Low Fire Friday - Glaze layering (Guest Artist Martina Lantin)

What a treat to have Martina Lantin as this month's Low Fire Friday Guest Artist. And Martina is sharing not 1, but 2 recipes with us!  Whoohoo!

I had the pleasure of meeting Martina while we were teaching at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts this past August. Though I've know her work for awhile, it's always great to meet the maker behind the handmade. Instantly, I was won over by her easy going, but professional nature and enjoyed conversations we had in and out of the studio all week.

 

Born in Montreal, Canada, Martina Lantin received her Bachelor of Art from Earlham College (1996) and her Master of Fine Art from NSCAD University (2009).  She has been an artist in residence at Baltimore Clayworks in Baltimore, MD and Arrowmont School of Art and Craft in Gatlinburg,TN.  Currently, Martina is a professor at Marlboro College in Marlboro, VT.

Selected as an Emerging Artist by Ceramics Monthly (2002), her work has been recognized in numerous juried and invitational exhibitions. In 2010 Martina was award an Individual Artist Grant by the Tennessee Arts Commission.  She has also published articles in both Studio Potter and Pottery Making Illustrated.

Committed to the joys of working in earthenware, which she describes as chocolate porcelain, Martina creates functional ceramics through thrown and altered forms.  The thin layer of white slip serves to accentuate the construction methods and to invite an exploration of the making process.

 

Here are the low fire glazes and application technique Martina is sharing with us today:

 WOODY HUGHES BASE GLAZE – CONE 04 – good with colorants

Gerstley Borate	26
Lithium Carbonate	4
Frit 3124	30
NephalineSyenite	20
EPK	10
Flint	10

Colorants can be metallic oxides or carbonates or mason stains, singly or in combination. 

Colors in the image:

Blue green:   2% copper carbonate and 3% deep orchid stain

Violet:            5% orchid stain and 1.5% rutile

OPAQUE GLOSS: (rated for cone 015 – as an over-glaze enamel)

Frit 3134	36.4
Pemco ‘P-25’ (frit 3269)	55.6
EPK	8
Add tin	10

Colorants – stains or oxides.  Do your own tests to develop your palette – start with 2 – 10 %

First, the Opaque Gloss is slip trailed onto the piece (in the example photo - the colors you see are from the slip decoration applied prior to bisquing).  Spaces in the design motif can be filled in with colored versions of the Woody Hughes base (brush application works best for filling in areas with color).  Woody Hughes base glaze is applied to cone 05 bisqueware, ideally poured or dipped.

 

You can also play with waxing over the colored Woody's glazes or not – depending on the fluidity desired.  The clear Woody's Base glaze can be very thin for dipping, however when the stains or oxides are added for the colored glazes, thicker is better for brushing purposes.

Martina then fires to cone 03 using a kiln sitter or cone 04 when using a computer program with cone 04 on the program and 25 minute hold at the end.

So, there you have it! Martina let us in on some of the secrets of how she gets such beautiful, fluid results in her work! 

Hope you're having a wonderful Friday!

Meagan


 

Low Fire Friday - Cassie's Bling (Guest artist Cassie Ryalls)

Two of Cassie's Souls - featuring Cassie's Bling Glaze

This month's Low Fire Friday featured artist is Cassie Ryalls.

Not only is Cassie an amazing ceramic artist with knockout surfaces on her work, but she is a dear friend.

Cassie is currently a studio artist at CURVE studios & garden in the River Arts District of Asheville, NC. She has studied glaze chemistry at Penland School of Craft in Penland, NC and has been a resident at Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts in Asheville, NC. Cassie earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Psychology from Berea College in Kentucky and later attended the University of Florida forpost-baccalaureate studies in Ceramics 
 
Cassie’s sculptures are inspired by people-watching, conversations, relationships and ideas from her psychology studies.

This month, Cassie is sharing one of her favorite glazes with us. She calls it "Cassie's Bling." It's a crawly crusty glaze with a sparkly glittery look. (What fun! I cant wait to try this one myself. Thanks Cassie!)

Cassie's Bling  -  Cone 04

Borax                         10

Magnesium Carbonate 35

Lithium Carbonate 25

Cryolite 30

                                   100

Cassie's Notes -

**This glaze will fume a bit, so you don't want to put other pieces too terribly close to it. Give 'em an inch or two.

Here's Cassie's Bling on a red clay test tile

Here's Cassie's Bling on a white clay test tile

Ben Chaney - Concept Artist

Let me just take a minute here and brag about my little brother - the awesome concept artist. Yep! That's a self-portrait he did of himself as a pirate. He has a sense of humor and amazing talent.
Here's what he has to say...

"I started like so many others in this field did, growing up on three main activities: watching TV, playing video games, and drawing. Fortune blessed me with parents that tolerated the first two, and relentlessly encouraged the last one. They even went so far as to send me to the Savannah College of Art and Design for a degree in Sequential Art. I graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2006 and then gradually made my way into the game industry, starting in Game Testing. Being a North Carolina resident at the time, I had many amazing companies to strive for nearby. My experiences at Redstorm Entertainment and Epic Games were unforgettable and invaluable, demystifying the seemingly magical process of game development. Gone forever were the illusions of "tightening up the graphics". I currently work as a Game Artist at Schell Games in Pittsburgh, PA, creating anything from concept illustrations of characters to volumes of user interface designs and assets. In such a flexible company, I've had to adapt to new challenges and adopt new skill sets on every project. It has been and continues to be an incredible experience!" -Ben Chaney

Here are a few images from his portfolio. (Yes, I am one very proud Big Sister!)

Environments - Characters -
Textures -
Personal Work -

Holy Smokes! His work blows my mind!

It's true. We were blessed with parents that completely supported our artistic pursuits. And we both know how luck we are because of this. (Thanks Mom and Dad!)

Ben loves his current job, but is looking to move away from the icebox of a place he's been calling home (aka Pittsburgh, PA). He's hoping to settle in with a great company somewhere warm; possibly even in North Carolina and closer to family.

So, if you or someone you know is looking for a creative, dedicated concept artist, look no further. Ben's your man.

You can check out more of Ben's work at http://chaneyfolio.blogspot.com/
Or shoot him an email: benjaminachaney@gmail.com

Cheers!
Meagan (aka Big Sis)