making an impossible ceramic sculpture

Thanks for stopping by! I hope this video brings you as much joy as it brings me.
You can see my first attempt here: • making an impossible p...
It's amazing to see one material transform into another, even if it takes weeks of planning and work to make it happen. This turned out even better than I thought it would.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
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Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
0:43 - Throwing a test
01:09 - Throwing first lantern
07:39 - Throwing second lantern
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Connect Elsewhere:
Instagram - / jyrceramics
TikTok - / jyrceramics
Website - www.janicerohrssen.com/ceramics
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Equipment I use:
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[@johnlamb2333]

You are so good. Persistence always pays off. Pottery is a craft. Some potters turn it into art. You are an artist.

[@JYRCeramics]

Thank you so much! I love that pottery can be both craft and art. 🤍

[@hairyballbastic8943]

at what point does it become an art?

[@johnlamb2333]

@@hairyballbastic8943 that's a matter of taste

[@Bringidon]

well crikey.. that was nerve-wracking in parts but inspiring throughout.. you must have been so chuffed with the final pot :) .. its 6.30am and this was quite a start to my day.. thanks for the video.. liked and subbed :)

[@JYRCeramics]

wow, what kind words! 🫶🏼🫶🏼 thank you for that!

[@afasimpaur]

If you decide to pursue this further, you might find water engraving to be a good option. Beautiful work so far.

[@JYRCeramics]

Oooo! I'm unfamiliar with the technique, but it looks quite fun! I would definitely like to try it! Thank you for the suggestion! 💖

[@celiacelisally]

Is this how rice grain tea cups are made I hade a few and I loved loved loved them! Unfortunately a few boxes never made it home after it left with the moving company I’m so so so happy you made this video thank you! I loved those cups but omg I love love love this! Thank you 🙏🏻

[@domenik2004]

Je crois que pour les grains de riz,on fait les trous(futurs grains),et c'est la couverte /email,qui nappera et donc bouchera tres finement.Ceci assurera la transparence.😂

[@JYRCeramics]

Rice grain tea cups are sooooo beautiful. I'm sad with you that some didn't make it in your move. :( But I think for those, they poke the holes all the way out, then fill the small holes with transparent glaze, so slightly different.

[@simontw8618]

​@@JYRCeramics Could you combine these techniques? For instance, if you accidentally poke a small hole while carving, could you either 1. Fill it with glaze, or 2. Fill it with slip, depending on the size of the hole? I'm picturing backing the hole with paper, and dabbing very small drops of slip on top until you get the thickness you want. Sorta a combo of slip casting and the rice grain cup method, might make the carving stage slightly less nerve-wracking? Cool video, thanks!

[@silversilk8438]

I have saved this to my “art” playlist. This was absolutely beautiful. But this is the artist’s journey: There are epiphanies and breakthroughs, troughs and peaks. Never let success haunt you: Remember that those successes aren’t what makes you, but you were what made the successes.

[@JYRCeramics]

Wow, thank you so much for those kind words! And love those thoughts about the artist's journey. 🫶🏼🫶🏼

[@spacebear1483]

As you know there has been a lot of work to make slip casting porcelain translucent and a really neat technique to make it even thinner than traditional slip casting is normally able to achieve is using is very tiny nylon fibres mixed into the slip. Creating a composite material almost like fibreglass, I’ve yet to try this method but there are plenty of journals and articles about it plus I was tipped off on it by a professor of ceramics at my university. I wonder if you could use that on the wheel to add strength and make the whole thing thinner so the carving is less dicy as well as lessen the warping in the kiln. I’ve not worked with porcelain much and never on the wheel (it’s not my specialty) but I do work in hand sculpture a lot and slip casting a little. So maybe if you are feeling like delving into translucence some more but don’t want to deal as much with porcelain’s melodramatic nature (I love porcelain but heavens it’s like a toddler throwing a tantrum sometimes) you might experiment with nylon or other fibres, as things like cotton burn off in the kiln unlike nylon. I also learned that that it’s much easier to achieve this translucency if you fire the porcelain unglazed. I actually find the ivory white warmth of unglazed porcelain really beautiful but it’s not for everyone and you do lose a lot of the gloss that comes with glazed porcelain admittedly. And incase my tone came off wrong I’m not trying to lecture you I just get really excited about ceramics particularly when people are working in the “path less traveled” and I feel compelled to share any knowledge I’ve pick up over the years. So if the tone comes off haughty just imagine it more like an over excited golden retriever. Very cool work, keep making awesome things with ceramics!! It’s such an amazing and ancient technology that people really don’t appreciate enough especially when one has enough skill to really make it sing or in your case shine

