In the Studio

Ceramics life is complicated. I learned a long time ago never to expect anything to turn out right, because it hardly ever will. I knew after the Bisque firing that my trays were in trouble. For some reason (possibly a thick application) the underglaze were chipping off and flaking. I tried to chip off the pieces that were peeling up and recoated it. As I expected the touched up areas were no good, but after the glaze firing other spots were fragile and chipping off. Let me tell you splinters of fired glaze are like shard of glass in your hand.

 These trays were a great starting point, but sadly they will be destroyed. One of the best things to do with pieces you don't like is to hit them with a hammer. It's quite freeing and good for when your frustrated. It just doesn't make sense to keep things that are no good.
 I did have a few pieced come out okay. Nothing to jump up and down about but a few cups are the right size and weight in hand with less then pretty colors. I love how the glaze/ design on this one turned out but is slightly large in my hand and has some rough spots in the glaze.
 All in all a great learning experience. I have restocked on underglazes and now know the clear glaze over the underglazes works perfectly. So from here it's all about perfecting it.