rcboisjoli

Applying Decals

2012-02-09T15:05:00.001-05:00

The Bottled Project: Hyein Lee

Applying decals is a long progress but always fun. It's takes a lot of scissor work and delicate placing of many elements. We often lose the teeny weeny edition numbers on the floor, once they fall, they are lost forever. Here’s the first round of bottles for The Bottled Project Round Four getting prepped for their last firing in the kiln.

Collected: Cure For Human Flesh

2012-02-09T09:00:00.000-05:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

One of the oddest antique medicine bottles I've collected yet, this multi-sided (10) bottle features a great inscription Kendall's Spavin Cure for Human Flesh. Not sure what the "Spavin" references but the ingredients were alcohol and ether, taking the whole bottle wouldn’t have been a very good idea.

The bottom is clad with Enosburg Falls VT and the remains of a shrivelled up cork jingles about in the empty bottle.

The Bottled Project Round Four: Hyein Lee

2012-02-07T14:14:00.001-05:00

The Bottled Project Presents: Hyein Lee

After a wee break from production we are pleased to launch our fourth release of rcboisjoli’s The Bottled Project. Illustrated by the awesomely talented Hyein Lee and fabricated in the rcboisjoli studio, this handsome bottle is our most dynamic bottle yet! The bottle features a full wrap-around, two colour decal printed in bright blue and an intense yellow overglaze. Hyein’s graphic style blends lots of hand drawn character with a sharp modern edge. We discovered her at the Queen West Art Crawl peddling her wares in the fall and had to invite her to participate in our project.

Full of action and covered in a whole collection of furry, ghosty and abominable creatures, the dynamic illustration is undeniably Hyein’s work. One glance at her unique work and you can easily see the common elements that define her creative and exciting style. We couldn’t be happier with the results of this great collaboration. This bottle will be launched in our esty store next week once we get a few more out of the kiln and ready to go. As with the other releases, they will only be available in a limited run of individually numbered bottles.

Design Week Wrap Up

2012-01-30T09:48:00.000-05:00

Design Week's All Over

After a few de-installs today we are looking forward to a little rest or maybe some much needed studio clean up (sorry studio, rest comes first) We definitely had a great time this design week, we took part in two shows, with one prototype and two different installations. We went to every show we could, too.

We met, mingled and chatted, we also got inspired and learned a lot too.

We got a nice love tag from Design Lines for our SWARM install at Cafe Brasiliano, fourteen of one hundred tags of Design Lines' favourite projects for design week. We also got lots of votes for our Not Forkchops project, fingers crossed, we might even win! We won't hold our breath as the competition was pretty stiff. Overall a great busy fun time.

Look out for some new items coming from the rcboisjoli studios and a new Bottled Project very soon too.

Collected: Torpedo Like

2012-01-26T09:00:00.010-05:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This bottle rumoured to be found under an outhouse, is suspected to be a castor oil bottle. Castor oil, from the giant castor bean plant is toxic until heated and is a good cure for constipation.

This slender bottle is an unusual form, delicate with soft shoulders and a small, tapered base. The bottom is embossed with a big E.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

All Lit Up And Plugged In

2012-01-21T20:43:00.001-05:00

All Lit Up (For Real)

Fresh out of the kiln and freshly wired up, this is our first release of our Porcelain Lanterns for design week. We'll be adding a few details to another batch to see what we can get.

All Lit Up

2012-01-20T12:00:00.001-05:00

Lanterns

Fresh from the mail-stream is a little box from a lighting supply shop, which contained our new and improved lantern hardware. We always get excited for new hardware and supplies at the rcboisjoli studio and we had almost given up hope of receiving this stuff before deign week, but then ding-dong, there’s Canada Post with our little box in hand.

Our porcelain lanterns are a collage of ceramic decals applied not only to the exterior, but also to the interior of a translucent porcelain body. Once lit up, the decals play against each other, contrasting themselves through the walls of the form. During the daylight hours, this lantern is standalone, with great patterns on the surface and a classic tin lantern influenced form. At night, however, the whole piece becomes alive with the playful effects of solid contrasting lines and the once opaque porcelain glows with a warm translucence.

This little Porcelain Lantern is just one firing away from being wired up and is set to be installed on Wednesday for the Do West events along Dundas st. West, be sure to come out and check out all the goods!

Blue Wares

2012-01-20T10:57:00.000-05:00

Cobalt Everywhere

Above is a snapshot of our new plate prototypes. We'll be popping those little guys into the kiln tonight and hoping for the best! We've reached the end of the road for our blue decals this week. After a great chat with one of our suppliers in the States, we realized that the transparency of the blue overglaze is just part of the material and nothing can change that. We’ve struggled to find a way of adding another material, or printing thicker, or thinner twice, all to no good effect. The colourant, cobalt, is a very potent metal oxide and so little of it is needed to make the overglaze blue. The result is a thinner, more transparent overglaze, as there is more glass builders than colourants. One of our favourite overglazes, the Rusty Red, is so chock full of it’s colourant, iron oxide, that it's a dream to print with, it's solid, opaque and perfect. Sometimes you just can't get what you want.

We'll be experimenting with creating our own higher temperature overglaze to see if we can match the blue of our Cobalt Porcelain Wares, but until then, we just have to accept the material properties of what we have, as they are.

Collected: ACME Blacking

2012-01-19T09:00:00.002-05:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This square little bottle is embossed with ACME Blacking Trademark Wolff & Randolf Philadelphia. With a great name like that I wish they used a better font to emboss in glass. I guess for shoe polish you can only expect so much.

