even with that small crack it is a very cool piece. I know that just knowing its there is enough to be annoying though. glad to see the finished product. also nice to see your little supervisor working hard.
Brilliant as always! I did want to let you know that there is a tool you can get for recreating the stepped pattern without just using your working memory! It's called a contour gauge and is basically a series of lightweight pins held together by a bar that allows them to slide freely or lock into place, you can use it to measure the inner contour of the steps then use it as a physical or visual reference to create the inverse. Carpenters, builders, designers and restorers of all stripes use them in their work to replicate say, the exact curve of a hubcap, shape of a table leg or the dimensions of trim around a door for flooring installation.
That shape could easily be the coolest dog food bowl ever made. and it might be heavy enough for my dog not to push it all over the kitchen floor. I LOVE IT!
I would say I preferred the rounder bowl bottom simply due to the contrast. The stepped underside to match is a technical marvel but I felt the angularity became overwhelming. Just my two cents. Beautiful works and the steps hold the glaze beautifully
A jewelry maker once told me that there is always one mistake in any work and it keeps your soul from staying with the piece. Typically, this imperfection is something only the maker notices.
Since you’ve shared a wealth of knowledge on the internet, I’d like to pass along a trimming trick that might help with your stepped vessels (and others reading this). I came across it online but unfortunately, I can't recall the source. Here's the method: Before placing the vessel on the wheel, stick a push pin through the bottom of the bowl from the inside. As you trim, remove thin layers and go slowly until you feel a slight "tick" from the pin (this will be small, yet distinct). When you feel the pin, you’ve trimmed enough. If you cut the pin to length, it achieves the desired thickness. You can smooth over the hole on the inside if you want, though glazing will often seal it just fine. Thank you for sharing your extensive knowledge, time, patience, and calm demeanor. Sending good vibes from Los Angeles, California!
The curved bottom variation is actually my favourite. The contrast between both sides just adds another dimension of interest, im glad that one survived, even the tiniest highline crack that appeared didnt take anything away from the beauty of this piece.
I love the way the light catches on the steps, and traveled around the piece in unison as you held it. It feels like a piece that could benefit from a display that allows you to capture that effect.
I'm not alone in enjoying the contrast of the round underside and stepped top it seems, so I'm happy to see it survived the longest! really a gorgeous form, and I look forward to further iterations
the soft jazz on the background is pretty fitting, considering how chill your videos generally are i wasnt really Seeing it on these designs, until i saw the glazed, finished look. it came out really nice
I am digging the green glaze. The way it pooled at the bottom of each step is a satisfying contrast/kind of shadow. Also really like both the curved and angular bottoms 👍 nice work
If you approached the trimming and shaping more like a wood turner or metal machinist, you could achieve more consistent wall thicknesses between the steps on the top and bottom. Specifically, I mean that you could work from a drawing and measure the location and depths of your steps more precisely.
I had a wood turner friend who spent months trying to turn stepped bowls like this.He was never able to quite get them right. Good luck with your efforts
I was surprised you didn't carry on the second and third cracked pieces anyway; I think I'd have been too curious to see how the glaze reacted with the different interior shapes and step sizes. But then again, breaking them looked so cathartic.
Even without the technical advantages, I prefer the rounded botton on an aesthetic level - it's an interesting counterpoint to the very hard, angular top. I also liked the one with the taller, narrower shape - it would certainly be interesting to see various different shapes/proportions of this type of vessel.
Oh sorry for you regarding the frustration. But you did the right thing by destroying the also-rans. That is courageous. The learning and experimentation is far more important! So good of you to share the process!
This is so cool tho Florian. Ty for sharing, this content makes me happy on a week that has made me big sad. The final survivor is awesome, even w a lil crack.
I love the combination effect of the different shapes next to each other. The shapes are cool individually, but I think they really shine brightest as a collected display. That also reinforces them as art objects rather than pieces for utility.
You need a set of stepped cardboard templates, one per side, cut so that they don’t interfere but instead, leave the wall of even thickness you’re looking for.
