A Couple of "WOW" Bonsai Pots from the Kiln

I'd just opened the kiln from the previous post where I'd loaded it up with a hard to fit moon/cascade pot.

What a beautiful surprise.

I'd made a pot without a drainage hole for a willow that was always drying out and wouldn't perhaps survive much longer without continual access to at least some water on the bottom of the pot.(albeit through a drainage layer)

My daughters first reaction was "it looks like a pond".  It'd be almost a shame to cover up that beautiful coloured shiny glaze on the bottom.  Perhaps a few strategically placed stones above the drainage layer and some water may well create that illusion.  It will be interesting to see what happens to it.

The pot needed to have slits along the sides to enable a little water to drain out when it got to a certain height. While a small fissure type gap would have done, I think I overdid it with the slits I made on it.  However they don't look out of place in the whole scheme of things.

This is a one of a kind pot......the remains of two glazes were mixed together to make enough for this one. A little too much flux meant the glaze ran beautifully, but also ran down the outside onto the shelf.  It adds to the watery flowing nature of the pot. 

I wont hesitate to keep it if it doesn't suit the willows owner!

The other "WOW", or should I perhaps say "SIGH OF RELIEF" was from that crescent that had been tucked away on the bottom and surrounded by other conventionally shaped bonsai pots.

My worst fear was that the top would slump right down in the high glazing temperature and end up flat on the kiln shelf.   But it didn't happen........I feel the pot has a beautiful shape!

The owner to be of this crescent was very happy with it, as was I.  The challenge ahead will be to make one or two more with that same "sweep" shape. 

Overall, this firing was a success, and more importantly, I learned a little more......

Contact me on howimakebonsaipots@gmail.com, opinions and comments are most welcome.

Loading the Kiln with an Awkward Shape Bonsai Crescent

One of the challenges of loading up a kiln for a glaze firing is making sure you can fit as much as possible into it with the little space available.

This load has a larger crescent shape in it.  It takes up just over half the height of the kiln and has an overhang that doesn't really allow a kiln shelf to be placed lower down.  Well.....not normally.

Here's the sequence I loaded it in. 

A few more pots were nestled underneath the bottom curve with maybe 2 or 3cm clearance.

Here you see the awkwardness of the shape.  There was just enough space along the sides of this crescent to ease in a half shelf.  I wasn't quite happy about the clearance from the shelf edge to the side of it, but if it slumps a little in the high temperature, then at least the shelf is going to stop it a little.  The back of it is reasonably close to the side kiln elements as usually I try and keep pots about 1cm away.

Usually when you place the kiln shelves, you make sure to have an even gap around the edge to let the air/heat circulate evenly, but this was as even as I could manage to get this one.

I squeezed in 4 pots on the layer above the crescent, and another half shelf with two on it.

There is quite a bit of wasted space in this load as I would usually put another half shelf in but the top of that crescent made it too awkward.

Its all closed up now and is quite happily firing away into the night.........now comes the long wait until I can open it up and see how some of these glazes turned out........fingers crossed!

Hopefully one or two of these will end up on my Pots for sale page in the next week or two.

Contact me on howimakebonsaipots@gmail.com, any opinions or comments are most welcome.




Looks Like the Kiln is Overfiring

Recently I purchased some large cones used to check the temperature the kiln is firing at.  Because I have a kiln that uses a kiln sitter and doesn't have a temperature controller or a thermocouple, I am relying heavily on the little mini cone that bends when it reaches a certain temperature to turn off the kiln.

I've had my suspicions that my old sitter kiln may be firing higher than what I wanted it too. Some of my glazes had been starting to run a little too much, it never used to be too much of an issue.

I had the opportunity to purchase a used portable thermometer that could be used to measure temperatures up to 1300degrees Celcius.  While it needed the end replaced, it was still useable and appeared to have a reasonably accurate temperature.

Firstly the end is placed in the kiln peephole while the kiln was firing and after a fairly short wait it comes up with the temperature at the end of the wire.