I suspect this bottle went through a bit of a dump fire as it's terribly wonky.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Decal Application

2012-01-18T09:46:00.000-05:00

Decal Sticking

Print, seal, cure, cut, soak, apply, burnish and then finally fire. These are the steps to decal application, and once you get used to it, it doesn’t seem too crazy. Above is a snap shot of the newest rcboisjoli studios’ mark being applied to the bottom of some Cobalt Slip Ware.

Moving In Circles

2012-01-15T17:32:00.001-05:00

The Poor Man’s Ballmill

Some days in the studio we feel like no matter how much work we do, we just go around and around in circles, without progressing at all. We’re prepping a new batch of overglaze for our Design Week work as the last batch just wasn’t working out.

Below is fun clip of our studio mate’s Shimpo that we appropriated and turned into a makeshift ballmill.

rcboisjoli studio’s first ever movie!

Collected: Little Blue Bottle

2012-01-12T09:00:00.004-05:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

There seems to be a lot of little blue bottles out there in the dumps of Canada. Though this one is a bit more elegant than most. Light blue in hue, with great form. No text on this chemist bottle, but it does have great inset plates with a great great attention that matches the form of the bottle.

I love how the form of the inset plates created an awesome hourglass design through the bottom of the bottle.The light blue glass shows this to great effect.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Hot Blue Wares

2012-01-11T10:57:00.000-05:00

Hot Kilns and New Work

Just a snapshot of a hot kiln, half unloaded. We're working expanding our line of Bi-Cast Cobalt Slipware. Look out for more blue to come!

Distractions and Contractions

2012-01-06T17:21:00.001-05:00

Sunsets and Plate Breaks

We are quite often treated to beautiful sunsets in West End Toronto, and our second story view from up hill on Keele St. allows the rcboisjoli studio workers a great view. Today’s was extra special and we took a few moments to enjoy it's fleeting beauty.

When we came back to our work tables we discovered that whilst we were away enjoying the beauty, we lost a plate. Plates are notorious for cracking, slumping, warping and just being terrible to cast. This plate actually made it pretty far until we painted the back of it with a black slip. The plate was bone dry and the addition of the thick wet slip on only one side caused so much stress, it broke.

That’s just one of the most heart breaking things about ceramics, sometimes it just breaks.

Black slip on the bottom on the raw clay plate, too much stress and the plate just gave in.

Something New, Something Blue

2012-01-05T21:36:00.001-05:00

Cobalt Everywhere

Quickly coming up is our project for Imm Living’s Not Forkchops group exhibition for Design Week. Here's a sneak peak at some of the work we’ll be presenting. The stacking vessels are a re-make of the classic stainless steel lunch containers popular in India, and everywhere really. The stacking vessels will also merge into our new Cobalt Slip line of work, being cast in the same slip and featuring the new companion stripes.

Back At It

2012-01-05T12:19:00.000-05:00

New Year and New Things

Although we’ve never stopped working in the studio, we have taken a break from blogging. Lots of things are happening here, including a huge commission for a light fixture, three projects for Toronto's Deign Week and lots of casting to be done still.

We'd like to thank Derek Dotto for the kind words on our SWARM installation set to be installed for TODO's design week programming for Design Week. Click the image to link to the article just published in In Toronto.

Collected: Fred W Flett

2012-01-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This little chemist bottle was also sourced from that same pop up shop in summer at Kensington Market as the second Charles Wilson soda (add link) Embossed letters of Fred W Flett Dispensing Chemist Toronto Ont clad the front inset plate. The back oddly does not match the front with a barrelled round face.I love how crude the mouth and lip are. Made separately and applied to the top by hand, this bottle was made fast and crude.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Collected: Koenig Medicine Co

2011-12-29T09:00:00.005-05:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This great and very solid looking bottle is heavily geometric with angled shoulders, great facets and large flat sides. A very square bottle. The surface is distressed with a strange white film that disappears when wet but comes back, probably from a fire.

Inscribed with KOENIG MEDICINE CO, CHICAGO ILL.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Collected: Sauce Barrel

2011-12-22T09:00:00.002-05:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This odd little bottle is ridged and formed almost barrel like. A very unique bottle that's not diminished by it's crudely formed lip or it's great glass pull-lines throughout the neck area.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

B.A.H. Newest Edition

2011-12-20T11:24:00.001-05:00

Bookhou At Home and rcboisjoli

photo: A Khounnoraj

Front page news! Our collaboration with designer Arounna Khounnoraj from Bookhou is featured on the front page of the newest edition of B.A.H.

Check out the newest issue right here

Collected: Twins

2011-12-15T09:00:00.002-05:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

Out of all the bottles I have, these two bottles are the closest to a matching pair I could find.

Squared off and slightly distorted in form, this pair are close in body but not in neck. They could have been from the same mold, but from different makers, at a different production run. The necks and lips on bottles around 1850 were generally hand formed in the blowing process, which would explain their differences.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Feathered Give-Away-Gone

2011-12-14T13:55:00.000-05:00

Going, Going Gone.

Our facebook contest has closed, been announced and even picked up this morning. We didn’t get many posts are we were hoping to get, but most people probably went to one of the other five shows happening that day and forgot. That aside, rcboisjoli had the best darn time at City of Craft! A big special warm thinks to Becky Johnson and all the City of Craft volunteers/helpers/co-promoters.