I was quite fond of the vessel with the central hole that cracked in drying. If you plan on making another batch with two-parts you could turn it into a very striking vase.
So pretty!! I love the glaze pools. Honestly I'd love to see it full of water. Or filling it with dry beans/ rice and pouring them out. Just for the look of it honestly
I think the indentation in the wall is from shrinkage in the thicker section where the bottom isn't hollowed out, rather than anything to do with trimming.
I think the shape is very interesting and the glaze looks beautiful in the different planes. I like the contrast of the angular circles with the rounded bottom. I wouldnt care about the little imperfections, that is in part what makes your work an art, and make your pieces so far more covetable than more regular serial ones that look all the same.😊
I'm sad that the last pot didn't make it 😢 It was my favorite, too. But alas, the party was short-lived. Oh well, at least you now have some experience so you can avoid such issues!
An idea to consider: get a Contour Gauge and use it to take a physical snapshot of what the top surface looks like after trimming, then refer to it when trimming the bottom
I’m sure it’s sacrilege to say so. But I love functional art. This would make an amazing bowl and mug set. Seems like it would be so fun to eat from and also a perfect way to know when it’s time to get more coffee or tea.
Maybe try drawing and cutting out a profile template (perhaps from wood?) that you can use to measure your trimming against? Seems quite challenging to do otherwise.
I really like it? The step look really nice, the curved underside is nice. I like the one that had a hole in the middle it just looked interesting. Keep up the experiments, can’t wait to see more.
I cant wait to see larger versions! could be really interesting. maybe you could try doing a line of one glaze a line of another, to demonstrate how the two interact when flowing and pooling down the vessel
It would be really cool to have a wooden gizmo that holds this up on its side and be rolling around with the ability to tip gently backwards for forward with a pretty marble or bell that will roam over all of the ledges!
The stepped peice is brilliant. Love how the glaze interacts with the shape. The crack wouldn't bother me at all, but I would like the side not to have the indentation.
Always love your videos, the processes and the narrations are always on point. I'm not the biggest fan of this sculptural idea though, maybe it's because it's not fully realized yet- I'm sure once you refine the technique, or change the scale of the sculpture, or whatever genius idea pops into your head will surely bring it into fruition. I am curious to see what you try next.
Very interesting! Sort of like an inverted ziggurat. I know this isn't what you had in mind at all, but I can't help but wondering how much fun it would be to bounce rubber balls around in there.
Even with the crack it is still beautiful. I know a lot of your work uses sharp edges but when you do the steps I think it might look interesting if you added a slope inward to them, or even dish them slightly so the glaze kind of pools in the middle of the steps. I think it could add a potentially unique contrast.
Because the steps are in theory equal, the bottom should not be rounded, but instead linear to make the clay thickness more even, and to redigert the clay thickness in the middle part where it cracked on the rounded bottom
I feel like you could create a template out of cardstock or something that has the stairstep on the top and bottom edges, that way you wouldn't have to eyeball making the steps match.
2:20 looks like delicious chocolate cake. Love your work, but that made me hungry! The curved bottom I think might dictate their use. Doing the steps makes them reversible without a change in style. But being able to repeat the design without risking the strength could also be useful depending your plans.
very interesting! to combat the difficulty in getting the stepped underside to the correct shape have you considered measuring the depth of each ledge to give you a better idea of where they cut off?
Machinist here- You'd do yourself a lot of favors by getting a pair of calipers and drafting a blueprint of your piece, or taking a recording of the depths and diameters of each step, then using that to plan and carve out opposing shoulders on the bottom. Watching wood or metal turning process videos might be helpful.
Absolutely love your channel! Very cool project. Could you possibly throw them as a baseless closed form bowl instead? Like you would an actual ceramic dog bowl. That said, throwing in 2 parts does sound like the easiest solution. 😂
Once you've cut the stepped inside you could draw the cross-section to create a template for the underside contours. Not suggesting you do this for all of them, but maybe a few while you get used to the new shape with difficult access.
This could be a silly idea, but have you tried using a small led light inside the bowl as you shape it? Maybe it's bright enough to show the interior steps, and help you shape the curved underside.
