Glaze tests with wire

I have been experimenting incorporating wire into and onto glazes. 

Loosely wrapping the wire around the already glazed object I was curious to see what would happen to the wire. Would it melt into the glaze? Or would it sit on top of the glaze? Would it colour the glaze?

Majolica with copper and steel wire test.
Cone 04

The test results were exciting and unexpected. The copper wire bleached into the glaze, creating a green tinge with a smooth surface, and the steel wire became rough and textured like sand paper. 

Shino reduction glaze with copper wire
Cone 6
and gold lustre

The results were completely different when fired in a hotter kiln (Cone 6) with a reduction atmosphere. The copper completely melted and turned black. 

I was also interested to see what would happen if I then applied a gold lustre glaze on top of this effect. Gold lustre fires at a very low temperature (Cone 022) which meant that it didn't affect the previous results from the reduction firing. 

I can't wait to try these effects on bigger pieces of ceramics!

Diaspora

Queen Anne's Lace is an introduced flower from Britain that can be found growing abundently in Australia and Canada. As an introduced species I see this plant as a symbol of travel with the ability to adapt to its environment. Dried flower heads have been dipped in a porcelain slip and fired, leaving behind lace like structures. Although delicate in appearance, the plant has adapted to both the cold conditions of Canada and the arid conditions of Australia.

'Diaspora' has been selected to be exhibited in BeLonging, an exhibition curated by TACA (The Australian Ceramic Association) as part of the Australian Ceramics Triennale held in Canberra in 2015. Selected artists created commentaries inspired by place.

The exhibition will run from 27 June to 11 July 2015, at the ANU School of Art Foyer Gallery, 2 Childers St, Acton, ACT 2601.