Testing a New Style

I've been thinking about starting a new style of pottery for a while now. I've gotten bored with my current style. I mean it has been six years that I've been doing my current style. Imagine wearing the exact same thing or eating the exact same thing every. Single. Day.

My current style, fun, but I need something new.

It would be boring right?

Test tiles.

I begin new projects in one of two ways. I think about it, drag my feet, eventually buy the supplies and then one day, down the road somewhere, maybe, I begin the project. Or I get really excited about it, buy all the supplies right away, and when the supplies arrive I start the project with a fervor, spend a couple weeks on the project and then I lose interest and the supplies don't get used again until months later.

Test pots pre-firing.

I don't know which way ends up being more productive. The long slow build, or the burst of energy. The thing with either way, at least I have the supplies now and I can go back to it any time the energy strikes again.

Stain test tiles

This new style of pottery has been long in the building up, gathering supplies, and I've finally made the glazes and begun testing colors and technique. I just got the last chemical I needed to mix a big batch of the main base glaze, so if I like the test glazes I can get into production of this new style.

All the containers of test glazes and stains.

...I got the test glazes out of the kiln. I'm going to have to retest. Either the glazes are too thinly applied on several of the tests or the glazes are just not right.

Test tiles post firing.

Anywhere the white base glaze was thick enough the stains look great, exactly how I wanted them to look, but the yellow colored glaze is not what I was hoping for and the lavender glaze didn't seem to melt at all. This is the third time I have tried a purple glaze and not had it turn out, maybe I'm not meant to have a purple glaze.

Test pots post firing.

The green isn't quite the color I was looking for, I was hoping for a more bright, spring green color. I can still play with that one and the blues are nice, the glaze was just a little thin.

I like how the stains came out except for the lavender stain.

I guess I have more testing to do before I can start using my new glazes. Back to the drawing board and more tests. Good thing I have more cottage cheese containers!