Ceramics

The real purpose of this shot was to test out my new remote shutter release, which passed with flying colors. I struggle with focus, partly because my lens and my eyesight are both less than perfect, and I'm kind of jittery on top of that. The remote and a tripod makes a hell of a difference and I can't wait to improve. Anyway, the shot features a pot from my ceramics days at OCC, though I didn't actually make it. If I had, the walls would be about 3 inches thick and lopsided. But about a week before the semester ended, the teacher opened up the shelves and we could take any unclaimed work that had been left by students who dropped the class or were so good at throwing pots that this didn't meet their standards. Well, it sure as hell met mine. The glazing job is mine, so I can claim some part of the creative process. It's a raku glaze, which leaves a lot to chance. Raku uses glazes that are high in metallic content, and instead of firing them you dig a big pit in the ground, fill it with charcoal and ceramics, and cover it up again. The heat causes the metals to react - loudly, explosively and unpredictably - and then you dig up the pots and see how they turned out.