(just a demo to show how it works, kiln already emptied)

The kiln had been loaded and had been on for 8 hours already.  When I put the probe in it came right up to 1094degrees Celcius.  Because this was a bisque firing I only wanted it to go to cone 04 (approx. 1000degrees Celcius)  Already it was 100 degrees over according to this thermometer.   The kiln turned off shortly after.

This is a pic of the little 04 cone that bends when it reaches the correct temperature.  When it bends the middle bar falls down when triggers the cut  off switch. The number of the cone correlates to the temperature it bends at.

I thought with end probe being a little burnt off that perhaps it wasn't that accurate anyway.

However when I unloaded the kiln I found that the two large o4 cones that had been sitting on the top and bottom shelf had well and truly fallen and were resting on the kiln shelf.  This had confirmed the over firing.

 A closer look at the fallen 04 cone that was on the top shelf

Normally the cone wouldn't bend right over to touch the shelf.  Unfortunately I don't have any 03 cones to see just how far the temperature really did get.

The pots from this load all looked a little duller in colour than the normal pinky bisque shade.  Just slightly though.

It will be interesting to see how well they absorb the glaze. I'm also wondering just how long this has been happening as usually I don't put cones on the shelves to check.
The large crescent that I talked about in the last blog was bisque fired with this load as well.

The top overhang did drop quite a bit, I had a feeling it might.  It will be interesting to see how much more it drops in the final glaze firing where the temperature is another 260-80 degrees above the bisque.

The lesson I've learned is to regularly check the firing temperatures with cones on the shelves.  Not too important with the glaze firing as most of my clays/glazes will withstand a little higher temperature without any negative affects, but the bisque firing temperature can affect how much glaze can be absorbed as the clay has already started to vitrify and is not so porous.

Things would be much easier if I had a new kiln with a temperature controller and a thermocouple, then I'd know exactly at a glance what was going on.  It looks like I'll have to sell a heap of bonsai pots to afford one of those!

My First Attempt at a Larger Moon/Crescent Bonsai Pot.

Here 'tis.
Its dimensions are: 37cm high x 43cm long x 9cm deep(at lowest point)  30cm wide at bottom
or in inches:  14inches high x 17inches long x 3.5inches deep(at lowest point)  12 inches wide at bottom.                       
Someone a few months ago had asked if I could make one approx. 40cm high and long.  Unfortunately I think this will be as large as I can make without having an extra pair of hands to help handle the sometimes awkward process.

After a bit of head scratching, hunting and innovation I managed to make a larger crescent bonsai pot.  The final shape was a little hit and miss as I had to more or less "hang" it upside down until it got to the leather hard stage.

Its supported by a stick and two big globs of clay at each end.  Its the only way I could think of for supporting the convex part of the pot.  I leaned a piece of gib offcut against the outer wall as well.  Even though its leather hard, there is a lot of stress on that curve. Gravity is saying it should be bending down, and I'm saying "stay up there until you're dry!

There is only a small flat area on the bottom.  I've added lots of small holes instead of large drainage holes.  When I remove the support I'll add one large hole in the middle.

This is the view looking into it.  Its not the view that the pot would be displayed at, so I'm not too bothered about the excess clay on the right side.

  I have a few questions and would value the opinion of some more experienced bonsai enthusiasts. Especially those that have used this type of pot before and have come across problems.


1.    Does it look deep enough for a reasonable sized  trees rootball?


2     I'm worried that it may tip backwards unless there's more weight put on  the front end, (addition of a rock at the front to counterbalance the weight of the top curve?


3.    I haven't added feet as I feel it would spoil the sweeping flick shape. I know it needs to be off the ground slightly for drainage, would a few pebbles/stones placed underneath be enough?


4.    The drainage holes in the bottom, would these small holes and one larger in the middle be enough?


5.    What do you think of the proportions, should it be higher and less long, or longer and more sleek looking?


I personally am really pleased with how its turned out so far, but still a long way to go before its finished.  A bisque and glaze firing to get through first.  Which makes me wonder if I am going to need to support the upper part of the pot in the kiln as well, especially in the glaze firing when the clay gets quite soft at the higher temperatures..... perhaps someone can help out with a suggestion to that wee problem.

Will keep you posted on how she turns out.  Fingers crossed.

