Preparing an angular vase for its reduction firing, starting by thinning out excess drips around the rim to create a flush, even surface, otherwise, once fired it could look rather bulky around the fine lip. Then the walls beneath are given a once over, the glaze just lightly fettled with a metal scraper and finally the foot is given a proper clean, to remove any pesky drops of glaze that have settled onto the wax, and to create an even, clean line, all around the bottom.
I got through about 35 hours of audiobooks last week by sitting and doing this, for vases, bowls, mugs, teapots, everything. It’s quite engaging work, yet it’s tedious and it’s unbelievably easy to make a mistake, not to mention that with smaller vessels, the hand that grips the pot to keep it steady as I work, is tensed for hours on end and that can quickly become quite uncomfortable.
Rest assured, if and when I begin taking on apprentices, I hope they enjoy glazing…
#glaze #pottery #vase #handmade #asmr #craft