Feathered Give-Away

2011-12-10T22:23:00.000-05:00

Facebook Contest

City of Craft is honestly the best show in the world and the celebrate we’re having a little contest! All people who post a comment on our facebook wall will be automatically entered to win a fancy Feathered Vase! A random comment will be chosen to receive the vase on monday afternoon, after the rcboisjoli crew sleeps in. Be sure to like us and post a comment! We're down to our very last Feathered Vase at the booth, so we’re sure it’ll be a tough call to make on Monday.

It’s Happening!

2011-12-09T08:52:00.000-05:00

City Of Craft Countdown

It’s happening, soon, real soon. City of Craft is just a few hours away. If you are in Toronto there is no excuse to miss this show. Two days, two venues, dozens of crafty people, games, prizes and more! We’ll have lots of ceramic goodies ready to go for gifts, for you, for friends, for lovers. If you can’t make it down be sure to get your fill of rcboisjoli ceramics at our ETSY store.

Collected: Turps Bottle

2011-12-08T09:00:00.002-05:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

A left over from a purchased lot of bottles, this large bottle has a threaded lip, which I usually hesitate to collect, but it ended up at home anyways. To my horror I thought the bottle had 6 centimetres of caked on mould at the bottom, but in trying to rinse it out, I discovered it was actually paint or turpentine solvent.

No matter how much sudsy water I could use, this caked in oil painting will never wash away.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Do Design 2012: Toronto Design Week 2012

2011-12-07T11:44:00.001-05:00

Do West: Dundas West Design

I know 'next year' sounds like a long time from now, but it’s not. Us at the rcboisjoli studio are a bit scared but very excited about all the exciting design week events happening. We’ll be setting up two installations for Do West and participating in a fun, competitive group show through Imm Living called Not Forkchops. Next year is only a three weeks away, we better get busy! The above image shows a little sneak peek at our SWARM install, soon to be seen on Dundas Street West.
Click on the image to link to Toronto Design Offsite’s ever expanding list of events, designers and venues happening during Design Week 2012.

The Bottled Project

2011-12-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

Bottles For Sale

Last weekend we almost sold out of Nolan Pelletier’s contribution to The Bottled Project at Kid Icarus’ Holiday Handmade show so we’ve made a new batch for City Of Craft this weekend. We'll also have lots of Yigi Chang and Alan Dalby’s bottles as well.

Cups Aplenty

2011-12-05T15:59:00.001-05:00

Showing Off Our Stripes

After some exploration we’ve settled on a few new ideas from our New Cup Studies. You may have seen our Cobalt Slip Cups well here’s a different variation: Stripes!

A fun little project, we printed dozens of lines and played with all kinds of variations. The result is a series of playful cups, each with different pattern of lines, thick, thin, lots or few. Each cup is different. Sold in pairs, one larger and one smaller. They nest and stack too, just like their handsome blue brothers. Available at the upcoming City of Craft or the rcboisjoli ETSY shop.

The large cup on the left and the smaller on the right, both stacked three high. Below shows the tidy foot ring and rcboisjoli studios mark.

rcboisjoli is a Proud Sponsor of City of Craft

2011-12-05T15:41:00.001-05:00

Offering Our Support

rcboisjoli is a proud sponsor of City of Craft. This year will be our third time participating in this fantastic event and we couldn’t be happier to donate a few goods to the cause. The show is always well promoted, well attended and, quite honestly, the best put together event around. rcboisjoli has donated a bushel of goods to be raffled off by the good folks who run the show.

If you’re hoping to win some goods, don’t hold back at that raffle table or try your hand at that NUTSO board. Check out the post here, to learn more about us and the show.

Horse Bowls

2011-12-05T14:22:00.001-05:00

Horse Bowls For All

City Of Craft is coming up soon, this weekend in fact, and we’re prepping lots of items for you to enjoy. We’re making sure we have lots of hot items like our Horse Bowl sets ready to go, because they’d make a great gift for that delightfully domestic friend of yours.

Collected: Hair Balsam

2011-12-01T09:00:00.006-05:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

A larger and more iridescent then most of the collection so far. This great hefty bottle has a great bold form and is covered with strange iridescent film all over, this square bottle of Hair Balsam is quite unique. NEW YORK and PARKERS is inscribed on the sides, with HAIR BALSAM on the front.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Black Feathered

2011-11-30T09:50:00.000-05:00

Now In Stock!

Fresh from the kiln is a new round of Feathered Vases, this round is glazed in our greeny matte Quail Egg Glaze and clad with a big bold black feather. Just in time for the Holiday Handmade show this Saturday. If you are in the general Kensington area, you should stop by.

The Bottled Project: Release Three

2011-11-29T09:00:00.002-05:00

The Bottled Project: The Mountain and the Bird

rcboisjoli studios are is pleased to announce that the third edition of The Bottled Project is out! We’ve partnered up with our first "non-local" illustrator and couldn’t be happier with the results. UK based Alan Dalby has presented us with a great design to work with. His bottle features a fully wrap around decal of a fantastical mountain and fire bird. This edition of our little collaborative project proves it just gets more exciting every month! To check out our original brief, click here

Two colour decals were printed in mustard yellow and acorn brown, all hand silk screened in the rcboisjoli studio. Individually numbered and only available in a limited run of one hundred bottles, this bottle is sure to sell out fast.

Alan got wind of our project via a great post through our friends at Pikaland when we launched our first bottles by Nolan Pelletier. We'll have plenty of these bottles at our upcoming shows and more just listed at our rcboisjoli studios’ ETSY page too.

