Oh no! Hooray!

 I have experienced several occasions of pottery experiments gone wrong, but I would be kidding myself if I believed I had learned nothing from those instances. Sometimes that learning takes a while to cut through the generally foul mood that follows one of these blunders, but none-the-less you do tend to learn something. Today, I am happy to report, is an instance of a completely different nature-- the experiment gone right after looking like it was going to be a huge disaster. I decided to experiment (I somehow always manage to get the urge to experiment on new pieces that I really like...) with a new white underglaze that my studio uses for painting on biskware, I coated the inside of my piece not thinking twice about it. I, however, decorate all of my work in the greenware stage. The underglaze is formulated to flux at about cone 06 which means that it totally fluxed in the bisk!! After the bisk, I started applying the black wash that I use to define my lines, and  I noticed this pinging sound. I look at my bowl and the entire inside is crazing right before my eyes! I decided to glaze it anyway since I liked the bowl so much (who doesn't love fish with wings!). I am so very glad I did, because the clear glaze completely sealed the whole thing, plus, a safe non-porous crazing pattern is a total bonus. Check out this sweet bowl and a few more pieces I'm working on for my show in May at 706.  Look for more pieces in my new series, "Head in the Clouds, Feet on the Ground." Coming Soon!

                     
                                                                      Cloud Bowls