CeraTechFile - Number 3

STOP SIGNS - Tile in BAT - Throwing BATS - DIY

I have a pottery wheel with a 34 cm aluminum wheel head. Bats are always or better to say have always been an issue until I real a blog post from Mike Martino who simply made stop signs and attached some wooden blocks to clamp them onto the wheel head. 

I built some like Mikes 4 or 5 years ago with water-resistant MDF and they are still going great. 

Recently I needed some new and wanted to simply and optimise the design for my own use especially when throwing smaller peaces of  less than 24 cm diameter.

First thing I bought so called 'Hydro-MDF' in the local hardware store. Cost for 20 bats ca 50 Euros. The size I planned was 40x40 cm. The whole thing took me about 3h. 

This is the traditional design. Check further below is the new design. 

Next was to cut the squared MDF sheets into octagonal STOP signs.

 The corner pieces are cut twice in half which gives the prefect site for the wooden blocks to clamp bats onto the wheel head.

Measure where to put the clamps and glue them with wood glue and screw the down.

Square the STOP - Tile in BAT

Replacing the STOP bats on an off takes time and often smaller pieces don't need 40x40cm bats. So here is the solution a bat in a bat system. I calculated that a 24x24 bat within the STOP sign would be ideal.

Cutting out 24x24 cm square of the STOP sign and filing a small notch to more easily remove the tile with a screw driver worked perfectly

I had 10 squared tiles cut at the hardware store and with minimal sanding they all fit perfectly. These bats last for at least 3-5 years. Replacing them if ever needed is cheap.

CeraTechFile - Number 1

Bonsai Pot - Oribe - Green Glaze with Iron Oxide Brush Painting - Height 9cm Width 30cm

The firing on December 30th, 2015 adventured into new territory. Trying new glazes and techniques and combining all in one single gas-wood firing.

Bonsai and the corresponding pots have to fit together perfectly. If they do they become a universe of themselves. Creating bonsai pots has become a passion. Now and then I venture to throw new pots often with a specific tree in mind but also often just to create a beautiful piece of ceramics that is looking for the perfect match - sometimes in the future.

Oribe was one of the things I had be ambivalent for a long time. Some ancient pieces are just beautiful other seem simple kitsch. After reading a book about the history of oribe and finding time between Christmas and New Year 2015 it gave it a try.

Here is the glaze recipe that I used to mix up Oribe derived from a formula by Donald Goldsobel:

Custer Feldspar             30.9
Whiting                           22.4
Silica                              25.3
Talc                                   7.8
EPK (Kaolin)                    12.6
Coppercarbonate           5.5

The glazing is done in a way to leave large parts of the pot unglazed. These parts are ideal for brush painting using iron oxide.

The firing was started with gaz and then at ca 1100C was switched to wood. I fire all my pieces in a Phoenix kiln designed by Michael Saelzer. After 12 h the kiln reached ca 1260C and cone 11 went flat. A quick crush cooling to 1080C and closing the kiln to cool down.