Each bottle was created in Toronto at the rcboisjoli studio and we’re proud to have worked with Alan on this exciting project. We hope to work with him again soon. As for now, be sure to pick up his bottle before they sell out!

Loading It Up

2011-11-27T11:03:00.000-05:00

The Craft Of Kilns

One of our favourite little kilns is down for repairs, a part is in the mail, so we've saved up a few loads of decal work to fill the giant oval kiln. Kilns are sort of like cars, as soon as you drive it off the lot, it’s already lost value. We treat all kilns very well here, but with every firing the kiln degrades just a bit. We just need a new thermocouple, which is the tool that reads the temperature within the kiln so the digital controls know what’s happening inside.

Here’s a picture showing the loading about half way through. We’ve made sure to include lots of The Bottled Project bottles for the upcoming holiday shows. We’ve got lots of bottles by Nolan Pelletier, Yigi Chang and new new new bottles by Alan Dalby ready to go.

Holiday Acorns (Oaknuts)

2011-11-24T19:12:00.000-05:00

That Time Of Year Again

I noticed that someone googled "rcoisjoli acorn" the other day and I knew it must be that holiday ornamenty kind of time again. So today we unloaded a whole batch of new rcboisjoli holiday acorns. Fresh from the kiln and glazed in our own Seagull Egg glaze. These little guys sold out fast last year, so get ’em while their hot.

We've just listed these little guys on our ETSY page.

We’ll also have plenty of these handsome ornaments at the upcoming Holiday Handmade Show and the ever-so-popular City of Craft

Collected: Textless

2011-11-24T09:00:00.011-05:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This bottle features a great inset face, graceful curved back but lacks any text. Simple and elegant, it may have had a paper label at one point.

A little root remains in the top photo, a left over from it's previous dump life. The back of this bottle has a slight iridescent glaze, a good contrast to it's brown out areas.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Decal Printing

2011-11-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

Decal-A-Thon

Whilst waiting for kilns to fire off last night, we took the opportunity to catch up on some decal printing. We needed to replenish our stock for many of our products with the upcoming holiday craft show production. All three kilns are chock full of goodness, with two studio mates doing the One Of A Kind show and this makes for a toasty warm studio, perfect drying conditions for decals.

Sheets of little decals all ready to go! Below is our teeny catch all pot for left over overglaze mixings. It looks huge, but it's only two cm tall.

The resulting colour mixes are always a surprise, usually some sort of dirty olive colour.

Tensions and Chemistry

2011-11-22T19:36:00.000-05:00

Rim Pulls

A funny thing has been happening to us here at the rcboisjoli studio. We've noticed that on the first run of our new Cobalt Slip Cups, the rims are flared. It wasn’t our intention to do this as our models are pretty straight sided, with just a bit of angle to facilitate mouldmaking. Just now, after a well deserved studio beer, our trusty technician Alexx discovered the the cause of the mystery flare. (which we like anyways because it's nice)

Above, you can easily see the flared lip on the finished, fully fired cups, unintentional, but pleasing to drink from. Below, shows the cups at the bisque stage, after one firing, before the glaze. The lips are straight! (check out that cobalt action, such a change when fully matured)

It wasn’t until Alexx spotted this prototype larger Cobalt Slip Bowl where the lip was strangely flared as well. Compared the the same bowl, to the right, it’s really obvious. The bowls are the same mould, the same clay body and the same maturity. The only difference was the thin layer of cobalt tinted porcelain cast into the bowl as a primary layer.

Once you learn about ceramics you learn that you don’t actually know anything at all, really. The more you test and learn and try, the more you know how much more there is to understand. The cobalt oxide added to the slip was causing the outside layer of porcelain to shrink ever so slightly more than the interior body of porcelain. This tension only becomes apparent when both clays reach their maturity in the very hot kiln. At 2165 °F the outside slip has shrunk enough to pull down the lip, at the point where the bowl has the least amount of structure to resist. The resulting flare is caused by two different kinds of porcelain, where one is literally pulling the other one down. Chemically the two slips are almost the same, but the added cobalt oxide is just enough to change the chemical structure of the porcelain, causing it to fuse at a lower temperature, making it shrink just that little bit more. Amazing.

Testing

2011-11-22T14:07:00.000-05:00

Sometimes Fun Things Come Out Of The Kiln

The best things about studio testing, besides the occasional beautiful discovery, are the really odd things that come out of the kiln. This green blistery bloaty bowl is a test of a tinted porcelain. The previous tests of this series had too much copper, which leached all about the porcelain making it black, metallic and not much use for functional wares. We redid the run with a dramatically smaller amount of copper oxide, and that’s what came out!

The Bottled Project: Sneak Peek!

2011-11-21T11:44:00.002-05:00

The Bottled Project: Round Three Tests

A little sneak peek at the newest release of our collaborative The Bottled Project. This month’s illustrator is rcboisjoli first overseas collaboration! We're very excited about working with UK based Alan Dalby for this round of bottles, coming out soon!

Stackable Nestable

2011-11-21T08:01:00.001-05:00

New Duo-Cast Cobalt Cups

New for rcboisjoli is a great series of nesting wares based on our new technique of Duo-Casting. These vessels are fabricated with two layers of porcelain slip, cast in the same mould at the same time, resulting in a unique layered effect. We chose to go classic, using the traditional blue hues of cobalt, contrasted our usual white porcelain. The cups feature a blue tinted porcelain exterior that’s satiny, matte and smooth with a high gloss white interior.