These look really cool, too bad about the breakage. An idea for matching the steps on both sides: could this be done by making some sort of template or profile tracing of the upper steps on cardboard or similar, so that you have a reference you can use without flipping the pot? No doubt this would require some practice to get right, and it might not be quite your style of working, but it seems like it could work
Could the cracks be caused by tension from the heavy centre pulling down as it dries? Even if the centre and the outer rim are coplanar at the start of the drying process, if the middle shrinks quicker than the sides, the centre will lift and cause it to be hanging under tension. Maybe try drying them upside down?
I liked the step pots, the round base I think is Mt favourite, the only way to make steps on both sides would involve lots of measuring, so that they line up dramatically but do you really want to make something so perfect?. Set of large ,medium and small would be good to look at and to be really stunning if that sat into each other, it would look amazing, if you did that, you would need a very long holiday to relax every bit of you and then what would you make, maybe just stick to a small medium and large, with either round or stepped underside, so that you don't burn out any further artistic expression, that would be a great shame. Thankyou as always for sharing your knowledge, your how to and the final pieces glazed in their finery 😊
It’s painful that you spent so much time and effort on these, and none of them made it in the end. I do love the stepped effect on the finished pot, though. Very appropriate object for your newest glaze.
Have you ever considered carving a jack-o-lantern with tools similar to the trimming tools you use for pottery? I tried a dollar store vegetable trimmer that was built almost identically to one of your pottery trimmers, though thicker and duller and obviously less well-built in general, and was quite satisfied with my results despite my inexperience with that type of tool. I found the process interesting.
Feels like you should be able to create a stepped pattern in the same material as the high gauge you have. the one with the soft tip. Either that or with a scissor cut out the negative stepped patter in a piece of stiff paper.
Can you use a digital caliper to gauge the depths you've trimmed to? I also wonder if you could carve something in the shape of the "Darling Harbour Woodward Water Feature" - it'd be mesmerising!
Nice to see how a master artisan crafted dog dish ends up being made after all this trial and error. Probably a bit pricey for what it is, but somebody out there would be willing to spoil their pets with such unique ceramic pieces.
I really like the contrast of the round bottom to the stepped inside. It really reminds me of a Colosseum and I love it.
The one is called the colosseum. The building is called an amphitheatre.
even with that small crack it is a very cool piece. I know that just knowing its there is enough to be annoying though. glad to see the finished product. also nice to see your little supervisor working hard.
Brilliant as always! I did want to let you know that there is a tool you can get for recreating the stepped pattern without just using your working memory! It's called a contour gauge and is basically a series of lightweight pins held together by a bar that allows them to slide freely or lock into place, you can use it to measure the inner contour of the steps then use it as a physical or visual reference to create the inverse. Carpenters, builders, designers and restorers of all stripes use them in their work to replicate say, the exact curve of a hubcap, shape of a table leg or the dimensions of trim around a door for flooring installation.
That shape could easily be the coolest dog food bowl ever made. and it might be heavy enough for my dog not to push it all over the kitchen floor. I LOVE IT!
Not very practical to clean though, heh.
@@malydokdishwasher
I would say I preferred the rounder bowl bottom simply due to the contrast. The stepped underside to match is a technical marvel but I felt the angularity became overwhelming. Just my two cents. Beautiful works and the steps hold the glaze beautifully
A jewelry maker once told me that there is always one mistake in any work and it keeps your soul from staying with the piece. Typically, this imperfection is something only the maker notices.
Since you’ve shared a wealth of knowledge on the internet, I’d like to pass along a trimming trick that might help with your stepped vessels (and others reading this). I came across it online but unfortunately, I can't recall the source. Here's the method:
Before placing the vessel on the wheel, stick a push pin through the bottom of the bowl from the inside. As you trim, remove thin layers and go slowly until you feel a slight "tick" from the pin (this will be small, yet distinct). When you feel the pin, you’ve trimmed enough.
If you cut the pin to length, it achieves the desired thickness. You can smooth over the hole on the inside if you want, though glazing will often seal it just fine.
