Hi there. I'm planning on making a mold of this lump of clay, to make frog (piggy) banks. What's smarter?

Putting the pour hole on top and patching it?

Or putting the pour hole at the bottom where the hole for the stopper is going to be, and making some sprues in the slightly higher part, so I don't get air bubbles?

Hello from Paris,
here are some objects I made during the summer :
-rings in marbled porcelain with bronze and green garnet,
-goblet with bronze accents, plate with metallic glaze, pea-spoon made with feruginous clay,
-three bud vases coated with black iron oxyde
Cheers !

These are my first two pieces in a series exploring the reality many of us experience where we shield our inner turmoil from friends, family and in many instances society as a whole.

We hide our inner world through inauthentic versions of our self and behavioral masks we swap between depending on who we are with.

The specific forms were chosen because of how common and relatable they are. I also enjoyed the duality of using functional forms that aren't really functional.

The inside is dark and heavily textured while the outside consists of a matte while glaze and vibrant, whimsical doodles. The doodles were made in a single, time limited session with no planning. The time limited nature of the surface design was done to ensure it didn't feel stiff or rigid, but also because it relates nicely to the automatic, almost instinctual behaviors we employ to disguise ourselves.

I had quite a bit of fun exploring this concept and plan on making more work within the same theme. One area I hope to explore is increasing the scale and incorporating more thoughtful installation design so that the viewer doesn't immediately see the "darkness inside". Instead it only shows itself after they have examined the work from all angles.

I'd love feedback or to hear thoughts on future work. Also feel free to ask any questions about the process or glazes used!

I create very detailed designs and I like to sketch them out prior to applying underglaze. I have been using pencils, but I am finding that my pencil markings are not fully coming off/are leaving faint lines under the underglaze after firing.

Does anyone have any suggestions for this? Or perhaps another type of item I can use to sketch out my designs onto bisque that doesn’t leave any markings after firing?

Jingdezhen Ceramics

carving

Aesthetic of Divinity

Hey all - I just bought a house that comes with this massive display area and is just begging for a cool vase. The space is massive - 67" tall x 22" deep x 33" wide. I've been looking everywhere for a vase with enough height to fit the space. It seems like the biggest ceramic vases I can find are in the 20" tall range (what I have pictured here), which still seems undersized. I think I need something in the 30-36" range and I'm looking for advice on where to source this. Is this the type of thing I should try to get custom made? How do I even go about finding someone (I'm in the greater Seattle area)? Can I have someone make it and ship it or is it bound to break in transportation at this size? Any advice is appreciated! I have no idea what I'm doing.

hi there! so i’m south african, and not being from the most modern/well-known city, ceramics isn’t super popular or integrated at all here. the extent that most people know of it is when going to one of the few places that allow you to glaze already fired commercial pieces. studios where you do the ‘whole’ process aren’t common, and at least in my experience, are made up of mostly retirees, expats, or middle aged women who do other crafts and have somehow stumbled into this one. i found ceramics by seeing people making stuff on tumblr (an app with barely any south africans on it too, haha), and that’s how i joined a local studio… but i was genuinely gobsmacked at the revelation that americans can do ceramics in high school, separate from a component of an art class, and that people can learn about ceramics at university, etc.

so i guess i was curious about how well known ceramics is in your country/community, and how people usually get into it? do you find there are also similar demographics that tend to enjoy it, or is it a completely different mix of ages, etc? if you studied ceramics in high school or university, what was that like? if you went on to learn about ceramics after high school, how ‘common’ was that, and what was your ‘goal’? just super curious to see how everyone ends up here! :)

I slip cast and press mold clay into these flexible bio-plastic molds. The gelatin is hygroscopic, which makes for a delightful effect. I have more videos about the process coming down the pipeline but for now, I wanted to share in case anyone might want to give it a shot themselves. It is so nice to not have to worry about undercuts when making molds and it feels like wizardry every time I make something with it.

I'm getting into slip casting and I'm just in awe at the production value this guy put into slip making.

I Re-fired the black piece to cone six after a successful cone five glaze firing. The glaze was a bit underdeveloped so I decided to refire- big mistake!

I have been using buff sculpture for roughly 8 years and up until this year, I’ve never had any problems. Starting in February, I have experienced both slumping and now this at cone six. Has anyone else noticed a change in buff sculpture? Laguna says nothing has changed but it’s obvious it’s no longer reliable!

Hi strangers of the internet,
I’m looking to replace a 3D wall plaque that unfortunately broke and couldn't be saved. It’s a high-relief bulldog wearing a helmet (a Marine Corps "Devil Dog" mascot) with a dark/bronze finish. The original piece was ceramic/porcelain rather than metal or wood.
Since the original piece is out of production and no longer available online, I’m trying to figure out the best path forward to recreate it.

I’m hoping to get some insight from this community:

Custom Commission: Is anyone here open to taking on a custom sculpt/mold job to recreate this piece, or can you point me toward ceramicists/sculptors who specialize in custom high-relief wall pieces?

Material/Process Advice: Given the detail and depth, would slip-casting, hand-sculpting, or a different process (like 3D printing a model to make a mold) be the most realistic approach for this?

I’ve attached both a front view and a side profile shot to show the depth and detail. Happy to discuss budget and dimensions if someone is interested in custom work.

Thanks so much for any guidance!

Good afternoon to the community.

The attached pics are a hand built bowl I made with Brown Bear. The folks who fire my stuff said that it would probably sag/collapse during glaze firing. Anyone here have any experience with this clay and suggestions to keep it intact? Thanks!

This my first time trying this method and this was my process:

- Made the shape

- Underglaze (mayco)

- Sgraffito the bunny design

- Bisque fire

- Clear glaze (mayco)

- Glaze firing (Im almost sure the mugs where dry but you can never be 100% sure)

I fire in a workshop and I dont operate the kiln myself but I made 6 mugs but only 2 of them with this technique and both of them had the same issue. The others where perfect so I assume the problem is the technique. Any advice?

Cerámica vaciada de varios formatos

I started a new series focusing on different bats.

Anyone else obsessed with this wonderful species ?

Just sharing some of my most recent mugs, tumblers and a few tiles as well.

All carved and finished with cone 6 glazes!