Author: admin

So I do love tiny pottery, but I’m also trying to make some functional stuff. The latest is Expresso cups. It’s been a couple of months of development so far; here’s what I’m doing: Make/get a 3d model Print it Make plaster molds of the prints Make slip Slip cast cups. Dry them. Fire them Glaze fire them. Phew. So… Read more →

I really wish I write something down last year!! It took ages, but finally got it working. They were all going green because the copper oxidised too quickly. This part of raku needs to be starved or oxygen. I was using a pot with airholes because the lid kept popping off. This works for naked raku where all we need… Read more →

I waited for ages before I bought myself specialty glazes that I had been lusting after. Raku Copper Metalic and Transparent Crackle. I enjoyed how reliable and repeatable the Stroke & Coat glazes were, so am really disappointed how I can’t get these to work. Take a look at All-going-wrong to check out the firing notes for the tiles. So… Read more →

So 8 months into my new pottery life, and suddenly it’s all going wrong. I got some specialty glazes and they don’t behave as nicely at the Mayco Stroke and Coat So it’s time to get organised. I have fired a bunch of test tiles in the 2 clays I have, and am about to start my glaze library… So… Read more →

I’m no good at throwing the same thing twice, so decided in order to make shot glasses, I needed to slip cast.(finished cups available on my ETSY Store: FlusterMakes) My third attempt at a slip-cast mould was a success, but how about the slip? I don’t have much space in my tiny flat; most of my pottery kit fits into… Read more →

OMG.. My newest obsession. Naked Raku. Naked – no glaze, what you see is just the clay. The fired pot is burnished until smooth and then coated in a thick layer of clay slip & glaze before firing again. As this second layer fires, it cracks and crazes in unpredictable patterns. Then when red hot, the pot is dropped into… Read more →

A lifetime ago, I was at art college and worked a lot with plaster and casting. I love plaster, smooth slippy, and really useful. Before that on my foundation I made one slipcast thing (actually two of the same thing). I modified a vase from a charity shop and made a plaster mould. Badly fired in an old waste paper… Read more →

So I’m a potter now. Never really did it before. A bit on my art foundation, but none on my degree or since. I saw a tiny potter’s wheel online and thought it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen, so naturally got one. It sat mostly unused for 6 months because what’s the point if I can’t… Read more →

I really have no idea what I’m doing. It’s what I love about making stuff in my kitchen, there is no-one to tell me how to do things the correct way, so I make it up! This week. Raku firing. 2 Youtube videos later, I’m a freaking expert. So I have this cobblestone glaze, as it fires it contracts and… Read more →

So I use a microwave kiln, there is no thermometer, so it’s a little hit and miss, but I think I have the sweet spot for Mayco Stroke & Coat. darker base shows better..15 mins/15 mins.. Try thicker cobblestone. No good on the yellow. 15mins/15mins. It’s smooth and shiney but maybe could be a little smoother. Add 2 more mins… Read more →