Thank you for sharing your extensive knowledge, time, patience, and calm demeanor. Sending good vibes from Los Angeles, California!
The round bottom is my favorite. The bowls look stern in their simplicity.
The curved bottom variation is actually my favourite. The contrast between both sides just adds another dimension of interest, im glad that one survived, even the tiniest highline crack that appeared didnt take anything away from the beauty of this piece.
I love the way the light catches on the steps, and traveled around the piece in unison as you held it. It feels like a piece that could benefit from a display that allows you to capture that effect.
8:24 Your dog waltzing in frame was great timing
I'm not alone in enjoying the contrast of the round underside and stepped top it seems, so I'm happy to see it survived the longest! really a gorgeous form, and I look forward to further iterations
the soft jazz on the background is pretty fitting, considering how chill your videos generally are
i wasnt really Seeing it on these designs, until i saw the glazed, finished look. it came out really nice
I agree, Thursdays are good filming days. I hope the musicians next door don’t mind providing the accompaniment.
I am digging the green glaze. The way it pooled at the bottom of each step is a satisfying contrast/kind of shadow. Also really like both the curved and angular bottoms 👍 nice work
If you approached the trimming and shaping more like a wood turner or metal machinist, you could achieve more consistent wall thicknesses between the steps on the top and bottom. Specifically, I mean that you could work from a drawing and measure the location and depths of your steps more precisely.
The shape reminds me of a spiral which would probably be more difficult to manage but would look lovely spinning on the wheel!
I had a wood turner friend who spent months trying to turn stepped bowls like this.He was never able to quite get them right. Good luck with your efforts
Music with pottery brings memories of university art school, work study in costuming helped pay my way & being in the building always felt so special
I was surprised you didn't carry on the second and third cracked pieces anyway; I think I'd have been too curious to see how the glaze reacted with the different interior shapes and step sizes. But then again, breaking them looked so cathartic.
Even without the technical advantages, I prefer the rounded botton on an aesthetic level - it's an interesting counterpoint to the very hard, angular top. I also liked the one with the taller, narrower shape - it would certainly be interesting to see various different shapes/proportions of this type of vessel.
there is something so satisfying about trimming. watching that process brought peacefulness to my mind. ❤
Oh sorry for you regarding the frustration. But you did the right thing by destroying the also-rans. That is courageous. The learning and experimentation is far more important! So good of you to share the process!
This is so cool tho Florian. Ty for sharing, this content makes me happy on a week that has made me big sad. The final survivor is awesome, even w a lil crack.
I love the combination effect of the different shapes next to each other. The shapes are cool individually, but I think they really shine brightest as a collected display. That also reinforces them as art objects rather than pieces for utility.
You need a set of stepped cardboard templates, one per side, cut so that they don’t interfere but instead, leave the wall of even thickness you’re looking for.
My thought exactly. Draw the cross section that you want, cut it out, and use the negative space pieces as templates for each side.
I was quite fond of the vessel with the central hole that cracked in drying. If you plan on making another batch with two-parts you could turn it into a very striking vase.
So pretty!! I love the glaze pools. Honestly I'd love to see it full of water. Or filling it with dry beans/ rice and pouring them out. Just for the look of it honestly
Lovely! I like the contrast of the round underside with the stepped upper side! Can’t wait to see more of these and in other glazes
I was unsure about the piece at first but it turned out awesome. The glaze is super nice on it and I love it
I think it's very nice. Don't give up on this (these) idea(s).
Like that very much. Almost an electrical insulator vibe - part of something high voltage. It seems specialised / utilitarian yet attractive.
That crack can stay! It's perfect in my eyes.
I think the indentation in the wall is from shrinkage in the thicker section where the bottom isn't hollowed out, rather than anything to do with trimming.
that would make the ultimate, one size fits all, candle holder!
I think the shape is very interesting and the glaze looks beautiful in the different planes. I like the contrast of the angular circles with the rounded bottom. I wouldnt care about the little imperfections, that is in part what makes your work an art, and make your pieces so far more covetable than more regular serial ones that look all the same.😊
I love watching you work the clay.