A Few More Pots From the Latest Firing

There had been a few bonsai pots sitting on the shelf unfinished for the last couple of months.  Mainly because I had decided to play around with the recipe for the ivory crackled pots.

3/4 of this small load was the result of  "cross your fingers and hope it works out!"

I'll sort through them over the next day or two and put some of them on my "Bonsai Pots for Sale" page

 These were the pots that came out.  I was really pleased with them, especially the large round one on the end.

 The bottom of this pot was quite dark, as I realized when I applied the wash to it.  A lot of the darkness fired out, but the lower area is still quite dark compared to the middle and top.

 This pot is one that I've labelled as special.  Sometimes a pot will come out of the kiln and it has that something special. Nothing you can pin point in words, it just has that X factor.  Everything has come together.  This one is quite honey coloured.  The crackling is just amazing on it.  I suspect it may be a "keeper", may have to think about it for a day or two.

 This one is a little lighter in colour and the crackles are quite vertical, a feminine type pot.

 Instead of making a crackled texture on this one, I decided to accentuate the throwing rings on the outside.  The wash picked up most of them, but I'll try making deeper grooves with either my fingers or the end of a chop stick to make them stand out a little more on the next one.

 This pot reminds me a little of a light timber floor finish,  very nice though, and a little different.

 This was the corner of the pot in the previous post (wasp nest under pot)with the attempted wasp nest on it.  I unfortunately had to scrape it off before firing (in case it melted), but you can see where a little bit that remained has melted into the pot (the lighter colour in the corner)

 This was the pot that I'd made from a mold that had been sitting in the shed for ages.  To be honest....there was no enjoyment in making it.  I knew how it was going to turn out shape wise, there was no room for creativity, apart from the opportunity to play around with a glaze.  All I can say about it is that its finished and out of the way!

 Another one of those special pots......Its 43cm diameter, round and has the most beautiful crackled texture. The pictures don't do it justice.  Its one of those pots that you just go "wow" when you see it.  It looks like its been around for hundreds of years, through all sorts of weather etc.  Perhaps this one is a "keeper" as well.

It's funny how you can get so attached to the pots you make,  its a bit like having a small seedling that you've nursed along for many years and now its a beautiful looking bonsai tree. You would never dream of selling or giving it away.  The same goes for some pots....it starts as a lump of clay, you shape it, carefully and slowly let it dry, you then bisque fire it, then you have to decide how to finish it before the final glaze firing.  All along you may have an idea of what you want the finished pot to look like, just the same as you have an idea in your head of what you eventually want your mature bonsai to look like.  Granted, it doesn't take years, but the same love, care and attention goes into it.

 Enough waffling I think. The glass of water is for me.....it gets stinking hot in the garage when the sun comes out, like sitting in an oven at times, even with the doors open.  Such is the weather down here in Southland, the best in New Zealand I have to say.  

Don't forget to look in my Bonsai Pots for Sale page over the next few days, as I'll be updating it with new pots.

Wasps are Natural Potters , See what I Found.

I was quite happily unloading the kiln last week.  My usual routine....turning each pot over...tapping for that lovely ringing sound, scanning the surface looking for cracks etc,then I found this.

This pot had been sitting on the shelf since about October last year, I never seemed to have the right amount of room to fit it in.

When I loaded it into the kiln I remember there being some dead spiders underneath on the shelf, but never though too much more about it, just flicked them off the shelf and carried on.

With a little research it appears that a lone female MASON WASP (native) decided that the underneath of this drying pot was a nice spot to build a nest and lay its eggs.

These wasps are loners, they don't have a hoard of worker bees looking after them.  They do it all on their own.

The female stuns/paralyzes spiders and puts them in these mud/clay cells and then lays an egg in each one.  She seals it off and then leaves.  When the egg turns into a larvae it gobbles down the food left for it (spiders) and then exits the cell.

The thing that amazed me was that the clay cells this little wasp made had withstood the bisque firing temperature of 1000degrees Celsius.  Anything that was in them had burnt out,  but the mud/clay walls remained intact, absolutely amazing!

I don't know the chemistry/biology of how the MASON WASP constructs the mud cells, but obviously with it being a red colour after firing it had a lot of iron in it, as does earthenware clay.  

