Making Ceramic 'Boxes' from Beginning to End #pottery

These lids of these low jars never seem to fit once fired… even though they slotted together perfectly well at the bisque fired stage. The thin rims of the lower half don’t help, and I’m sure both the lid and body warp to some degree during the reduction firing, especially considering they were placed directly next to where the burners jettison flames into the kiln, hence why one of these two has a lovely streak of oxidation, a yellow flash on the pale green.

There’s an easy fix though, and that’s what’s shown towards the end of this video, where gritty Chemico valve lapping paste is smeared onto the underside of lid, only ever on bare clay, then the two parts, lid and body, are twisted together until it spins smooth. The tiny carborundum chunks held in the grease grinding away distorted clay until both pieces slot together wonderfully again. I never use this paste on glaze, which means the material that’s ground away leaves the vessel neatly, there’s no scratched glass or ugly stoneware.

Thereafter, all it needs is a good wash in hot soapy water, and that’s the lidded jar finished.

#beforeandafter #qualitycontrol #handmade #ceramics #clay #glaze

[ruththinkingoutside.]

😍 love these too.. they hit all the right notes.. it’s a ‘box’, it’s a beautiful jar, and it’s a gorgeous color.. I could totally see myself having a whole array in slightly different shades and heights 😂

Yes, I have way too many ‘boxes’ and jars around here .. lol

[lotfibouhedjeur]

I'm out of superlatives that can describe your work, Florian.

[arc]

The sound of the clay lid scraping against the jar, even after the smoothing process, is _deeply_ upsetting to me ears and teeth.

[AexisRai]

That big yellow/brown spot on the one pot is notable. The glaze turned out unevenly after firing, but only in that one big region. What might be causing that?

[IvelisseEP]

Hi! What is the putty used to separate the Lis and the jar? Thank you.