Free Instagram Influencer Report on Florian Gadsby

I’m embarking on a new round of material tests. This time, I’m seeing what molybdenum, volcanic sand, carborundum, titanium siliconite, peridot, lapis lazuli and finally, some red garnet, will do. All of which have different textures and consistencies and change how the stoneware clay throws and trims. This is the subject of my YouTube video this weekend, (a link to which you can find in the Linktree in my profile’s biography), and it’s worth noting, that this is part one of a series I’ll be producing over the next couple of weeks or month—meaning the results will come, just not quite yet. I always have a rough idea about what some of these additions will do, and in truth, it’s never quite as exciting as what you might be picturing in your mind. Often, glass and minerals melt, metals bloom and flow, and more commonly than not, things turn brown or black and are underwhelming. Yet, sometimes there’s some real gems, there are oddities that create beautiful bursts of colour, like the bronze I’ve used a lot in the past. I know that testing these on small test tiles would be “better” technique. They take up less space in the kiln and are faster to produce, yet then I wouldn’t have what’s a growing collection of somewhat unusual bowls. These are pots encrusted in glass beads or rivulets of metal, some have collapsed and others are simply fascinating to look at, not that they’ll ever be used practically for food. As always, if you have any material suggestions, I’m all ears and a huge thanks to Alan and Thomas, who sent me some of what’s seen in this weekend’s video. Thanks for watching! #experiment #pottery #asmr #oddlysatisfying #craft

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The process of reduction firing pots, (this is the glaze firing), shrinks them. In total, from when freshly thrown to finally coated in glaze and fired for a second time to around 1290ºC, they reduce in size volumetrically by about 12%. This doesn’t sound like loads but practically, it’s huge. It means you need to make pots larger than need be if you’re aiming for a certain size, otherwise, and if not considered, you can end up with pots that are all far smaller than you imagined. The kiln is fuelled by nature gas that shoots into the chamber via a burner port in each corner. The flames swirl around towards the top but then yanked back down towards the flues at the bottom back of the enclosed space, here, they are then pulled up the chimney, where the heat disperses and the gas can exhaust. It’s by controlling the exhaust that alters the atmosphere inside the kiln. For instance, if the dampers that cover the flues are left entirely open, it means the burning fuel, the gas, can burn quickly and pass through the chamber rapidly and with enough oxygen. Whereas for a reduction firing, after a certain point, 860ºC for me, I slide the dampers that cover the flues to be about halfway closed. This causes the burning gas to suddenly build up within the chamber as it can’t escape fast enough. Suddenly, there’s not enough oxygen for the gas to burn efficiently and as a result, it strips away oxygen from the clay and glazes of the pots themselves, and it’s this that creates the colours and effects that these sorts of kilns offer. An electric kiln can’t do this, (well, some specialised versions can but they’re rare in the Western part of the world). Anyhow, this before and after demonstrates the shrinkage pretty well, I think, the stark change in colour too. Any other questions? Fire away! #reductionfiring #glaze #clay #beforeandafter #pottery

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It’s interesting how your approach to making a particular shape can change over time. Take a simple cylinder for instance, arguably, these are one of the most important shapes to be able to throw evenly and efficiently, with the clay distributed consistently throughout the walls. If it’s say, as wide as a mug, that can be an easy thing to do, yet as soon as that form is constricted and it becomes more narrow, the difficulty really begins to ramp up.   It’s not only in the throwing itself, but the drying of the form and then how its trimmed is crucial too. It’s in the drying though when everything can go awry, even if your freshly thrown cylinders are beautifully made and uniform, if they’re dried out inconsistently thereafter and they begin to pull, swaying to one side, then all that hard work is for nothing, if, what you were after is a straight cylindrical vessel.   Narrowly made pots twist and unwind more dramatically, think of a teapot’s spout that unfurls slightly as it fires. Thus, if a cylinder is hit by an unwanted draft overnight, what you see at the beginning of this video can occur and it’s a bit of nightmare when it does…   Over the years this has led to a slight change in how I make these forms. During my years at college, and during my apprenticeships, I probably would have attempted to throw them as tall and thin as possible from the get go, yet nowadays, I throw them purposefully thicker and often with a sturdy rim too. The idea is I want to create a strong shape that can survive drying out without leaning in any particular direction even if left in not absolutely perfect conditions.   I’ll be trimming them anyway and so, a few extra millimetres in the walls that can be rapidly carved away at the leather hard stage, doesn’t really make much of a difference at all. I’d rather throw them more quickly and roughly, if it means I’m able to trim pots that are straighter.   #pottery #wheelthrownpottery #ceramics #clay #handmade  

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I’ve been on the fence about fixing this coffee dripper.   Stylistically, it was my favourite from my second batch of these, it was thrown and trimmed with a sharper funnel, to direct the coffee into the cup this time instead of all over the table like those from my first batch… Likewise, the steps on the outside lend it character and the mossy green glaze coated the vessel in quite a beautiful way, although due to how much this particular glaze moves at top temperatures during the reduction firing, it plugged the drainage hole.   The result being perhaps the most useless coffee dripper that has ever been made, so, in this short video I demonstrate how I fix the issue.   The key is to keep the area drilled covered in water, this keeps dusts to a minimum and helps the diamond drill-bits to glide more smoothly. I started by piercing a hole right through the centre of the thick pane of glaze, then I carefully, and slowly, worked my way outward, widening then hole until it was almost back to its original width. Lastly, the ground area is polished smooth using very fine wet and dry sandpaper; to remove any sharp scratchiness and finally, the V60 style coffee dripper can be taken for its maiden voyage.   I do wonder though, whether I should have kept it as is, as a one-off anomaly, you’ll have to let me know what you think.   #v60 #coffee #pottery #filtercoffee #ceramics

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The hardest thing to get used to when creating tiny pots is that your hands suddenly feel enormous and clumsy. In many ways, you have to rethink your approach, instead of using all of your fingers and your palm to centre the clay, you suddenly shift to using your fingertips or a sponge. Tools need to be scaled down and much more careful approach utilised as when throwing or trimming on a larger scale, there’s normally enough material in the object itself to account for a small mishap. You can turn way too much, or accidentally introduce an undulation into the spinning clay at the throwing stage, yet with a vessel this tiny, either could spell disaster. The good news is you don’t feel as terrible for it, as these small amounts of clay don’t amount too much and they’re easy and fast to centre and throw and in this stifling weather, they only take an hour to turn completely leather hard, thus the turnaround is rapid, unlike with more conventionally sized pottery. Oh, and here’s Ciro for scale, one paw sized pot for a few treats. #pottery #ceramics #glaze #handmade

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