2017 Progress Report: July

Throughout July, most of my work consisted of pieces that I plan to put on sale over the next few months, though there are at least two pieces that I want to keep in my permanent collection as soon as they are finished. This work would resume throughout early August. I hope to have everything here finished before the end of the year. Overall, July was a very productive month for me.

7/5/17: Burnishing work is done. Overall, this turned out okay.

7/5/17: The burnishing turned out okay here, though the grooves left from the coils made the burnishing somewhat difficult.

7/5/17: The burnishing on this piece did not turn out too badly.

7/5/17: The burnishing on this piece turned out pretty well.

7/11/17: The burnishing on this one was somewhat difficult compared to the last one  mostly because of the curve at the bottom.

7/12/17: This piece made it through the bisque firing successfully.

7/12/17: This piece made it through the bisque firing successfully.

7/12/17: This piece made it through the bisque firing successfully.

7/12/17: This piece made it through the bisque firing successfully.

7/12/17: I'm making preparations for a saggar firing. I'm using leaves which something I don't normally use.

7/12/17: This piece is almost ready for the saggar firing.

7/12/17: This piece is wrapped up and is not ready for the saggar firing.

7/12/17: This piece is wrapped up and is not ready for the saggar firing.

7/12/17: This is the first of three pieces that are based on a piece I did last year called Equilibrium. 

7/12/17: This is the second of three pieces that are based on a piece I did last year called Equilibrium. 

7/12/17: This is the third piece that is based on a piece I did last year called Equilibrium. 

7/12/17: The saggar firing turned out pretty good. I'll end up keeping this piece, though it needs more work.

7/12/17: This saggar firing actually turned out pretty good. I'm keeping this one.

7/18/17: The burnishing work on the pieces turned out somewhat okay. It was difficult though.

7/18/17: These are the next generation of dish pieces that I want to put up for same when they're complete. This is the small set.

7/25/17: These are the next generation of dish pieces that I want to put up for same when they're complete. This is the medium set.

726/17: These are the next generation of dish pieces that I want to put up for same when they're complete. This is the large set.

2017 Progress Report: June

Throughout the month of June, I had three specific goals in mind. The first goal was to order new clay. The second goal was to work on two projects from the spring that I couldn't work on before because I ran out of clay. The third goal was to begin work on new pieces that I eventually want to sell. This work would resume throughout July as well.

6/7/17: I had to order some new clay over the summer. I ended up getting 50 lbs of white clay and 100lbs of sculpting clay.

6/13/17: Last year, I made a piece that looked like this called The Coming Storm. It ended up being a pit fired piece.  This year, I want to make something with a similar form, but have it as a saggar firing.

6/14/17: The piece has been smoothed out a little over the previous 24 hours.

6/14/17: Last year, I made a piece that was pit fired called Creation. This year, I want to make a similar egg-shaped piece that will be saggar fired instead. However, I also want to make more pit fired eggs to sell. This was the first in a few eggs I would make. I would later decide which piece will be the saggar piece and which ones will be the pit pieces.

6/20/17: This is the second egg piece. I didn't like this one as much because the grooves from the coils were still showing a little bit.

6/21/17: I believe this was the third egg. There's not much to say about this one.

6/21/17: This is the fourth egg. I think I liked this one and the first one the best.

6/27/17: Now comes the process of slowly allowing the eggs to dry just enough to do the burnishing work. Since I could only make it to the studio on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, that meant that I would need to keep my work sealed for almost a week. This was annoying because it slowed the drying process too much at times, but I had to do it this way.

2017 Progress Report: May-Part 3

I originally didn't intend to make a third May report. The only reason I am making one is because I forgot about two pictures from the very end of the month and I didn't want to add them to report #2 because I think at this point most people who saw that aren't going to look at it again and I don't expect it to get too many new views.

There are only two pictures. They are both of the project I've been working on called Anathema. This was one of the projects that I wanted to have ready for my show but couldn't. Now I'm glad it did not get done for the show because later on, I would discover some structural issues with the legs that needed to be resolved. The mistakes with the legs were made years ago. If I were starting on the same piece from scratch today, that issue would never have occurred. Speaking of which, it is interesting to point out that Anathema's development began back in early 2008. It went through several changes before becoming what it is now. Perhaps at some point in the future, I'll talk about it more, but let's just say that Anathema is probably about 70% complete and I hope to have it done by sometime next month which would be a little under 10 years of on and off development.

