In Search of Fine Surfaces

Weald was done as an exercise in bone dry carving of porcelain after viewing a brief demonstration by a local potter. As you can see, a very fine, smooth, surface is achieved. This is done by scraping the dry clay surface with a sharp curved carving knife and then smoothing, almost melting the edges, with a wet paint brush.

I am very happy with the quality of the carving, however the time needed to finish it vastly exceeded the patience I am willing to extend on a more regular basis.

I worked on this piece from January 2006, and finally removed it finished from the glaze kiln in January of 2007.

From this point I am going to experiment with various hybrid techniques to speed up the rough carving process, and reserve this technique for the last finishing stages of a work.