Fish Platter
This fish platter was made as a demonstration for my pottery class. I thought it came out pretty nice so I fired it and glazed it with this water blue glaze. It seems like water blue is appropriate for a fish. Don’t you agree?
This platter was made on a hump mold. The way I do it is to dust the mold with corn starch since it is a plastic mold. If the mold was made of wood, plaster, bisqued clay, or some other porous material I would not have to use the corn starch, the mold would simply absorb the moisture from the clay and help to facilitate the release. Molds made of plastic, glass, metal, or any other non-porous material should be dusted with corn starch or talc to help the clay to release. Otherwise, it will bond to the mold and we don’t want that.
Next I roll out a slab of clay, drape it over the mold and smooth it down so the texture transfers to the clay from the mold. Then the excess clay is trimmed off and it is time to start playing the waiting game.
When using a hump mold you have to pay close attention to the dryness of the clay. If you remove the clay too soon it will start to flatten out again. If you don’t remove the clay early enough the clay will dry too much and crack on the mold. Clay shrinks as it dries but the mold is not flexible, that is why it will crack.
I might do some more of these with a little color in the fish. What do you think?
via Instagram http://ift.tt/2nW8eZT
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by Lori Buff
This platter was made on a hump mold. The way I do it is to dust the mold with corn starch since it is a plastic mold. If the mold was made of wood, plaster, bisqued clay, or some other porous material I would not have to use the corn starch, the mold would simply absorb the moisture from the clay and help to facilitate the release. Molds made of plastic, glass, metal, or any other non-porous material should be dusted with corn starch or talc to help the clay to release. Otherwise, it will bond to the mold and we don’t want that.
Next I roll out a slab of clay, drape it over the mold and smooth it down so the texture transfers to the clay from the mold. Then the excess clay is trimmed off and it is time to start playing the waiting game.
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| Fish Platter |
When using a hump mold you have to pay close attention to the dryness of the clay. If you remove the clay too soon it will start to flatten out again. If you don’t remove the clay early enough the clay will dry too much and crack on the mold. Clay shrinks as it dries but the mold is not flexible, that is why it will crack.
I might do some more of these with a little color in the fish. What do you think?
via Instagram http://ift.tt/2nW8eZT
Nice fish, Lori!
ReplyDeleteThanks, it’s nice to get the positive feedback.
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