25.04.08 - Editing the thesis

(or written report, as it should be called)

Again, the week started with a focus on the report. After making further amendments I printed off the whole thing and passed it to Martin to read. That actually gave me a whole day to carry on with the practical work, so I did some throwing and made up a glaze test. It’s a variation of the black reflective glaze with less manganese dioxide. I managed to get a test in Richard’s firing and the results looked much the same s the original. There was a texture in the surface; more of a mottling that I realise is due to not having ball-milled the glaze. So I gave it 4 or 5 hours in the ball mill and dipped another test piece which was put into another glaze firing of Richards, this time to 1140°. Not a straight comparison, I realise, but I’ll get a test into a 1080° firing next week.
I think I’ll try another glaze variant with even less manganese as I hope to get a perfect finish on my pieces.
I threw a number of porcelain mugs, each of a different proportion, some my normal mug shape, but others wider & shallower. I have chosen a lovely satin white glaze, one of Emmanuel Boos tests that will provide a neutral effect, as I’m interested in how the contents will be perceived in use. Applying handles was an interesting exercise. I pulled some handles, but when they were applied they were far to heavy, fine for my earthenware, but totally out of balance for the porcelain. It’s interesting how the material made such a difference, or is it a result of our material associations?
On Thursday morning I greeted Martin with coffee and croissants as I thought we would need sustenance for going through the report that he had spend over 5 hours reading. It was festooned with post-it notes, quite a terrifying sight but Martin reassured me that it wasn’t as bad as it looked. The majority were punctuation or formatting, very few required any serious re-writing, thank goodness. I’m not sure I could face that.
I hope to finish the suggested amendments to the thesis this weekend and perhaps get out to see a film, or go for a decent walk. Spring is finally warming up, Kensington Gardens was looking beautiful this week and I would very much like to get a taste of the Cumbrian spring.