Inktober

ByJoseph Travis

Every October, artists all over the world take on the Inktober drawing challenge by doing one ink drawing a day the entire month. – Jake Parker So I decided yesterday that I would do Inktober again this year. Inktober is a challenge created by Jake Parker to try and improve drawing skills with a focus on doing an ink drawing every day in October. Last year I did a still life every day based with an improvised tool, including some dip pens I made out of clay that had varying success.  I really enjoyed making and finding different tools and…

More Saggars

ByJoseph Travis

So this week I made some prototype saggar formers and saggars, I mixed my own clay with sawdust, grog from broken pots and some molochite for added strength.  Now if I didn’t have a deadline I would let them dry over two weeks, but I had a deadline so I force dried overnight and fired the next day so you will see some cracks in the larger saggar. Also if you want to make a saggar former don’t leave such big gaps as the clay can get stuck in them making the harder to remove.

What’s in the Saggar?

ByJoseph Travis

For the uninitiated, I should explain what a Saggar is, it is a big piece of pottery that smaller pottery is sealed in.  Traditionally this was done in Stoke on Trent to protect the pottery from the coal fire that they fired their kilns with. Modern Potters use them to get a reduction environment inside an electric kiln, this stops the kiln from getting damaged and brings some different effects to the pots. I threw a a saggar a few years ago and it has been sat on the top shelf on my studio for a few years now, not…

What’s in a Shed? Or how I have been teaching myself CAD

What’s in a Shed? Or how I have been teaching myself CAD

ByJoseph Travis

In 2016 I started working as a Design Technology Technician at a local school, after I finished my Masters I felt like a change.  The job means I work in a variety of materials, mainly wood and plastics but also metals.  There is also an element of electronics which the department wants to expand in an I have qualifications in, so I am helping them expand what they offer to their students. The other main skill that they offer is computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacture (CAM), we have a laser cutter, cnc router and 3D printer that…