This week's video is a revisit of sorts. I'm carving porcelain maker's marks used to sign my pots but this time I'm demonstrating the carving of them, the bisque firing, how they're glazed, how I construct their little 'jigs' for firing, the reduction firing itself and finally unpacking the finished, now glaze covered and shrunken objects.
Here's a link to Mark Tallowin's website, the man who made my stamp pouch shown at the beginning: https://www.marktallowin.co.uk
I used Audrey Blackman porcelain for these but you can use any, or a smooth, stoneware clay body/terracotta too.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction
0:23 – The tools used
0:44 – Preparing the porcelain
1:15 – Separating out the 'blanks'
1:40 – Piercing holes in the handles
2:47 – Grinding the tops flat
3:22 – Two tips and tricks
4:18 – Penciling in my backwards symbol
4:29 – The carving begins
5:20 – Carving away to create the border
6:06 – Cleaning up the length
6:42 – Testing the mark
7:27 – Packing them for a bisque firing in my electric kiln
8:21 – Glazing the stamps
9:13 – Creating the 'jigs' which they're fired in
11:07 – Packing my ROHDE KG-340 gas kiln
11:20 – Firing the gas kiln to cone ten, (1290ºC)
12:28 – Unpacking the kiln 36 hours later
13:38 – Unsheathing them and showing the finished pieces
14:22 – Afterword and demonstrating pots being stamped
Thanks for watching, especially if you made it all the way to the end!
____
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/floriangadsby/
TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@floriangadsby
Website – http://www.floriangadsby.com