days to really get back in the groove.  But I love what I am doing so that is OK.
Here are a few pictures of what I am working on.

This is the largest of a set of three mixing bowls.  Really too large for the wheel.  So I will have to make some adjustments.  This is bisque, it has been fired once but not glazed yet.

Here is the same piece turned upside down on the wheel and the wheel sitting on the child's stool I told you about.  Now I have to make sure it is balanced and centered before I begin glazing.

The first coat of blue bands is on.  Two more coats of blue then I can clean up the edges and fix any mistakes before I move on to the white and yellow.

This is actually the medium sized bowl in the set.  I now have 3 coats of the blue and white and two coats of the yellow.  The colors once fired will be much brighter and deeper.  As you can see, I will have some touch up to do before it can go in the kiln.

Finally, 3 coats of each color on.  I will need to put a clear satin glaze over the blue and white bands yet after I make sure all mistakes are touched up and it looks the best it can.  Then it will head to the kiln for firing.  I will be able to fire all 3 bowls in the same kiln load along with some other smaller projects.

Each time I open the kiln I am like a kid on Christmas morning opening presents.  I love it and still get excited!!  Not sure if I will make it or not but I do hope to finish up glazing this set today.

Until next time,,,,,,,  Blessings