Last Post.

This is it, folks. I have just one little week left in this great trip, in this beautiful country. I am very ready to return home, but typing those words still provokes an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. I don’t want to dwell on it right now…

My last ceramics class, apart from the final, was only atypical in one respect: Raimondo took us on a spontaneous visit to a local jewelry craftsman’s studio. Surprisingly, the studio was practically across the street from my house but I had never been inside before…and that is not because I dislike jewelry. When I saw the beautiful works of art that Stefano Alinari is producing I felt like I had no business being in a shop with prices ranging from the 100’s to 100,000’s (in euros, of course). Some of the pieces were breathtaking; I really enjoy Stefano’s combination of precious gems, pearls, and industrial-looking mechanical pieces.

Here is one of his beautiful rings (and a close-up that makes my fingers appear even more ugly in comparison).

Everything he made was unique, both in its choice of materials and design. These pendants ought to make anyone happy. Looking at them certainly improved the quality of out day.

Since I finished the glazing of my piece, I dedicated the rest of the class period to working on Andrea’s project. The shapes still look the same, just a little more skillfully made at this point.

It is comforting to think that I have sanded my last little geometric shape, but I am sure I will miss it at some point. I am proud of the work I have contributed to Andrea’s project; I believe it has improved the overall quality of our group’s product, and I do not think I (or he) could ask for anything more. I am tempted to take a piece home as a reminder…but I do not think I actually should/will.

When I have a picture of my finished piece—complete with the gold luster glaze—I will post it in an addendum to this post.

Until then, thanks to all for reading. Here are my parting words to you:

Love God. Love people. Pursue what is truly Beautiful.




ADDENDUM: here is a photo of the completely-finished project. I really like how it turned out, though the painted matte design comes through the gold glaze in some places. Still, definitely a souvenir I'll be happy to display!

Finishing...

We still have class next week, but this Friday we present the pieces we have made to Andrea Salvatore. Fingers crossed, everyone.

Here are some before and after pictures of the coin projects that we did during our midterm. The glazing was done after spring break. First, my test coin... which was tested with too much glaze, or the wrong type of glaze. I still really like the coloration (that beautiful green over a transparent blue with hints of wisteria), so I think it will make a good coaster even if the design is practically invisible.

 This coin was the actual product of my midterm practical examination. I glazed it with a transparent violet glaze, which became a delightful, thick paste as it dried. I really like the effect it created, making the clay appear as leather with purple highlights. The picture itself reminds me a bit of my father, so I think this will become a gift as soon as I arrive home.

Other projects that I have been finishing up: the "giglio" test piece that I created on the first day of class. There is a slight relief of the streets of Florence, though that too was mostly lost in the glazing. I still enjoy the glaze pattern that turned out delightfully cracked, although the blue glaze somehow disappeared and would have covered those spots that appear bare along the edges.

Most of the time I spent in class yesterday was actually spent doing some painstaking painting. My poor eyes! Remember how I said I would like to paint a metallic glaze in between the black droplets that covered my amphora's original pattern? Well, that is what I did. Five coats of careful painting in tiny spaces. I hope it turns out well. Here are some photos Professor Raimondo took of the painting process.

Here are pictures of my tiny amphora after its spaces were completely painted with a matte gold glaze.

The rest of my time in class was dedicated to sanding. I hope Salvatore is happy with the result of all the hours I have spent casting, cleaning, sanding, fixing, sanding, glazing, scraping his tiny shapes.

Nearing the End

I have only three weeks left in Italy. È una cosa pazzesca.

Accordingly, we have been experimenting with glazes, finishing our own personal projects (mine turned out to be hidden in the kiln, not broken or stolen), and trying to finish as many pieces as possible for Andrea Salvatore. 

Since I have not posted any pictures for a while, here are some that I took of the items on which I have been working. This is how my amphora looked after the first airbrushing of glossy black glaze over the matte black. When the latex that was covering the painted design melted it left cool droplets of glaze.

The glaze turned out a little bluish and did not fully cover some spots, so I decided to airbrush the whole thing again.

These were the test pieces I used to figure out the glaze combination that I wanted. The tests were not very promising, but I am hoping the final color combination turns out similar to the spot in the top right-hand corner. The fleur-de-lis shape is meant to imitate the "giglio," the lily of Florence, and has a slight relief map of the city. 

This is the giglio shape after I painted it with a transparent blue glaze (olive green before firing), and the burnt orange glaze in the cup will become green when fired. Here you can also see my amphora after it has been re-airbrushed with the glossy black glaze (which turned out to be closer to a midnight blue color). The droplet pattern created by the latex has been amplified by the second coat of glaze. I hope to finish it by painting in between the glaze droplets with a gold or silver lustre glaze, abandoning completely my initial painted design.

This is my finished midterm practical after I glazed it with a transparent wisteria glaze.

Buona Pasqua!

No lesson today since all classes are closed for Pasqua (Easter). 

Only a couple things to report from the past week. I re-airbrushed my little amphora with glossy black glaze, and this time I made sure that I applied more than enough glaze. I went back to see how it turned out later in the week... and could not find my piece anywhere. That made me a little unsettled. Hope it's ok and stored somewhere safe...

The Work Continues

I just realized it's been a very long time since my last post. I'll bring you up to speed, though I unfortunately don't have any pictures of the work we did since Raimondo was unable to be there.