The playful geometric styled form is perfect for nesting and stacking, but also totally functional too.

Deigned as sets of two cups, or one cup and one bowl, depending on how large you are. They sit happily together, creating rings of blue and white.

Above you can easily see the two different layers of porcelain exposed in the rim. The blue is not just painted on, it’s actually built right into the wall of each cup. These playful cups are now available in our rcboisjoli ESTY shop.

Something New, Something Old

2011-11-18T08:22:00.002-05:00

Bugs, Cups and Lights

Along with an exciting new commission/installation, a new edition of The Bottled Project, rcboisjoli studios are busy making away for two craft shows in December and two projects for Design Week next year. Saying next year makes it seem like something far away, but it's not at all far away. One exciting project is the installing of our SWARM series of bottles for the DO WEST exhibition.

Continuing with our new cup studies, we've just unloaded a few more tests with our newest nesting cups. A pleasant surprise is the variation seen here. Simply glazed with a set of concentric bands. It's a sharp looking little cup.

Collected: Castoria

2011-11-17T09:00:00.002-05:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

Inscribed with Dr. S PITCHER and CASTORIA, perhaps it was a castor oil remedy?

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Studio Life

2011-11-16T11:32:00.001-05:00

Busy Times

This time of the year is always busy for most crafty people, and the rcboisjoli studio is no exception. Here's a few images of work in progress, including a sneak peek at our new cups! Lots of casting has been happening for our upcoming shows. Below is a pile of fresh-out-of-the kiln bisque ware that needs some glaze, another firing, some decals and one last firing.

Those odd totem-esque towers are sets of our new cobalt slip cups. Designed to nest inside of each other, they have a rigid yet pleasant form. They are fabricated with a unique bi-casting system in which two kinds of porcelain slip are used in stages in the same mould. The result is a striking layered effect of cobalt blue porcelain exterior and white porcelain interior.

Below are some our tests, we're still tweaking with amounts of cobalt used to tint the porcelain.

This one is our favourite so far, with a solid dark cobalt exterior, with a smooth matte finish.

Here's a peek at how the cups look ion the mould. Notice the dark band of cobalt slip that makes up the exterior. More cups are in the works as we speak, with one last test to go.

It's Show Time

2011-11-14T10:37:00.001-05:00

A Handmade Holiday

It's not much time between now and December, so we're busy busy making away in the rcboisjoli studios. Look out for new things and some classic items to return!

The show is by invite only and features lots of great crafty people. Check it out here.
Check out the facebook page and invite your friends here

Collected: Carter Drug Co

2011-11-10T09:00:00.003-05:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

Another medical bottle from Toronto, this great bottle has a unique arrow head lip a deep inset faces.

CARTER DRUG Co TORONTO ONT.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Ceramics and Permanence

2011-11-06T11:12:00.001-05:00

Ceramic Memorials

Just recently, I received a note from an Etsy customer asking the volume of the Squirrel Crest Bottle. I replied saying it holds about 250 ml of water, one cup. Which was smaller than I had expected because the bottle looks rather voluminous. In any respect, this particular woman was looking for a permanent home for a lost pet. She mentioned her dog loved chasing squirrels so that bottle would be perfect for him, making the bottle into a type of urn, a memorial.

I must say that I was touched, to have one of my objects used in such a precious way. Through I am continuously creating a line of domestic ceramics, I had never given much thought to creating urns and vessels for the dead. The bottle became more than just a container for holding ashes, it became a symbol for the living animal, a reminder that although he is gone now, he won’t be soon forgotten.

I hope that little dog has a good place to rest, knowing that the squirrels are right there, for the chasing.

Collected: Eclectric Oil

2011-11-03T09:00:00.004-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

One of my most favourite bottles, for text form and style Dr. S N Thomas' Eclectric Oil. That's right, a fusion of electric and eclectic oils all in one bottle. Great text with heavy, well defined font and deep indented face and back plates.

Probably a snake oil like product with little actual medical properties, this solid bottle is a great relic. While investigating this bottle, one blog listed this bottle as "Canada's least valuable bottle." It stated that millions were produced and it's solid shape and crude heavy glass withstood the test of time.

Inscribed with EXTERNAL and INTERNAL on the sides with NORTHROP & LYMAN Co LIMITED TORONTO ONT. Although maybe not worth a lot, it's a great relic and a piece of glass history in Canada.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

H.A.M.S. At TIAF

2011-11-01T13:32:00.000-04:00

Holiday Arts Mail-Order School At The

Toronto International Art Fair

This past weekend was spent exhibiting the H.A.M.S. project at Art Toronto. The Hallowe’en themed correspondence mail art project run by Ian Phillips and Derek McCormack explores Hallowe’en through five lesson plans written as chapters in a fictional story designed by Phillips and written by McCormack. Through help by the AGYU a functional and somewhat scary haunted school house was installed within the booth to display not only our own multiples but also some of the best students’ work.

The haunted school house, complete with custom enter and exit curtains, housed blackout hallways, skeleton projections, streamers, strings and even a school room themed gallery space.

Limited edition ouija board and Peterborough map each designed and fabricated by Ian Phillips

Classroom product shelves with rcboisjoli studio’s own Bone China Clock, displayed above on a floating plinth with brown flocking and vintage bell jar.