So enjoy these two pictures and keep a lookout for the June report.

5/31/17: I had to reinforce the legs. I was kind of pissed about this because it meant that the time I spend painting this was a complete waste.

5/31/17: Some legs needed reinforcing more than others. In some cases, I may have been overdoing it, but I wanted to make sure they were going to be okay this time.

2017 Progress Report: May-Part 2

This was a very strange time for me. Despite always promising myself that I will have my work done well before a show starts, it never seems to work out that way. It was interesting because I was supposed to have the show set on May 8 and instead, I spent the entire day working in the very same room I was supposed to be setting up in. As soon as a piece was done, it went up on the wall or pedestal depending on the piece. Two pieces, the ones titled 'Anathema' and "Black Widow' did not get done in time. While I was disappointed, the show was still complete and work continued after the show.

I mentioned my show on here despite not showing any pictures of it. That show was titled The Winds of Change and I plan on talking about that show at some point in the future. Until then, keep on the lookout for the June and July reports.

5/7/17: The molding paste work has been done on the back. Painting will have to be done when the molding paste dries.

5/7/17: Molding paste work is done.

5/7/17: The final layer of pumice gel has been applied. It will take a little while to dry.

5/7/17: The spray painting in done and soon, the acrylic paints will be added.

5/7/17: The back has been spray painted. Part of it had to be covered with paper in order to protect the name label.

5/7/17: The back has been spray painted except for the small area by the name label.

5/7/17: Some spray painting has been done.

5/7/17: The back has also been spray painted.

5/7/17: Light molding paste has been applied around the name label.

5/7/17: Spray painting work has been done on the front, though the pumice gel is not completely dry.  I have to be very careful with it.

5/7/17: The back has been spray painted, though the area by the name label had to be covered. Like the front, the back is also somewhat soft and has to be handled carefully. 

5/7/17: I want to say that this day was the day I did some trimming on the piece and finally glued it into place. The drawing is not anywhere near complete and I don't like doing this without completing the drawing first, but sometimes, it has to be done. Unfortunately, this piece was not done in time for the upcoming show.

5/8/17: Molding paste work had been done. This piece is now sealed on here for good.

5/8/17: Some fiber paste work has been done to seal off the divide between the frame and the picture.

5/8/17: The painting around the label is done.

5/8/17: The painting around the label is done.

5/8/17: The felt has been added and this piece is finally finished.

5/8/17: The felt has been added and this piece is finally finished.

5/8/17: The felt has been added and this piece is finally finished.

5/8/17: The metallic paint work is done and some of the felt is in place.

5/8/17: This piece is finally done and is ready for the show.

5/9/17: After some last minute frustrations involving a minor broken piece on the end, this piece is finally done and is ready for the show.

5/9/17: This piece is done and is ready to be hung up for the show.

5/9/17: This piece is finally done and is ready for the show.

5/9/17: I took a picture of the front of this because of the difference the polymer gloss made . Before some parts of this had washed out colors. It looks better now.

5/9/17: The back of this is done and this piece is now ready for the show.

5/9/17: This piece is finished and is ready for the show.

5/10/17: The basic painting is finished. The metallic paint will be next.

5/10/17: The painting on the back is finished except for the metallic paint. Unlike the front, the back only uses black because I felt it wasn't as necessary to make the back more detailed.

5/10/17: The basic painting work is done.

5/10/17: The basic paint work on the back is finished.

5/10/17: The metallic paint work is done.

5/10/17: The metallic paint work on the back is finished.

5/10/17: Polymer gloss has been added.

5/10/17: The polymer gloss work as well as the felt work and work with the hanging wire is done. This piece is ready for the show.

5/10/17: The metallic paint and polymer gloss work is done.

5/10/17: Everything is in place. This piece is ready for the show.

5/16/17: Despite not getting done in time for the show, the work still continues. The drawing is done. The only thing I don't like is that I feel some of the shading is a bit too soft.