This past class may have seriously shortened my lifespan. Not because of the progress I made on my own personal project--the matte black glaze pattern that I had airbrushed before break was fired and looked pretty good--but because of the next stage in the Andrea Salvatore project. We are now glazing all of the pieces that we have cast, sanded, and fired. And apparently the silica dust from the glaze can be harmful if inhaled. And I definitely stirred up a lot of silica dust. Our amateur glazing skills meant that a lot of pieces were less-than perfect, and Laura (one of the other professors guiding the project) asked me to work on flattening out the rounded sides where the glaze (which was probably slightly too thick) was layered on too thickly. So, in the process of smoothing out those rounded sides and trying to avoid leaving dusty fingerprints, I most likely inhaled more than the doctor-recommended amount of silica dust.

I also took advantage of the class time to paint a geometric design on the unglazed portion of my amphora (using matte black glaze and a fine-tipped brush), cover it with latex, and then reglaze the entire piece. I used the airbrush again, this time using a glossy black glaze instead of the matte black that I used for the first coat. I went back to check on it several days later and interesting things had happened...

I'll try to take a picture of it during the next class period, but for now I'll just describe what happened in the kiln. The entire piece looked not black, but a very dark, midnight-blue color. It had droplets of hardened glaze sitting where the latex had covered the matte pattern... which actually looked pretty cool. The entire piece was also a partially speckled pattern, making me think that I needed to cover it with more glaze than I had used. Reglazing a piece is even more unpredictable than glazing it the first time, but I still plan to airbrush my piece again tomorrow in class and see what happens with the droplets and mottled sides.

Tomorrow's the Day

Today is the last day before our midterm examination. I'm currently finishing my studying (readying back over the passages) and feeling a little unsure about what tomorrow's exam will look like. I know the exam will have a written portion and a practical portion... I'm most nervous about the written portion, and only slightly nervous that I'll have enough time to finish the practical part. The written part could be on basically anything--including my visit to the Bargello museum last week--and I have no idea how specific it will be. Well, guess I'll cross my fingers and hope for the best. 

I already know what we'll have to do for the practical portion, so I'm less nervous. We will have to recreate a large replica of an ancient Roman coin. We had the opportunity to practice last week... so I did. It turned out alright, but it took me 3 hours of work before I was satisfied with how it looked. Tomorrow we'll only have 2.5 hours, so hopefully it'll take me less time now that I've practiced and have a game plan. We shall see.

I wish I had pictures of the coin I worked on this past week, but I didn't take my camera with me. Hopefully you will be satisfied with a text-only post this time... perhaps I can take pictures of my practice coin tomorrow after the exam. 

This past week I also worked more on Andrea's project. I simply stayed after class so that I wouldn't waste any time with starting/stopping or cleaning up multiple days. However, that meant that I was in the ceramics room at F_AIR from 9.00 until 17.00... oh well, sometimes that's just what happens. At this point I'm getting a little nervous that we won't have enough pieces finished to make Andrea happy, and I'm sensing that the professors might feel the same way. We still haven't started glazing any of them, so it's hard to know how many "finished product" pieces we will end up with. 

That reminds me, I finished my glaze tests and decided which combo I'd like to use. I'm planning on using the matte black glaze first, firing it, then covering it with the glossy black glaze before firing it a second time. I'm also hoping that Raimondo will let me use a spray gun to apply a nice, even coat of glaze (at least for the glossy black), but I might have to be content with using a brush or sponge. 

Ok, that's all for now. Back to the books.

Monday, March 5

I spent most of today in the ceramics lab--from 9.00 in the morning to 17.00 in the afternoon. The first half of class was dedicated to practicing techniques of painting black glaze on red clay. We used water to get a feel for the shape and movement of the brushes, then experimented with a matte black glaze on a spare tile of red clay. 

This practice will be very helpful for when we create designs on the pieces we've been creating. Right now I'm considering doing a geometric pattern (similar to the one I painted here) around the upper rim of my piece, though I'd like to create the pattern in red on a black background. The amphora pictured here was made by a previous student and is our illustration of technique. I've been testing a couple different types of glazes--mostly combinations of matte and glossy black--on pieces of red clay that I burnished with a spoon to match the surface of my amphora. Those pieces will be fired for a second time this week, and then I'll be able to decide which combination of glazes I like the best. 

Since I want to create a pattern that is red on black, perhaps I will use latex to prevent the design from being covered in black glaze. Today Raimondo showed us how easy it was to cover spaces with latex and then rub it off after it dries. If he says I can paint it on with a fine paintbrush, I think that will work best for the design I have in mind.

Raimondo also showed us some "salami" beads made of Murano glass that can be used in conjunction with our ceramics projects. If these colorful beads are fired at half their melting temperature, they form a rounded shape that is quite beautiful. Each of the students in our class has received a metal ring mount and the promise of getting to choose a glass bead for a ring of our own design. The girls in the class were definitely more excited about it that I, but I still think the beads are quite beautiful. We'll see how this ring turns out...

The rest of my time in the lab today was spent on preparing more pieces for Salvatori's creation. I did a lot of sanding... a lot. I was glad that I took my iPhone along and could listen to music while I worked. At this point there are at least 50 pieces, probably more, that are finished and waiting to be glazed or fired. Here are pictures of some of the pieces still waiting to be sanded, fired, and glazed. 

Unfortunately, the time I put in today is the most I can spare for this week. With more homework for Ceramics (visit to the Bargello museum, practice for the midterm) and midterms next week, I'm entering "buckle down" mode.