Figments: Test Tiles Gone Mad

When you work in ceramics there are a lot of variables. And one of the toughest variables to get right is the finish. You want a finish that will complement the piece you are creating. It's like a marriage and the wrong combination can ruin your work. And unlike the painter who just squeezes color out of a tube, the ceramist quite often must experiment with chemicals and firings to arrive at the finish they desire.

This experimentation can takes days, months, years!!!! It is a hard job! At times it feels like the perfect finish will never be found, all the while you play the part of artist, chemist and mad scientist. I know people who have been working and experimenting for years who are still not satisfied, still searching. They try out a glaze on a test tile, fire it in the kiln, like the results, put it on their precious sculpture, fire it up, only to pull it out of the kiln in great disappointment. "Another piece bites the dust and now back to the drawing board". Its a hard life we live. But we love it! We are passionate about it! And yes we are a bit crazy!

A Brief Lesson on How to Make a Test Tile.
Take a small rectangular piece of clay, lay it on the table. Lift one end of the rectangle and fold up until it resembles the seat and back of a chair. Voile you have a test tile! Not to hard eh?

Well that's one way to make a test tile!

I wanted a test tile with a face since most of my work involves faces and I might find that helpful in determining my results. So I pushed a face onto a blob of clay and just smashed the clay around the face and to my amazement my test tiles became little "figments of my imagination". I tried out a few glazes and enjoyed my results. They are a wild bunch, but now back to the drawing board!