[@JYRCeramics]

Wow, thank you for the insightful, helpful, kind comment! I would actually love to try working with other porcelain/porcelain composites to see how they would affect the light and thinness of the piece. I also really want to try slip casting - this nylon slip casting you mention is fascinating. Also, love the pun. ✨🥰

[@MayorAwesome]

WOW! What an accomplishment! I'm so glad you didn't give up. :)

[@JYRCeramics]

Me too! Thanks for your kind words! 🫶🏼

[@fatiraaureliatarigan8579]

Its such a triumph to finally see the end results! I'm so happy to see your dedication here.

[@ChrisLeeW00]

I love pottery. Such an ancient and lasting medium to work with. I dug up and filtered a batch of natural clay from my backyard when I was a kid, and Im teaching it to my kids now. We have an outdoor firepit that I will use as a platform for our makeshift kiln once we make something we want to keep.

[@JYRCeramics]

Wow!! That is so cool!! I love that you can just dig up clay and turn it into art. Thanks for sharing! Hope you make something you love soon!

[@kathleenblanchard7971]

Beautiful results! I so admire your persistence- love clay, ginkos and delicate celadon porcelains. When I was a child I remember my grandmother had some bowls with a translucent rice grain pattern that seemed extremely special and made a great impression on me. I'm thinking when you were finally able to make the clay do what you wanted, the glaze helped "hold it together". I wish I was still working with clay- I always prefer doing the types of art where I have my hands directly in contact with the materials.

[@JYRCeramics]

Thank you so much! I love how pottery can have such generational and emotional impact.

[@ChrystalLonge]

one time in high school our kiln malfunctioned, melted/misshaped everyone’s pieces and turned them into a plasticky-glass-like substance. I still have a piece from that batch - it was supposed to be a mug, I jokingly call it the gravy boat now

[@anikac8380]

Victory! Congratulations, it’s gorgeous and you are one heck of an artist. of course, I thought that if a tea light wasn’t bright enough to show through, a small LED could be the way to go. They are much brighter, and in some situations, preferable. You don’t have to worry about leaving fire unattended that way.

[@JYRCeramics]

Yes, definitely, a small LED would work great. And if I could get the color of the LED to be warmer, that really would capture what I was trying to do here, I think. But there's just something special about a candle 🥰

[@kleinwolterinkable]

Fun project details, I really liked learning about your tests and the final product. You have a lot of skills to create great things!

[@JYRCeramics]

Thank you so much for those kind words!!

[@LaLaArtStudio]

🎉 congratulations Janice 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 I've only just found your channel and I've got to say it is binge worthy! New subbie! Thanks for sharing your journey so far as I'm just beginning mine; and promptly shattered my shoulder (saved my life, but that is another story 😊) so I cannot do anything major in my clay work but I am enjoying learning so much via YTU 😂 🎨 Art'On 🎨 Ange

[@elinamakino6068]

absolutely stunning!

[@kemronpa]

Stunning!!!!

[@jackiemorrison2661]

Gorgeous!

[@maybeafreethinker]

Beautiful!

[@JaelGroveBergmann]

Wow, amazing! 😱🎉 incredible how you have to go by intuition alone on how thin the petals are. Awesome work 🙌🏼

[@JYRCeramics]

Right?! If someone knows a better way, please let me know! And thank you very much!

[@StardustAegis]

all of the pieces are stunning! so cool to watch your process!

[@JYRCeramics]

Thank you so much! 🫶🏼 So glad you like them!

[@lescogumelos]

such a great and inspiring process to watch!

[@cyanyeti1556]

Amazing final result! Have you looked at the mutton fat jade porcelain teaware coming out of Dehua? I assume they make it from a mold as you mention to be able to manufacter it, but it's unglazed and very translucent to the point I can the level and color of tea in some peices.

[@jessicastromback3418]

Beautiful! thank you for posting. I love this

[@JYRCeramics]

Thanks for watching! 💖

[@annwieczorek1048]

Beautiful work. Thank you for sharing.

[@JYRCeramics]

Thank you very much!!

