VanTiki Mugs: Octopus Time Lapse - Other Crafts

V VanTiki Member Hawaii Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 1046	V VanTiki Posted posted on Fri, Mar 21, 2008 1:37 PM It is a very sad day on VanTiki island :( Talk about depressing - it turns out every single mug I sculpted out of the B3 Brown clay has cracked. Opened the kiln this morning to find an epic rift running down the side of the Skull Rock Point mug, and micro cracks inside the Idol's Hand #2 mug. Too lame! Talk about a big blow to my clay self-confidence. My big no-no move was sculpting 5 intricate mugs back-to-back in a new clay without test firing first. I just loved the way the clay looked and felt - I couldn't help myself! Anyway - here are a bunch of shots of the "Lost Batch" of B3 Brown mugs: Idol's Hands #1 and #2 These were meant to be "cursed mugs" (the curse being that you had to drink your entire drink before being able to put the mug down). They won't hold fluids - but they look swank on a shelf, so I think I'll offer these up with a ultra-low starting bid. Cannibal Idol#2: Fresh Sacrifice I suppose the name says it all! This fellow seemed OK - had a large crack on the bottom, but it had filled with glaze. Filled it with water and left it on an official testing paper towel. 20 min later all was nice an dry. Went to lunch for a half hour, and came back to find a damp spot on the towel! Damn! There are so many micro cracks caused by slumping of the clay during firing that I am not gonna risk shipping this one and it will live out its days on my Shelf of Shame. Skull Rock Point This is the one that really broke my heart. Put a ton of time into this sculpt, and I really worked the glaze. No cracks on the first glaze firing, but there were bubbles in the interior glaze coat. Fired it again (at a low Cone 05) last night. Opened the kiln this morning and was delighted to find that the bubbles were gone - then I just about threw up when I noticed a huge crack down the mugs back. Crud! Extra painful as the mug looks fantastic otherwise. This mug is also headed for the shelf of shame. Sigh... So there you have it - the sad tale of the B3 Brown clay. Good news is I got back on the clay horse last night and am working on some new goodies in a very sturdy buff white sculpture body with lots of grog. Should be quite durable (knock on wood) - I'll post pics as the sculpts progress. Thanks for listening to my blubbering! Mahalo, Henrik "VanTiki"

It is a very sad day on VanTiki island :(

Talk about depressing - it turns out every single mug I sculpted out of the B3 Brown clay has cracked. Opened the kiln this morning to find an epic rift running down the side of the Skull Rock Point mug, and micro cracks inside the Idol's Hand #2 mug. Too lame! Talk about a big blow to my clay self-confidence. My big no-no move was sculpting 5 intricate mugs back-to-back in a new clay without test firing first. I just loved the way the clay looked and felt - I couldn't help myself! Anyway - here are a bunch of shots of the "Lost Batch" of B3 Brown mugs:

Idol's Hands #1 and #2
These were meant to be "cursed mugs" (the curse being that you had to drink your entire drink before being able to put the mug down). They won't hold fluids - but they look swank on a shelf, so I think I'll offer these up with a ultra-low starting bid.

Cannibal Idol#2: Fresh Sacrifice
I suppose the name says it all! This fellow seemed OK - had a large crack on the bottom, but it had filled with glaze. Filled it with water and left it on an official testing paper towel. 20 min later all was nice an dry. Went to lunch for a half hour, and came back to find a damp spot on the towel! Damn! There are so many micro cracks caused by slumping of the clay during firing that I am not gonna risk shipping this one and it will live out its days on my Shelf of Shame.

Skull Rock Point
This is the one that really broke my heart. Put a ton of time into this sculpt, and I really worked the glaze. No cracks on the first glaze firing, but there were bubbles in the interior glaze coat. Fired it again (at a low Cone 05) last night. Opened the kiln this morning and was delighted to find that the bubbles were gone - then I just about threw up when I noticed a huge crack down the mugs back. Crud! Extra painful as the mug looks fantastic otherwise. This mug is also headed for the shelf of shame. Sigh...

So there you have it - the sad tale of the B3 Brown clay. Good news is I got back on the clay horse last night and am working on some new goodies in a very sturdy buff white sculpture body with lots of grog. Should be quite durable (knock on wood) - I'll post pics as the sculpts progress. Thanks for listening to my blubbering!

Mahalo,
Henrik "VanTiki"

Post #368408 by VanTiki on Fri, Mar 21, 2008 1:37 PM