This week I got my mugs back :) They aren't the most well thrown or glazed pieces but I am still pretty happy with them - I am particularly happy with the black underglaze brushed across the surface.

We also got down to some practical stuff and helped to ball up differing weights of clay for Kyra to throw with. The smaller amounts we just patted into ball shapes but the ones weighing 2 1/4 and 4 1/2 pounds we wedged - which was a pretty good work out for our arms! After this we set about more recycling of clay - this time getting the really sloppy stuff which had been in the buckets with water for over a year and spreading it over the wooden boards - ready for Kyra to put into arches in the week and then to go through the pug mill the next time we are there. It was so much fun slopping the gooey clay around and smearing it over the boards! We then refilled the empty buckets with water and put in all of Kyras dry left overs (they need to be completely dry so they all suck in as much water as they can as evenly as possible) to be left for another year to soak down. Finally we cleaned the floor which was pretty mucky after the open studio event at the weekend...

After lunch Kyra went over our briefs for 3rd year with us and gave us such helpful and constructive advice :) This included finding out that flower pots are the shape they are so that when a frost comes and the earth expands the pot doesn't break because the earth can just easily move upwards - so obvious yet I'd never thought about it! Also pots generally have foot rings so that less contact is made with the surface they sit on making it easier for the pot to sit without wobbling and glazing the inside of the foot ring helps to prevent the glaze cracking because it has an even tension on both sides during the firing.

My mugs 

Honor wedging the clay 

Filling up the bucket with water ready for all the dry clay 

This week we had delicious mince pies and Baileys :) After helping to clean Kyra's studio ready for the Open Gallery event this weekend. The floor, throwing wheels, buckets, bags, brushes, tools and table all needed some attention as the clay just gets everywhere! We also recycled some more porcelain and admired the lustre glaze tests which Kyra has been carrying out.. A lovely lovely day.

Me using the water suction machine to get the clay off the floor.

Visiting Kyra this week for the first time since coming back to Uni for 3rd year was wonderful. It is so easy to get sucked into simply being in the studio, making, making, worrying about the degree and more making - forgetting that actually we are so lucky to do what we love every day! Being in a real environment is so refreshing and inspiring :)

Before the summer we learnt loads of skills such as how to use cones in the kilns, how to throw setters, how to clean floors properly - with a wet suction thingy and mop, how to load and programme kilns, how to make glaze, and how to pack vases.. I wasn't organised enough to start a blog about our experience then, but this is a new academic year and I'm going to try - so here goes:

- We had some rather large cups of coffee and a nice extended chat!

- Then we learned how to recycle clay: 

˚ The clay which is mostly small shavings from the pots which Kyra has turned has been soaking in buckets with water so it has a pretty slip like quality, this is taken out and spread into really long sausages on top of the work bench.

˚ Once these sausages have hardened enough they are cut into about 30cm sections and bent into archways to dry even more - the idea is that the arch provides a greater surface area to volume ratio so the clay drys out more evenly and quickly.

˚ Once the clay is firmer it is broken into hand sized lumps and fed into the pug mil - this is like an extruder but with an electric paddle inside so the clay gets all mixed up. You have to keep feeding the clay into the machine as soon as it is on so the sausages that come out have as little air in them as possible.

˚ Once the sausages have come out they are then broken up again and re fed into the machine to ensure the clay is properly mixed - we did it three times with this batch of clay - it was really fun :)

˚ After all the clay has been through 3 times it is then cut into sausages of all the same length and these are doubled bagged, dated and stored - often for over a year! (They get a bit mouldy but the clay is still fine to use)

- Next we labelled our glaze ingredient test tiles from last term and organised which ones needed more firing - before the summer we put all the different ingredients that you can use to make glaze such as potash felspar and whiting into little wells in clay tiles and then planned to fire them at different temperatures to see which ones are fluxes and what they all do at different temperatures - we will have the results for next week :)

Test tiles with glaze ingredients

- Finally we glazed our mugs which we threw and turned before the summer. I learnt that you never hold a mug by its handle even when it has been biscuit fired! And to glaze mugs well you dip them with tongs (holding the pots not too close to the edge otherwise you can crack the rim and with the 3 prong bit on the inside so it is less messy) into a big bucket, then you can use your finger to wipe off excess drips and finally a brush to give a perfect finish. We then brushed on black underglaze in sweeping strokes which was so fun to do :) 

The Pug mill

Archways of Limoges porcelain clay 

Mugs which we threw before the summer

Handles which we pulled to attach to the mugs before the summer

Melody dipping the mug in glaze

The mugs with the brushed on black underglaze 

Kyra Wiping the glaze off the bottom so the mug wont stick to the kiln shelf