D. Michael Coffee (shyrabbit) Ceramics in Pagosa Springs, CO

[shyrabbit]

Victoria,
Thanks for take'n a look..maybe we can convert ya...?

I appreciate your comments,
Michael

[clareandromeda]

great new stuff on etsy!!!. if I had a financial advisor her would block etsy from my computer. the Shino and Tenmoku Chawan Tea Bowl is calling my name.

[shyrabbit]

clareandromeda,

Thanks for looking at my stuff and for your kind words;
Michael

Some new tea bowls...
The glaze on this bowl is the result of countless hours of experimentation in effort to replicate a glaze I dicovered in Shui-li, Taiwan. Its almost identical.



Shino tea bowl

[bonjiri]

michael

beautiful yellow glaze . nice !

what is the colorant ? rutile ?

i'm working with doing some ki seto (mino ware) glaze. its in the testing phase too. i need to try it on several clay bodies in reduction firing and possibly in soda too.

cheers

cory

[shyrabbit]

Cory,

No rutile...various ball clays and red and yellow oxide. This is really more of a viscous slip due to its high clay content than a glaze.

Thanks,
Michael

[shyrabbit]

A couple of Satin Celadon tea bowls from my latest firing:
Michael

[Chip]

Such a lovely couple!

Also loved the Shino above. Your pieces are very refined in a very good way. Classy! Beautiful.

[bonjiri]

michael

what recipe u using for your celadon ?

u using a white slip over the stoneware ?

cheers

c

[shyrabbit]

Such a lovely couple!

Also loved the Shino above. Your pieces are very refined in a very good way. Classy! Beautiful.

Chip,

Again, I really appreciate your kind words.

I find great joy in working between the poles. I have often been accused of being too facile, like this would be a bad thing. I'm interested in the almost infinite solutions to a single simple problem. I'm compelled by the "variations on a theme" approach to art making.

I've included some images of my closed form series to give an idea of the other side of my work. Many pieces from this long running series have been installed in tea houses, both private and public, around the world and two have been installed as meditation pieces in temples.

Thanks again,
Michael

[shyrabbit]

michael

what recipe u using for your celadon ?

u using a white slip over the stoneware ?

cheers

c

Cory,
Yes, white slip uinder the celadon. The recipe for the Satin Celadon is as followings:

Satin Celadon
Cone 10 reduction

27.60 Custer Spar
32.40 Wollastonite
31.00 EPK
10.77 Silica

ADD:

1.00 RIO
3.00 Talc ("Serralite" a calcined talc)
2.00 Bone Ash

Satin finish. Especially nice over porcelain. Stays put.

[bonjiri]

thanks for the recipes

what is 'RIO' ?

cool !

hey, can we all see what your custom kiln looks like ?

what kind/s of shelves are u using ? carbide ? 16 years is a long time.

cool man !

c

u firing anytime soon ?

i just loaded a cone 10 gas, hopefully firing soon. will post some pics as soon as its fired. maybe this weekend

[shyrabbit]

c,

Sorry, RIO = Red Iron Oxide

I will try to post images of my kilns tomorrow. Thanks for asking, it's the trial by fire, that in the end, drives many potters to work. The kiln never lies, it can't. I would love to see others kilns...any other kiln pix out there?

My kiln shelves are cordierite, manufactured by the old "Thorley" company. Laguna clay company bought Thorley several years ago and the shelves are now crap. Thorley shelves were the best cordierite shelves ever made, IMO, but not now. This is why I take such good care of them, 16 years and counting.

Pugging and recycling clay today, a "chop wood, carry water" task. Very rewarding.

Michael

[shyrabbit]

My main kiln is a 20 c.f. gas fired updraft. I fire in reduction to cone 10 (2345 F). The small kiln is used for glaze testing and experimental firings. It has no door, it's bricked up to fire. I really love the results that come from this little worker bee.

I designed and built the kilns in 2003 when we relocated to Colorado.

The last image is of my 16 year old kiln shelves.

Thanks for look'n,
Michael

[bonjiri]

michael

wonderful photographs of the kilns

the small glaze test kiln is cool. nice to 'test' glazes for fast turnaround.

both kilns look like they have a nice coating of soda ash. did you ITC the inside before u fired first ?

cool shelves. the new corderite sucks.

also, i do a cooling reduction at the end of the firing down to about 1600-1700 with keawe wood and sometimes keawe charcoal. this might explain the soot.

as the kiln gets up to about cone 8, i spray in water/soda combination. the soda kiln is fired in oxidation up to cone 10 with a cooling reduction (tanka) down to 1600-1700 degrees Fahrenheit.

cheers

c

[shyrabbit]

c,

No ITC or soda, the discoloration of the kiln interiors is from the reduction atmosphere from the firings only.

Ya, it's great to have the small kiln...I use it a lot!

The following images are of chawan fired in a gas kiln, reduction cooled with mesquite charcoal and water which was introduced into the kiln at 2350 F. I wadded and tumble stacked these bowls.

Michael