Anax Posted November 14, 2019 Report Share Posted November 14, 2019 Hi all, New here and first post. I am also very new to working with clay but have been really enjoying it and ready to learn more. I have constructed a clay Udu drum, it's like a vase with a curved bottom and a hole in the side. I haven't bisqued it yet and am looking for advice how I might glaze after bisquing so that I can achieve full coverage. I have attached a photo for you. Please let me know what other information I can provide to help getting a better answer. Would tripod stilts be sufficient? Looking forward to participating in this forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted November 14, 2019 Report Share Posted November 14, 2019 How about for simplicity a typical foot ring and that can be the only unglazed surface? So inside, out and bottom normal glaze and just wipe clean the foot ring? Makes for easy placement in the kiln. Make sure the bottom does not touch the kiln shelf though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anax Posted November 14, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2019 Hi Bill, Thanks for the suggestion. I also considered this but decided against it for several reasons including a. aesthetics, b. acoustics and c. player comfort. Essentially I'm looking for tips that deal with the drum as shown and described. I will keep your advice in mind for future iterations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted November 14, 2019 Report Share Posted November 14, 2019 Sorry, the drums I have seen all have bottoms are hand made and often pit fired. If yours is bottomless can you just wipe the glaze from the bottom edge? Maybe I am just unclear what the glaze issue is. If you have a bottom but no foot then maybe don’t glaze, finish the bottom later with urethane or acrylic ...... Just some thoughts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anax Posted November 14, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2019 Let's take it from a different angle, Bill. This drum is bottomless. I want to know if there is a way to glaze the entire surface, there is no such bottom edge to wipe glaze away from. I want 100% coverage. Think of a ball with a neck opening and a hole in it's side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Kielb Posted November 14, 2019 Report Share Posted November 14, 2019 5 minutes ago, Anax said: Let's take it from a different angle, Bill. This drum is bottomless. I want to know if there is a way to glaze the entire surface, there is no such bottom edge to wipe glaze away from. I want 100% coverage. Think of a ball with a neck opening and a hole in it's side. Thanks, you might want to post a picture of the underside of this. I was going to suggest you can fire it upside down but again if you do not want to touch up anything and 100% is truly 100% then some sort of stilt will get you close. I think a picture would help others formulate ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted November 14, 2019 Report Share Posted November 14, 2019 7 minutes ago, Anax said: Let's take it from a different angle, Bill. This drum is bottomless. I want to know if there is a way to glaze the entire surface, there is no such bottom edge to wipe glaze away from. I want 100% coverage. Think of a ball with a neck opening and a hole in it's side. If it's a low fire item you can stilt it, but if it's mid or high fire there's not a good option for 100% glazing coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted November 14, 2019 Report Share Posted November 14, 2019 If it's lowfire you could suspend it upside down with a tall kiln post inside. Outside could be completely glazed, inside glazed down to where the kiln post would be in contact with the inside of the base. If the unglazed interior area where the kiln post rests effects the acoustics then perhaps a cold finish sealer over that area would resolve the issue. Might be able to get away with this with midfire, would depend on the claybody. edit: the title says bottomless but in your description you say "it's ball with a neck opening and a hole in it's side" so would footless describe it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyK Posted November 14, 2019 Report Share Posted November 14, 2019 If it is a drum, I'm guessing that you would beat on what you call the bottomless bottom. if that is the case, why not leave the rim of the top opening unglazed and just fire it upside down as it is shown in the photo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted November 15, 2019 Report Share Posted November 15, 2019 Do you mean it's rounded on the bottom, rather than flat? If so, then it has a bottom, it just doesn't have a foot. Not having a bottom would mean that's it's open at the bottom, like at the top. That's a different issue. How to glaze fire your drum will depend on what cone you plan to glaze fire to. What clay body did you use, and how hot do you plan to glaze fire? How tall is the piece? If it were mine, I'd fire it upside down and leave the lip unglazed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted November 15, 2019 Report Share Posted November 15, 2019 I think Neil's solution should work well. You can always use something later on the top to make certain it is smooth. . . . grind with diamond pad, and then oil or wax. best, Pres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted November 17, 2019 Report Share Posted November 17, 2019 What @neilestrick and @liambesawsaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CactusPots Posted November 17, 2019 Report Share Posted November 17, 2019 On 11/14/2019 at 10:02 AM, Min said: If it's lowfire you could suspend it upside down with a tall kiln post inside. Outside could be completely glazed, inside glazed down to where the kiln post would be in contact with the inside of the base. If the unglazed interior area where the kiln post rests effects the acoustics then perhaps a cold finish sealer over that area would resolve the issue. Might be able to get away with this with midfire, would depend on the claybody. edit: the title says bottomless but in your description you say "it's ball with a neck opening and a hole in it's side" so would footless describe it? I use this method to fire pots upside down. Some of my planters are shaped like a trumpet bell. They would take up a lot of room if they were all fired rim to rim. By firing some upside down, they stack closely together. I use a soft brick biscuit cut to 1/4" or so thick, round and close to the size of the bottom on an appropriate kiln post. This is secure enough for a cone 10 firing. Get some interesting drips running up to the rim rather than down to the foot. In the case of the drum, I'd leave an unglazed ring at the inside of the neck and then size a biscuit to fit that space. Sometimes they stick a little, but can be knocked free with no damage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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