REDUX, sounds like "reduce", sort of, defined as
“Brought back; returned. Used postpositively.“
As a potter contributing to the
non-degrading mass of ceramics on this planet, it pains me to find mountains of
discarded clay-wares landfill-bound simply because they have passed fashion or
lost a useful home (see my previous post "Viva Ceramica")
All the while I work my tail off to
create new ceramics that may too soon face the same demise. I smash up broken
or too hideous pieces for mosaics, drainage and ground cover. But there are
many plain pots that I can revive into functionality with decals I create from
my own designs and fire into these rejected compatriots.
The first load was a bit disappointing.
I was able to wipe off the design and some of the glazes bubbled into
strange tracks. Of course some cracked too.
I read some
articles, consulted some online forums, and took the firing up to a higher
cone. Much better! Clearly not a perfect process, but it gives me a
deeper understanding of the entire process.
They will be a lower cost product (see my etsy link below)
which is not necessarily the most brilliant business move, but they
help alleviate the concern about my own contribution to
the indestructible heap.
Please, tell me what you think!
Love it, Liz! What a great idea! And I love the results. Your peacock, and birds in general, is amazing! And the whale too...OK, I guess I love it all. How do you make your decals?
ReplyDeleteI had to buy a laser jet printer because its ink has iron oxide in it. Then I could print on the decal paper, cut them out and stick them on the pots before firing them. Lots of time messing with images in photoshop to make them simple black and white, taking the curve and such out of the original pots/images.
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining, I couldn't quite figure it out before. Seems time-consuming but the result is great!
DeleteLove it too! I think they look fantastic too! Are these from salvaged ceramicware that you found at thift stores and such?
ReplyDeletesure are! so much plain pottery gets dumped when all it needs is a little revision....
ReplyDelete