Two cork boards of the best student work, including work by Micah Lexier, Katie Bethune-Leamen, Scott Treleaven, Derek Sulivan and many more. Some work was simply beautiful and other work was just plain fun but it all was Hallowe’en focused. Work below features the second place winner, Ken Sparling, Colter Jacobson and Katie Bethune-Leamen’s popular projects.

Collected: Slightly Melted

2011-10-27T09:00:00.003-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This slightly distorted bottle may have been deformed in a fire or just crudely made. I really like the loose feel to it's form and the great fault on the front.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Toronto Arts Foundation Award Plates

2011-10-25T15:29:00.001-04:00

The Mayor's Art Awards Lunch

Last week the annual Mayor's Art Awards Lunch was held to celebrate the best in Toronto's arts and arts organization. The awards come as a cash prize and a work of art. This year's artwork, in the form of a ceramic plate, was designed by the lovely Toronto based, talented multimedia artist Katie Bethune-Leamen. rcboisjoli was contacted to produce the award plate under the confident direction of Katie.

The five winners and their very own ceramic plate! More information can be found here.

The plate was created with a series of digital decals and super shiny platinum lustre decals. It was a pleasure to work directly with Katie, combining the her art skills with our technical knowledge, to produce these fun and amazing award plates.

The front and back of the award plate.

The plate features a great digital decal on the front with matching meteorite-shaped platinum decal on the reverse, stuck between the text of the very story explaining the meteorite.

This is the first time we've had lustre decals produced. They proved to be a great opportunity to experiment with new possibilities. Look for more super things to come.

Collected: Round Bottle

2011-10-20T09:00:00.003-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This older simple bottle is a little lopsided and has great texture from a fire. The residue of some past content shows up well as a great texture.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Get Yourself Some Schoolin'

2011-10-18T11:41:00.000-04:00

H.A.M.S. At Toronto Art 2011

rcboisjoli has been extra busy for these holiday seasons, not only getting ready for the holiday shopping madness but also gearing up the for Hallowe’en season as well. You might remember our Bone China Trials for the H.A.M.S. Clock, well they are getting boxed up and ready to go.

Shown above with a vintage bell jar and custom made plinth, complete with a nice chocolate brown flocking. Below, complete with Glow In The Dark hands.

After four years of schooling, what’ya get? A haunted schoolhouse!

Come to Art Toronto where, once again, the AGYU tricks or treats fair patrons with one of its specially commissioned installations featuring Toronto novelist Derek McCormack and Toronto artist Ian Phillips. The haunted schoolhouse is the outcome of an AGYU supported four-year project of the Holiday Arts Mail-Order School (H.A.M.S.), a correspondence school founded in 1935 that offers instruction to men and women who wish to celebrate Hallowe’en in the most creative manner. Expect to see the top work from recent graduates including painters, sculptors, authors and librarians, and save some room in your pillowcase for the school souvenirs that will be specially offered for sale, along with multiples connected to the school’s coursework. Hallowe’enologists will be on hand to take your questions and offer demonstrations.

Alumni welcome. Trick or Treat!

Art Toronto 2011 is held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto from 28-31 October 2011.

The Art Gallery of York University is a university-affiliated public non-profit contemporary art gallery supported by York University, The Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council and our membership.

Flora Found: Chestnuts

2011-10-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

Flora Found: Backyard Garden

Chestnuts have always been a favourite of mine. Everything from the squat but large growth habits of the trees, to their huge compound leaves and giant spikes of flowers right down to their green spiky casings and smooth dark brown nuts. Although said to be inedible and a cure for arthritis at the same time rumoured to be great for racehorse joints, these odd seeds are the last in our series of Flora Found. I'll be sure to post more in the growing season next year, but as the growing season stops production grows in the studio. The season of neglecting the studio for the garden and ended and reversed with neglected the garden for the studio.

Collected: Slotted Lip

2011-10-13T09:00:00.003-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This wee bottle has a faded gradated chart an unusual slotted lip. I'm not sure what it's original use was, but it must have been important.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Flora Found: Oaknuts!

2011-10-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

Oaknuts: The Nuts From Oaks

Oaknuts, commonly referred to as acorns, even though they have nothing to do with 'corn', are plentiful in the city this time of year. Not only decorative, but food for many furry creatures as they scrounge and stock their pantries for the long winter.

Each oak has it's own kind of nut, ranging in size and shape, long and skinny or fat and wide. Oaknuts have a long history, represented in family crests, religious symbols, royal decorations and continue to inspire a new generation of crafty fellows. They are a guaranteed find and any fall/winter craft show.

The Bottled Project: RELEASE TWO

2011-10-07T07:44:00.001-04:00

The Bottled Project: Yigi Chang’s Half Brothers

We're super excited to release the second edition of The Bottled Project. Yigi Chang’s Half / Brothers is a great edition to our collaborative illustrator/ceramic project. Yigi’s wonderful hand worked style works graphic lines with vivid characters. His fine detailing and texture has translated very well through the silkscreen. Comical but also astute, this pair of half man / half beasts challenges the stereotypes of what it means to be a centaur.

The second round of The Bottled Project is also available on our etsy page! Each bottle is just twenty dollars, with split proceeds supporting the studio and the illustrator.

Yigi is our second designer to take part in our in our collaborative project. The Bottled Project will bring ten illustrators into the rcboisjoli studio to design an image that will emblazon one hundred individual ceramic pill bottles. Each of the ten designers is free to develop their own image and the rcboisjoli studio fabricates.

Ten illustrators x one hundred bottles = one thousand graphic bottles!

Each bottle is individually numbered up to one hundred and is clad with the rcboisjoli studio and each individual illustrator’s mark on the bottom.

