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.