Cone 6 Firing Part 2!

I just recently fired my second round of Cone 6 glazes in my kiln, and this round turned out exceptionally well. This entry is going to mainly focus on pictures of the pieces, if you have any questions about the firing, feel free to leave a comment. All pieces were fired with Amaco's Cone 6 glazes and are a combination of two glazes brushed on top of each other.

 

Large Tenmoku vase with Seaweed Green on top

Loving this combination!

Base Glaze is Amaco's Tenmoku

Glaze on Top is Amaco's Seaweed Green

 

Twisted Top Bottle

Twisted Top Bottle

Base Glaze is Amaco's Tenmoku

From Above Angle

Top Glaze is Amaco's Seaweed Green

 

Small Brown Vase

Round Brown Vase

Base Glaze is Tenmoku

Top Glaze is Light coat of Lustrous Jade

 

Bowls

Base Glaze Blue Rutile, top glaze Seaweed Green

Inside of Bowl

Blue Rutile Base, Top Lustrous Jade

Inside of bowl

 

 

Thanks for Reading and Looking!

-Mark Barta

 

 

 

 

Throwing a Bottle on the Potter's Wheel

Today I am showing a YouTube video of me throwing a bottle on the wheel.

In throwing a bottle on the potter's wheel, many challenges can be incurred in the process.  For instance, as seen in the video above, buckling can occur while you are bring the cylinder from being wide to very narrow.  The most important thing when throwing a bottle is to not lose your cool and stay calm.  If you are throwing a bottle and notice that the clay is buckling, slow down the wheel and start a pull at the base of the neck to straighten it back out, using a throwing stick can aid in this.  

Bottles can be some of the most fun and challenging form to throw on the wheel.  In the coming weeks I will be uploading another video showing how I create my signature twisted bottle.

Thanks for reading

-Mark Barta

Welcome to Twisted Top Pottery

Welcome to Twisted Top Pottery!  As this is my first post, I would like to formally introduce myself, my name is Mark Barta, I currently reside in Kansas City, KS, and I have been practicing ceramics for the past 10 years.  I first fell in love with wheel throwing in High School where I took as many ceramics classes as I could.  I later studied Ceramics in college at Kansas State University under the direction of Yoshiro Ikeda.  

I mainly create pottery on the wheel and create both functional and sculptural works.  The name Twisted Top Pottery comes from my take on the bottle form, I throw a bottle shape on the wheel and then alter the top of the form to bring movement and flow to the piece.  I recently have completed work on my own studio in the basement of my house and am excited to be creating works of art in my new studio.  

My goals for this blog are to share my pieces of ceramic art with the World, gain valuable feedback on my pieces to further grow in my artist direction, and to share tips and techniques I have learned over the years of study.  I usually create wheel thrown pieces throughout the week and fire over the weekend every other weekend.  I will update this blog on Sunday's in the afternoon with either pieces of work or ceramic related content, sometimes both.  

Displayed to the left is my first piece that I would like to share.  This piece is an example of my signature Twisted Top Bottle form, it is glazed with Spectrum's Low Fire Burnt Sugar and Mayco's Copper Adventurine, with accents of Mayco's Magic Flow glaze.  

The circle followed by a trail of copper is a decorative mark I am currently working and is in it's early stages, I will be working to evolve this decorative mark over the next few weeks.  

Thanks for checking out my first of many blogs!  

    - Mark Barta