One last detail to show the excellent graphic styling of Yigi’s handiwork.

Collected: Long Necked

2011-10-06T08:49:00.000-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This unusual long necked bottle has a great purple iridescent tint.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Etsy!

2011-10-05T17:04:00.000-04:00

New Etsy Shop Additions!

If you haven't been to our rcboisjoli esty shop lately we've been updating the shop for a while now, listing new items and some old favourites. Stay tuned for a great release later the week...

These Squirrel Crest Bottles are a perfect fall edition to your table top.

Flora Found: Peppers

2011-10-03T08:00:00.003-04:00

Flora Found: Farmers' Market

These tasty looking peppers are all gone now, roasted, blended and boiled in to three litres of tasty hot sauce. Seven pepper varieties were used this year, and although we didn't get a generous box of habeneros from a neighbour this time around, we did score some tasty Paprikas! Shown below are tasty Chocolate Peppers, mini Black Beauties, and some hot Thai Peppers.

Also making it's first appearance is our new Larger Horsebowl! Designed in the same form as our original Horse Bowl, but now fifty percent larger. We've also standardized the horse's direction, left for the small and right for the large. Check out our etsy page for more details.
Below is the original Horse Bowl and our new larger Horse Bowl.

Just a few jars of our fire* roasted hot sauce

* 'fire' meaning our electric oven's hot electric rays.

The Bottled Project: SNEAK PEEK

2011-09-29T12:23:00.000-04:00

Sneak Peek: Yigi Chang

The next round of The Bottled Project is right on track for release in October. We are working on the artist proofs and checking out two different colourways. They look great so far. This will be another exciting bottle run! Yigi's hand worked graphic style has translated very well through the silkscreen. It's bold, textured and fun, more of his work can be seen here.

Collected: National Oval

2011-09-29T09:00:00.005-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This little bottle has a numbered volume scale with increments by two ounces and an unusual flat faced design. 31 is on the face of the bottle and a rogue 3 decorates the shoulder.

The bottom features a great crest that follows the odd shape well, NATIONAL OVAL 1091. The purple tinge is caused by sun exposure, manganese dioxide was once utilized as clarifying agent for glass and this material reacts with UV light, turning into a great purple tint. Often bottles are exposed to extreme UV lamps to force a deep purple hue.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Pigs In A Bowl

2011-09-28T17:50:00.000-04:00

Pig Bowls

Here at rcboisjoli, we've working with a lot of animals, but never pigs. We seem to prefer feathered or furry friends, but these cute pigs just might change our minds. Snapped up from Kim Welling's Esty page, they're fresh out of the kiln goodness, from The Netherlands.

More of Kim's great work can be found at her well decorated blog.

Flora Found: Magnolia Pods

2011-09-26T07:47:00.001-04:00

Magnolia Pods: Toronto Island

A recent day trip to the paradise of Toronto Islands revealed a most curious floral discovery. It is strikingly odd, like a cluster of bloated pink alien pods, speckled and twisted. To my surprise it was growing out of a magnolia tree. It seems fitting, this odd seed pod, as it's perfect match to the gaudy grandness of magnolia blossoms in the spring.

Strewn on the grown below was a small assortment of dried up pod structures, with large bright red seeds protruding from brown pods, split and spotted. A grand find for a perfect day out. The Island is a simple but marvellous escape from the city. I believe it's the disconnect from mainland, the ferry ride although short, that takes you away from the city, both physically and emotionally.

Collected: Charles Wilson 2

2011-09-22T07:49:00.000-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

In a mid summer visit to the market, I was surprised to find a little pop up shop of bottles. A scruffy young man was selling bottles he found throughout the city. Working in construction gives him an awesome advantage to explore recently dug sites.

I was recently given a great Charles Wilson soda bottle, produced in Toronto in the 20's, and I now have a second one to add to that collection. This great but beat up bottle is also a soda bottle, but about forty years earlier. Heavy, round lipped and in rough condition this bottle is not worth much but is a great reference piece.

Clad with CHAS WILSON TORONTO ONT and, just barely through the glass, one can see the original Hutchinson style iron stopper. It sort of works like a butterfly clip, with a flat metal and rubber seal on the bottom. They were replaced in the 20's with the crown cap as the nature of this seal proved unsanitary. Dust and dirt could settle in the large open well of the neck, contaminating the beverage as it poured out.

The pressure of the carbonated soda kept the seal shut, one only had to depress the wire loop to break see the seal and drink the beverage. Diagram below from wiki

Although hard to see, you can make out the classic Charles Wilson squirrel motif. Different than the one posted before, this little squirrel doesn't have the branch but does seem to be eating a large nut. His mouth open and looking guilty, caught in the act.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Flora Found: Pole and Bush

2011-09-19T09:00:00.000-04:00

Flora Found: Backyard Garden

Two weeks of beans here at the rcboisjoli blog, but let us say after three months of constant fresh beans we're never tired of eating them! We've planted lots of green pole and lots of purple bush beans this year and have been reaping the rewards all summer long. Sad to say, but soon that frost will come and the beans will stop.

Horse Bowls are just the right size for all your kitchen needs. We keep a few around for chopping and sorting out spices, sauces and veggies too. They make excellent prep bowls. Totally food safe and durable, they'll lend a hand when ever you need them.

Decalathon

2011-09-17T20:51:00.003-04:00

Late Nights In The Studio

Two late nights in a row means lots of work coming out. We've been making lots of bottles and we had our first kiln full or glazed bottles come out this morning. 93 glazed bottles are now ready for decals.

