VanTiki Mugs: Octopus Time Lapse - Other Crafts

V VanTiki Member Hawaii Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 1046	V VanTiki Posted posted on Thu, Mar 20, 2008 2:55 PM Aloha folks - Sorry for the long silence! Time for a VanTiki studio update. First off, a big mahalo for the happy vibes about Cannibal Idol #1. It is on its way to its new home in the UK! Bgreen - Ceramics class?! Oh no! Now I feel pressure knowing that clay pros are checking out my stuff! :) Atomicchick, Tiki Shark, and MeHeadHunter - thank you! you guys are the best! Paipo - Whoa! I LOVE that movie (as you may have guessed) - I've always loved the way they did they eyes on that cave entrance. I just may have to do a tribute mug now! As for the cracking - well, I've been working on it (see rest of post) Jonesy - I ran your post through my Traveling Jones Translatograph 2000 and it assures me that you gave me a compliment. Mahalo! :) OK - now for the update! Been pulling out my few remaining hairs over this cracking issue. So frustrating! Turns out I've been suffering from a mixture of 3 things - switching to a clay body with a lower sand/grog content (more prone to cracking), "flashback" - a heat transfer conundrum that occurs when a cooling mug is sitting on a hot kiln shelf, and (most significant) big heavy mugs that can't shrink while drying due to the pressure on their bases. I'll be drying my mugs on their sides from now on, and all firing will be done with some fancy-pants porcelain stilts to provide uniform heating/cooling. The uncertainty factor that is ever present in ceramics is torture! Unfortunately, these changes came too late for my last batch of mugs - and the cracking curse has struck again. Idol's Hand #1 cracked, and I think I may just keep it. Here it is in all its TRON/Mayan splendor: Some good studio news is I am now using my AMAZING new clay signature stamp machined out of solid brass by claystamps.com - this is about 1000% better than using a rubber sig stamp: Opened the kiln this morning to check out how the glaze fire went for Cannibal Idol #2, Idol's Hand #2, and Skull Rock Point. Looks like the cannibal cracked - but the glaze seems to have filled the crack and it may be watertight! Once the mug cools some more I'll give it the hydro test. Skull Rock and the Hand look crack free - but I got some foaming in the interior glaze! Argh! F ef Effity F! So, I've got them cooking once again to try and float out the glaze bubbles. Fingers crossed (and fingernails all chewed away). Here is a peek at the cooling Cannibal: More photos tomorrow! Mahalo for peeking, Henrik "VanTiki"

Aloha folks -
Sorry for the long silence! Time for a VanTiki studio update.

First off, a big mahalo for the happy vibes about Cannibal Idol #1. It is on its way to its new home in the UK!

Bgreen - Ceramics class?! Oh no! Now I feel pressure knowing that clay pros are checking out my stuff! :)

Atomicchick, Tiki Shark, and MeHeadHunter - thank you! you guys are the best!

Paipo - Whoa! I LOVE that movie (as you may have guessed) - I've always loved the way they did they eyes on that cave entrance. I just may have to do a tribute mug now! As for the cracking - well, I've been working on it (see rest of post)

Jonesy - I ran your post through my Traveling Jones Translatograph 2000 and it assures me that you gave me a compliment. Mahalo! :)

OK - now for the update!

Been pulling out my few remaining hairs over this cracking issue. So frustrating! Turns out I've been suffering from a mixture of 3 things - switching to a clay body with a lower sand/grog content (more prone to cracking), "flashback" - a heat transfer conundrum that occurs when a cooling mug is sitting on a hot kiln shelf, and (most significant) big heavy mugs that can't shrink while drying due to the pressure on their bases. I'll be drying my mugs on their sides from now on, and all firing will be done with some fancy-pants porcelain stilts to provide uniform heating/cooling. The uncertainty factor that is ever present in ceramics is torture!

Unfortunately, these changes came too late for my last batch of mugs - and the cracking curse has struck again. Idol's Hand #1 cracked, and I think I may just keep it. Here it is in all its TRON/Mayan splendor:

Some good studio news is I am now using my AMAZING new clay signature stamp machined out of solid brass by claystamps.com - this is about 1000% better than using a rubber sig stamp:

Opened the kiln this morning to check out how the glaze fire went for Cannibal Idol #2, Idol's Hand #2, and Skull Rock Point. Looks like the cannibal cracked - but the glaze seems to have filled the crack and it may be watertight! Once the mug cools some more I'll give it the hydro test. Skull Rock and the Hand look crack free - but I got some foaming in the interior glaze! Argh! F ef Effity F! So, I've got them cooking once again to try and float out the glaze bubbles. Fingers crossed (and fingernails all chewed away). Here is a peek at the cooling Cannibal:

More photos tomorrow!

Mahalo for peeking,
Henrik "VanTiki"

Post #368164 by VanTiki on Thu, Mar 20, 2008 2:55 PM