AKESHORE COLLECTION - Production notes

From the January 20, 2008 Lakeshore Collection newsletter.

DID YOU KNOW?

My thanks to gifted artist & Master Glazer, Marilyn Jensen for inspiring this special “Did You Know?”, column!

For years, I’ve talked about the difficulty of doing fired pieces as opposed to cold painted plastics or resins. I’ve talked about layers of glaze, numerous firings, only one chance to get everything right, and many chances for failure. Pieces that have been through 90% the process can decide to break, goof, or misfire on the final one. I’ve quoted Mark Crawley of Horsing Around calling ceramic processes a black art….

I’ve talked about why “china-isms” like tiny specks, obscured in glaze that fires clear but is opaque when applied, a teeny particle of black can hide in colored glaze, areas that can look 100% evenly colored going in can fire darker/lighter because of an undetected airbrush speck or brushstrokes that leave a miniscule amount less of glaze where the hairs touched the surface are considered par for the course & not considered defects by those who know, because they know why “perfect” in fired pieces is so rare it’s virtually non-existent. Once any of these things happens, there’s no wiping or paint remover to get it off like a spray painted plastic or resin---it’s fired on. There are NO “overs.”

I’ve covered how hard & messy air-erasing is, and how easy it is to obscure detail or even blow a hole in a piece. I’ve talked about tests, scrap, cost, the love, time & work that is put in each one….

So where’s this going?

Some time ago, Marilyn agreed to try a couple of tests for a potential SR and, she documented the steps…..

As you read the steps, consider that:

• Every layer of clear or colored glaze can potentially, when wet & opaque, hide one of those pesky little specks.
• Every layer of colored china paint or glaze can hide a brushstroke or droplet that fires darker/lighter.
• Every layer of paint/glaze is at least the same amount of work it would take to do the same to a spray painted plastic or brushwork for an artist resin.
• Every layer of glaze, underglaze or paint must dry before firing, lest touching it leave a mark. Depending on humidity, allow at least a day each layer.
• Allow 24 hours---a FULL DAY--for each firing to go from room temperature to as much as 2300 degrees & back down again.
• Every step is one more chance for the piece to end up in the dumpster…...

So here are Marilyn’s steps to turn an out-of-the-box LS into a potential SR:

• stripped of all OF color by sandblasting;
• prefired to cone 04;
• airbrushed in underglazes;
• fired to cone 04;
• airbrushed underglaze coat # 2;
• fired to cone 04;
• handpainted underglaze coat #3;
• fired to cone 04
• airbrushed with gloss glaze;
• fired to cone 06;
• handpainted with china paints;
• fired to cone 018;
• handpainted with china paints coat # 2;
• fired to cone 018;
• handpainted with china paints coat # 3;
• fired to cone 018;
• handpainted with china paints coat #4;
• fired to cone 018.

Mind boggling, isn’t it? And it’s SURE not like spray painting a plastic horse! 

Consider 8 days drying PLUS 9 days firing time alone, not to mention that with 18 separate steps, the mathematical odds are 18-1 AGAINST a piece turning out & the horrific potential scrap rate. Even if you don’t remove the original color & cut out a couple of layers, it’s easy to see how it can be a couple of weeks with work being done daily to take a fired piece from start to finish.

I thank Marilyn for sharing her documentation, and hope that it helps illustrate for collectors just HOW much more difficult & involved fired pieces are, no matter the brand or artist.  Be they factory produced or done by an esteemed artist, there’s a lot of work, time, attention & love put in every “clinky.” And I hope it helps readers understand that when I talk about a LS LE/1000, a special run, an Art of Fire, or a custom glaze being “special” or an unsurpassed value, how hard it is to have the best quality for the best possible price, it may be more so than many ever realized!

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