Kevin Gen. 2 got too hot too fast. I candled him for 24 hours, but he still wasn’t dry enough. Here are the remains. I have to figure out a way to install him in the 840 show anyway on Wednesday. Pictures of that will be posted as well. This is highly disappointing.
Oh well. Not much I can do about it now.
He’s still unfired, but he’s finished and drying out. He’ll be put into a bisque fire on Thursday!!! More pictures soon.
I’ve been working on Kevin Gen. 2 for about 7 days now. Hopefully I can finish building him this afternoon. Scratch that, I have to finish building him this afternoon.
Here he is, nearly build, but before any riveting was added.
And here he is now. You can see that I’ve started adding the rivet strips.
So, that’s where I’m at. He will weigh about 80lbs after being fired (I think) which is a sharp contrast to Kevin Gen. 1 who was about 250 after firing. This guy has no internal structure whatsoever, I’ve just been slipping and scoring the hell out of slabs as I build him. Also he’s made of Raku clay with 25lbs of grog to 100 lbs of clay, which is much stronger than the stoneware I used before.
SHAMELESS SELF PLUG: My studio will have a show in the 840 Gallery in the DAAP building on UC’s campus that everyone should attend. There should be some pretty interesting work in it, and of course Kevin Gen. 2 will be there, so you can come see him in person. Everyone has only had 3 weeks to complete whatever is going into the show, which is pretty impressive. The opening is on the 19th of October, and there should be some “refreshments”. Not sure yet if there will be beer and wine, but it’s a possibility. Attend!
Kevin, my big monster was fired in a cone 6 glaze kiln a few days ago. As I was shutting that huge metal door behind him, I felt like a mother sending her child off on the school bus for their first day of kindergarden. I was nervous, but I knew he had to go. Then, two days later when I opened the kiln door, I saw this. Kevin did not survive.
As the clay shrunk, it shrunk away from its self in some areas. When I build another piece like this I will be using Raku clay, which is much heartier than stoneware. Obviously I’m disappointed that it didn’t work, but it was a learning experience and I just have to think of it as a test run of things to come.
Thanks for looking!
I’m finally finished building!!!!
In theses pictures you can see where I’ve carved away to get ready to inlay the underglaze. Please ignore that giant lump of clay holding the tail up, it’s just there for support until the clay stiffens up, so all of that will just be negative space when all is finished.
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I’ve also started applying the black underglaze. It looks a mess because I still have to finish scraping the edges of the inlayed areas. Toward the bottom you can kind of see where I’ve scraped some of it away (the lines are thinner and cleaner). But eventually all of the lines will be that quality.
I posted a sketch and a small explaination of the giant ceramic creature I am currently building. I’ve been working for two weeks and he/she/it is finally almost all the way built. It’s been a slow process because the internal structure is a system of arches that supports the weight and curvature of the form.
I still have to add all of the details, and finish the top, but it’s getting close to the fun part! I should be ready to put the rivets and machine-parts on soon. They will run all along the belly and bulbous back like rivets on an old fashion diving suit.
I will post more in process images soon, as well as my glaze tests for it.
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JAIMI RYAN 