The third assignment in my ceramics class was to continue concentrating on both the foot and the rim of a vessel, not necessarily a bowl. I think things are starting to gel a little and I’m getting the hang of this fancy-free exploration. I like the way these pieces turned out, especially the bottom two. I’ve gone on to make quite a few bowls like the one on the bottom left, with a rolled and pinched rim. With a rim like this, you have to poke a small hole on the underside to let the air escape during firing, or you risk the chance of it exploding in the kiln. I was a little nervous when they went into the kiln at Harvard. It’s one thing to experiment in my own kiln – quite another to experiment in someone else’s. The other students wouldn’t exactly be pleased to find bits and pieces of my work stuck to theirs. Luckily the bowls made it through the bisque firing just fine, but I wasn’t brave enough to send them through the school’s glaze firing. I figured the glaze would melt and might fill in the holes, even though I re-poked them with a needle. I ended up glazing the rolled-rimmed bowls on my own and am happy to report that they came out quite nicely, and more importantly, in one piece. I’ll post some photos of finished work soon.
OOOH! i really want to see the top left one once it’s fired–that’s a cool piece!
Very nice! I like the rolled rim also. You should only have problems with explosions in the bisque kiln. I have never had any pot explode in a glaze kiln. Even if the hole gets sealed with glaze it should be fine. One reason is the glaze doesn’t melt until a higher temperature plus any moisture should be long gone from the kiln. Smile!
Thanks for the tip, Walter. I don’t like poking the holes in the rims because it leaves a mark, so I took a chance and sent a few bowls through my bisque kiln without them and they did just fine. I was wondering what would happen in the glaze kiln…glad to hear they should make it through. Thanks again!
I know some ceramic artists who make pin holes with their needle tool and then let the glaze seal the hole later. All you are doing is releasing any pressure built up by steam, like a pressure cooker. Peace!