[@reneier7171]

Absolutely amazing! I love listening to your process

[@JYRCeramics]

Thank you so much! 🥰

[@rusted_ursa]

That's amazing! Also, the work on that second one wasn't wasted: you could just put a string of LED lights inside of it.

[@JYRCeramics]

That is a wonderful idea! I hadn't considered that and will definitely do it! Thanks! ✨

[@gailemmer3666]

Thank you for sharing your vision and thoughts on your processes. Congratulations on achieving your goal. The result is exquisite!!

[@JYRCeramics]

thank you!!

[@vaishalijain1995]

Congratulations! This is so cool

[@JYRCeramics]

Thank you so much! 🤍

[@paticiamoreno]

Que projeto magnífico ❤

[@mariadelacruzrodriguezpala8610]

Congratulaciones to your accomplishment! Bravo!

[@JYRCeramics]

Thank you so much! ✨

[@s.f.nightingale1735]

That's beautiful!

[@JYRCeramics]

Thank you!

[@fati-gue3184]

WOOOO!! i was so excited to see this video in my feed. congrats on making it work, it looks lovely!!!

[@JYRCeramics]

Hope you enjoyed it!!! 🤍🤍

[@bernhardschodl7113]

Your pottery style and pieces are admirable. I'm not at your level in terms of pottery skills. When I make larger pieces, I always use a torch; it helps a lot to reduce the wall thickness. I look forward to more videos from you. Best regards, Bernhard from Austria"

[@JYRCeramics]

Thank you so much! I also feel like I have a long way to go with pottery, so we're in the same boat! A torch is always super helpful and so much fun haha 🤍

[@LISA-gv5yo]

😊😊😊 LINDO...lindo....perfeito...você é incrível! Adoro a transparência! Amei...obrigada. Do Brasil 🇧🇷 São Paulo ❤

[@JYRCeramics]

Muito obrigada!!

[@UncleLoud2nd]

Ceramic molding, slip casting will be a better way. You can make much thinner pieces.

[@Abby-vl8ds]

im just curious if you could test the light passage thru the porcelain with a phone light before firing if that would give you any helpful indicator of the thinnness

[@JYRCeramics]

No, unfortunately. I talk briefly at 15:03 about why that doesn't work

[@alexeydostovalov]

Очень красиво!!!!

[@racheeerach]

You did a great job at keeping the thickness of the porcelain even on that last one! Maybe in the future try a coil of wadding on the inside to keep the piece up high enough to allow the celadon to drip off onto the shelf, or carve a place that will catch the runoff and pool at the bottom of the lamp. That way you won't get a big flat drip at the bottom like you have in one spot. You did great though! Making your porcelain thin enough to go translucent isn't easy! Oh! Also, try Frost porcelain by Laguna if you haven't yet. It makes the job so much easier!

[@JYRCeramics]

Thank you for those suggestions!! Will definitely consider them for the future. I really want to try Laguna Frost.

[@racheeerach]

It's so good! It can also make a nice slip for casting which allows for some super thin walls of an even thickness. I made some hanging lights that way out of a golf ball mold from one of my dad's golf balls. I just used a string of LED lights to connect them to, and they are so pretty. Anyway, that's all. :)

[@IO__OI]

You have a lot of patience. I would give up trying to do it behind a potter's wheel and try another way, like casting into plaster molds.

[@JYRCeramics]

I love wheel throwing. 🥰 But I would love to play with molds in the future.

[@ethantemple8068]

Would it help at all to have a cylinder inside the jar while carving so that you are less likely to rupture while carving?

[@JYRCeramics]

I think that might help it not warp while carving... But it would be very hard to feel the thickness so I'd be more likely to go all the way through it, I think. Great suggestion, though.

[@robot7759]

😮🤯👍

[@rath60]

wadding can allow for less warping

[@JYRCeramics]

oo great suggestion. will have to try it in the future

[@marcisaacs9407]

Check plus

[@VyvienneEaux]

Thank you for using ‘penultimate’ correctly and not skunking my words. I can tell you read as a child 😉

[@DunoonVanRijn-dx1hr]

Maybe you should work with Glass. Clay loves being clay, it doesn't need to be changed.

[@night.owl.creations]

Watch out everybody, the fun police is here 🙄

[@JYRCeramics]

I would actually love to work with glass! But it's a little sweaty for me...

[@Bringidon]

@@night.owl.creations heh