A Couple of Platters

A while back I mentioned attending a workshop by Kevin Crowe and learning a new technique for making plates and platters. Well... I made 9 plates and only 4 made it through the bisque firing. I have since figured out that the problem lies with my trimming process: I am putting too much pressure on the rims when I trim, weakening them enough that they crack during the first firing. Of the 4 that made through the bisque firing, I have 2 glazed and I must say that I'm very happy with the results.

The 10-inch plate was fired to ^6 in my electric kiln. It is glazed in a matte green glaze with a design in shiny yellow running through the middle. The design was made with a piece of lace taken from a linen napkin that belonged to my mother-in-law. I dipped the lace in the yellow glaze and placed it over the top of the green glaze on the plate. Then I saturated the lace by applying more yellow glaze with a brush. There are some blue shades where the two glazes mix.

The 12-inch platter was fired to ^10 in a propane gas kiln. It was glazed in an iron-rich tomate red glaze. The subtle pattern showing some black speckling that you see in the middle is where I poured more glaze after having dipped the platter once so that the glaze is thicker there than in the rest of the piece.

These pieces are currently for sale at Manassas Clay.