Does it secrete this mud like substance?
Does it go hunting and collect the clay?
Does it stick to its legs like pollen on bees?                        Who knows?

I would have dearly loved to have left it on the underneath of the pot, but there was a high risk that when it goes into the next firing that reaches temperatures of 1270 degrees Celsius + it will melt and stick to the kiln shelf.

Reluctantly, I scrapped it off this afternoon, but left a couple of small bits in one of the corners just to see if it would melt and turn into a "wasp glaze".

I'm in absolute awe of this cleaver little wasp, just incredible!  

Aint Nature Just Great

Getting Down and Dirty with Recycling Clay

A great way to start the new year was to finally finish off recycling all the unfired clay that had been "squashed, collapsed, dropped, warped and rejected" from my bonsai pot making.

I'd accumulated 5 buckets full and wasn't even going to attempt wedging it all up by hand.

After getting permission from the President of the pottery club, I came home with their clay pug mill, nothing flash, but it does the job.

For those of you unfamiliar with how it works, basically you put the sloppy, lumpy clay in the top and squish it down with the leaver.

There's a round mixer type blade "thingy" in the bottom that mixes and combines the clay all together. Love this squishy clay bit, great for the skin!!

 Once the rectangle box is loaded up with clay, the lever is pressed down onto it and the clay is slowly pushed through the mixer.  The slower you press the lever down, the more the clay is mixed.

Hey presto..... out the other end comes the mixed up clay!

 I cut the clay off into small lengths.

Usually I put it through about 2 or 3 times, it really depends what the consistancy is like.  If it's too firm, I shosh a little water over the clay before it is put through again and it soon softens up.

Its also a good way to combine extra grog to a large amount of clay.  Also sometimes its handy when combining different clay types.

 

After a couple of hours doing this, all the buckets were empty and I had quite a pile of clay ready to be used.

My daughter (the photographer) was totally bored with the whole process and wandered off before I'd finished everything.  Not something that excites young teenagers!

From here, it was bagged up, labelled and put in an old fridge in the shed until I'm ready to make it into a few bonsai pots.

I had to pull the pug mill apart to clean it up and scrape all the clay out of the inside.  Usually you can stuff a damp cloth in the top and at the end to keep the clay soft for the next time you use it.  I've heard on the grapevine that its "desperately needed" at the clubrooms again, so its all clean ready to be returned... great not to have to get the hubby to fix it before I could use it this time too.

Coloured Aged Looking Bonsai Pots

I've been on a mission over the last 6 months to try and replicate a pot that had been made a year or two ago.

Unfortunately I don't seem to be in the habit of writing down my concoctions of washes and glazes.  It came back to bite me in the butt with this one.

You think at the time of making, that you'll remember......but it just slips away over the months, never to be remembered  again.

This is the pot, the large oval on the bottom.

Several people have tried to pry it away from me. Unsuccessfully I might add. 

The pic doesn't do it justice, it has that aged antique hard life look about it. 

I've made a few much smaller pots that have been close in appearance to it, but it wasn't until the last glaze firing that I think I've finally cracked the right recipe.

Its now written down!



 The other 4 on top of this oval are the results of the last firing - close enough I think.

Slowly but surely the shelves are getting stocked up again, they were looking a little bare after the spring repotting.

There still aren't too many ovals amongst them as they're quite time consuming to complete successfully.

You'll probably notice that I have a bit of a thing for pots with textures. So I had a bit of a play with coating clay and stretching it.

 This reminds me of the fissured bark on some bonsai trunks as it ages and stretches the outer layers of bark over the years.  This red colour will turn dark brown when fired with the recesses keeping the white colour of the clay.

This pot had a little white/buff slip mixed in while making the "crackle", it'll be interesting to see how this one turns out.

Some little accent planters with a stretched texture.  Its a shame you don't see much of it when they are turned up the right way, still enjoyable to make though.

 Finally, a few pots waiting to get their first bisque firing.   The kiln isn't big enough to hold too many of the larger pots, so it has to be a mixture of sizes to get it as full as possible.  Some pots can wait for a couple of months to get fired, it all depends on having the right space for them.