Wood fire results part 1

So, while I was in DC, there was a wood/salt firing. Fortunately, I have good friends who took my pieces and loaded them into the kiln. I owe them a big favor as my pieces turned out great. Above is a dragon sculpt that was originally going to hold glass beads. But, the hole got closed over in the firing. Also, I wasn't too happy with the eyes... too bulging. And so, I decided to give it away.

 Still, he got some lovely ash coloring (the green glassy parts)

And even an ash drip/tear on one of his wings.

And here is the happy owner. I gave the dragon to Miss A. because she will be helping me out when I'm ready to post more of my pieces on Etsy. Just need to make more. Always happy to see happy owners of my work.

Dragon Vase

So, I have a commission to do a 37 cm tall vase (a little over 14 inches tall) and I decided that I should do some practice stacker pots to make sure that I can still throw tall (I've been throwing so many mugs lately!). And the vase you see is the result.

Also, there is a wood salt firing coming up next weekend. I wasn't sure I would complete much of anything in time, but I sure was going to try. A friend had given me 3 bags of Danish White with sand clay, and since that clay takes color very well in wood firings, I knew what clay to use. Just needed to make something.

Made the vase. I really liked how it turned out. The main body is made up of two cylinders that were merged and blended and shaped together. The neck and top part of the vase is a separate cylinder that I attached after trimming. I was very pleased with it. Now, my original idea was to sculpt a dragon on the vase.  But, since I liked the shape of the vase so much, I posted a photo and asked my friends whether or not I should add a dragon. Although a few people said "no", a great majority said "DRAGON!"

And so... here you go... a dragon vase:

RAWR!

Now, the dragon is made of the same clay as the vase. I decided to add some underglaze to the dragon so that it will look different from the rest of the vase when it is fired. Remember, wood fired pieces usually get color from the type of wood you use in the firing. And although you may not get uniform colors, the results can be unexpected. By underglazing the dragon, I will add a bit of control on the end result. I will definitely post photos when it is completed.

And finally, here is a photo of me underglazing my dragon. Photo taken by a friend.