I'm sad that the last pot didn't make it 😢 It was my favorite, too. But alas, the party was short-lived. Oh well, at least you now have some experience so you can avoid such issues!
I really love that pooling on the steps, so pretty ... 😊
What a fabulous idea and design. I know you will be able to perfect this
Keep playing with the steps in your experiments they create some mesmerizing angles after glazing. I think you’re onto something here.
An idea to consider: get a Contour Gauge and use it to take a physical snapshot of what the top surface looks like after trimming, then refer to it when trimming the bottom
I’m sure it’s sacrilege to say so. But I love functional art. This would make an amazing bowl and mug set. Seems like it would be so fun to eat from and also a perfect way to know when it’s time to get more coffee or tea.
Beautiful. Love that glaze.
Very beautiful pottery.
more jazz session footage i beg, such a perfect pairing
Another great video Florian!!! Always inspirational!
Maybe try drawing and cutting out a profile template (perhaps from wood?) that you can use to measure your trimming against? Seems quite challenging to do otherwise.
those would make some amazing ash trays.
I preferred the rounded bottom. It's unexpected, given the top.
I really like it? The step look really nice, the curved underside is nice. I like the one that had a hole in the middle it just looked interesting. Keep up the experiments, can’t wait to see more.
I cant wait to see larger versions! could be really interesting. maybe you could try doing a line of one glaze a line of another, to demonstrate how the two interact when flowing and pooling down the vessel
Embrace what our hand-building brethren know to be true: make two components and join them. You admitted in the vid you're considering it
Beautiful
I love it. 😮 You could make the steps slightly sloped to create a well at the base of the riser fornthenstep above in which more glaze could pool.
These stepped bowls are so pretty ❤
It would be really cool to have a wooden gizmo that holds this up on its side and be rolling around with the ability to tip gently backwards for forward with a pretty marble or bell that will roam over all of the ledges!
and forward not for forward
Beuatiful work
The stepped peice is brilliant. Love how the glaze interacts with the shape. The crack wouldn't bother me at all, but I would like the side not to have the indentation.
the wider ones with the hole in the middle reminds me of the oculus in the parthenon
They say of the acropolis where the parthenon is...
wanted to see the whole process for these, for a very long time
Always love your videos, the processes and the narrations are always on point. I'm not the biggest fan of this sculptural idea though, maybe it's because it's not fully realized yet- I'm sure once you refine the technique, or change the scale of the sculpture, or whatever genius idea pops into your head will surely bring it into fruition. I am curious to see what you try next.
Very interesting! Sort of like an inverted ziggurat. I know this isn't what you had in mind at all, but I can't help but wondering how much fun it would be to bounce rubber balls around in there.
Shout out Florian
Thanks
Even with the crack it is still beautiful. I know a lot of your work uses sharp edges but when you do the steps I think it might look interesting if you added a slope inward to them, or even dish them slightly so the glaze kind of pools in the middle of the steps. I think it could add a potentially unique contrast.
I am a beginner . This is amazing
Because the steps are in theory equal, the bottom should not be rounded, but instead linear to make the clay thickness more even, and to redigert the clay thickness in the middle part where it cracked on the rounded bottom
I feel like you could create a template out of cardstock or something that has the stairstep on the top and bottom edges, that way you wouldn't have to eyeball making the steps match.
That looks so beautiful 😂😂😂 that this little crack doen't matter. You will only see it because you know that it's there.
Beautiful piece, 👍👍
Eating tomato soup from this would be sublime.
2:20 looks like delicious chocolate cake. Love your work, but that made me hungry!
The curved bottom I think might dictate their use. Doing the steps makes them reversible without a change in style. But being able to repeat the design without risking the strength could also be useful depending your plans.
very interesting! to combat the difficulty in getting the stepped underside to the correct shape have you considered measuring the depth of each ledge to give you a better idea of where they cut off?
very nice paper weight, would be a good new member of my horde of desk ornaments 💀
Machinist here- You'd do yourself a lot of favors by getting a pair of calipers and drafting a blueprint of your piece, or taking a recording of the depths and diameters of each step, then using that to plan and carve out opposing shoulders on the bottom. Watching wood or metal turning process videos might be helpful.
