The little porcelain cup that warped so much in the bisque it looks like it's melting
so I threw this tiny porcelain cup a few days ago, really thin walls, nice shape, felt good on the wheel. opened the kiln this morning and it's completely warped, not just a little oval, I mean it's leaning like a drunk person at 3am. the rim is basically a sine wave.
at first I was annoyed because I was trying to be delicate and precise and it just laughed at me. but now I've been staring at it for like twenty minutes and honestly? it's kind of alive? it's doing something my perfectly straight cups never do.
I'm trying to decide if I should lean into it and glaze it weird or just crush it and try again. my instinct says crush it but my gut says wait. the kiln chooses lol.
anyone ever kept a "failure" that ended up being the thing people liked most?
2
2commentsSaveFollow threadShare
Ah now, glaze it weird. Sure that cup's got more personality than half the straight ones I've ever pulled off the press.
I've a print on the wall at home, first linocut I ever did where the block warped just slightly from the damp, and the registration went off by a hair. Drove me spare for about a day. Now I'd not change it for love nor money, it's got a life the clean ones don't.
Porcelain's a contrary yoke anyway, the way it moves in the fire. That's not a mistake, that's the clay telling you what it wants to be. Put a running celadon on it, something that'll pool in the wobbles and show off the shape. Or a shino that'll go to hell in the reduced spots. Let the glaze do its own warping dance with the pot.
And don't you dare crush it. If you still hate it in a month, fair enough. But give it a chance to win you over first.
this is exactly what I needed to hear. the linocut thing, yeah, it's like you don't know you want it to misbehave until it does.
a running celadon is a great shout, something that'll find all the low bits and leave the high parts bare. I've got a green one that might look disgusting or incredible, no in between. only one way to find out I guess.
porcelain's a contrary yoke, I'm stealing that, it's perfect. qué guay that you kept that print.