This looks like a classic example of a slip-cast piece, which might make more sense in the production.
Absolutely love your channel! Very cool project. Could you possibly throw them as a baseless closed form bowl instead? Like you would an actual ceramic dog bowl.
That said, throwing in 2 parts does sound like the easiest solution. 😂
Very nice!
that's an interesting shape, i'm tempted to try one out of wood
Once you've cut the stepped inside you could draw the cross-section to create a template for the underside contours. Not suggesting you do this for all of them, but maybe a few while you get used to the new shape with difficult access.
"let's just hope it survives drying and firing with no cracks" foreshadowing is a literary device...
This could be a silly idea, but have you tried using a small led light inside the bowl as you shape it? Maybe it's bright enough to show the interior steps, and help you shape the curved underside.
Florian: "the shape is reminiscent of the type of pot I really dont want this object to be. I'm sure you can guess what that is"
Me:
8:25 a dog bowl?
or ashtray?
@@takimi_nada I’m definitely thinking ashtray
These look really cool, too bad about the breakage. An idea for matching the steps on both sides: could this be done by making some sort of template or profile tracing of the upper steps on cardboard or similar, so that you have a reference you can use without flipping the pot? No doubt this would require some practice to get right, and it might not be quite your style of working, but it seems like it could work
Could the cracks be caused by tension from the heavy centre pulling down as it dries? Even if the centre and the outer rim are coplanar at the start of the drying process, if the middle shrinks quicker than the sides, the centre will lift and cause it to be hanging under tension. Maybe try drying them upside down?
This seems like a good idea. Upside down it will be an arch which is an extremely stable structure
I liked the step pots, the round base I think is Mt favourite, the only way to make steps on both sides would involve lots of measuring, so that they line up dramatically but do you really want to make something so perfect?. Set of large ,medium and small would be good to look at and to be really stunning if that sat into each other, it would look amazing, if you did that, you would need a very long holiday to relax every bit of you and then what would you make, maybe just stick to a small medium and large, with either round or stepped underside, so that you don't burn out any further artistic expression, that would be a great shame. Thankyou as always for sharing your knowledge, your how to and the final pieces glazed in their finery 😊
Up next: I really want my sculptural pots to be PERFECT, so I made a CNC potters wheel!
0:11
My jaw dropped 😅 was not prepared
I bet with those big calipers they use for lathe work (outside calipers I think they're called) you could get a consistently thick cross section
It’s painful that you spent so much time and effort on these, and none of them made it in the end. I do love the stepped effect on the finished pot, though. Very appropriate object for your newest glaze.
Cool dog food bowl
imo the stepped inside in more conceptually pure. Maybe you could measure the steps as you trim after calculating the width of the circles needed? x
favorite part to watch: waxing
Have you ever considered carving a jack-o-lantern with tools similar to the trimming tools you use for pottery? I tried a dollar store vegetable trimmer that was built almost identically to one of your pottery trimmers, though thicker and duller and obviously less well-built in general, and was quite satisfied with my results despite my inexperience with that type of tool. I found the process interesting.
a story stick or template I think would help with trimming on the underside to give you a better visual of what is on the side you can't see.
Feels like you should be able to create a stepped pattern in the same material as the high gauge you have. the one with the soft tip. Either that or with a scissor cut out the negative stepped patter in a piece of stiff paper.
Can you use a digital caliper to gauge the depths you've trimmed to? I also wonder if you could carve something in the shape of the "Darling Harbour Woodward Water Feature" - it'd be mesmerising!
Nice to see how a master artisan crafted dog dish ends up being made after all this trial and error. Probably a bit pricey for what it is, but somebody out there would be willing to spoil their pets with such unique ceramic pieces.
I think a stepped gauge could let you match steps inside and out. Either 3d print it, or print it on card stock and cut it out.