Nolan's bottles have been selling well so we have to keep on top of printing decals and firing more for the Etsy shop. Since each edition of The Bottled Project is based on the same bottle we can never make too many blank bottles. We'll be making them constantly to stock up, especially for Yigi Chang's contribution that we'll launch next month. (which isn't very far away at all)

Bellow is our makeshift decal drying rack. It's made from old screen and test bottles, and works well, but it a bit shaky. We'll be making a real one with little pull out shelves soon. Printing one hundred plus decals means we need lots of room for them to cure on.

The Bottled Project: Pikaland

2011-09-16T14:13:00.000-04:00

Pikaland Love

Yesterday we had a little spot on Pikaland, we also had a surge of curious illustrators who emailed us looking to sign up for the project. We'd like to shout out thanks to Amy who took the time to post about our little project, with images of Nolan’s lion bottle, and getting us in touch with a different crowd of great people.

Look out for new bottles soon, we're working hard.

Collected: Little and Blue

2011-09-15T09:00:00.004-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

A small blue bottle, elegantly ridged. The bottle features a stiff lip good proportions and a tapered foot.

This second small blue cobalt glass bottle is flat faced and has great glass pull lines through out. A little more crude than the one above, but just as handsome.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

H.A.M.S. Clock Update: It Glows!

2011-09-13T11:42:00.002-04:00

Glowing In The Dark

We took a few extra photo after dark last night to test the glow factor of our Glow In The Dark overglaze. Alexx had made the overglaze back in university and really haven't used it for any real purpose yet. We had to print each decal extra thick to make sure there was enough phosphorescent material to glow after it was fired. Here's what happens when the lights go out...

Although the clock arms weren't attached for this shoot, they'll match the numerals and glow as well.

The H.A.M.S. Clock

2011-09-12T21:04:00.003-04:00

Bone China and Decals

After a few weeks of turning forms, slip trials and casting problems, rcboisjoli has finally produced the first fully realized Bone China Clock for H.A.M.S. Cast with our own bone china slip, double layered decals and real clock works, it’s been a challenge but totally worth it.

The decaled clock face was a challenge. It’s three layers of overglaze in two firings. First a layer of black was printed then details in orange were added. These two colours were applied to the clock face and fired. A second decal was printed containing the Glow In The Dark overglaze, this was applied carefully over the first layer and refired. Glow In The Dark overglaze is fired at a much lower temperature than the rest, so it has to be done separately.

The colours react poorly when layered too heavily so a drop out was used in all the layers of artwork. Lining up each layer was a chore but worth the effort. A big thanks to Ian Phillips for the fine art work and well designed acetates for our screens!

The clocks are part of a larger multi-year correspondence art project by the talented duo Derek McCormack and Ian Phillips. H.A.M.S., or the Holiday Arts Mail-order School, will be hosted by the AGYU at the Toronto International Art Fair in October. Coincidentally it also runs on Hallowe’en weekend, amazingly appropriate.

Flora Found: Orca Beans

2011-09-12T09:00:00.003-04:00

Flora Found: Backyard Garden

The most amazingly patterned beans one can grow. These appropriately named black and white beans actually look like little Killer whales, white on the bottom, black on top with a tiny dorsal fin spot of white. No two are quite alike, they're tasty when picked early as green beans, but their true colours only come out when they dry.

Shown tumbling out of our Anchor Pill Bottle and held in place by our last remaining maple leaf branded cork. rcboisjoli is on the lookout for a new mini brand design. Expect some corks soon.

The Bottled Project: RELEASE ONE

2011-09-11T11:35:00.003-04:00

Nolan Pelletier: The Lion

The very first round of collaboration between rcboisjoli and Nolan Pelletier for The Bottled Project is now ready. The Bottled Project is proud to unveil this handsome lion, illustrated by Nolan and produced by the rcboisjoli studio.

This marks the first round of one hundred illustrated bottles by ten different designers.

Nolan's bottle features a two colour silk screen of a handsome lion's head in front, and a delicate bright blue crown on the back. Striking detail and a fierce bold design make this lion a great image.

Only available as a limited series of one hundred bottles, each bottle in individually numbered and marked with NOLAN '11 and the rcboisjoli mark. Printed by hand, each decal has slight variances which only adds to the illustrative styling of Nolan's work. The Bottled Project is only available online at the rcboisjoli ETSY shop. Be sure to pick one up soon as supplies are limited.

rcboisjoli is still looking for collaborative partners for The Bottled Project, if you'd like more information, check out our design brief here

2012 Models Now In!

2011-09-09T16:24:00.001-04:00

New rcboisjoli For 2012

Although it's still a while off, 2012 is approaching fast. rcboisjoli has lots of projects on the go right now and we're getting ready for the next year already. One yearly task for us is to redesign our mark for the bottoms of all our products. It's hard to believe that the lightning bolt was made almost 12 months ago now.

In the spirit of our newest project, The Bottled Project, we've made our new mark to match.

Just like car ads where the next years' models always seem to come earlier and earlier, we'll be using these new marks for Nolan Pelletier's submission to The Bottled Project. We're also pleased to note that the first of his bottles will be available next week! More on that soon. Here's a sneak peek for all.

Bottled Project Update

2011-09-08T10:29:00.001-04:00

Casting and Testing

To distinguish the Bottled Project from other rcboisjoli projects we've been designing a new glaze for the series. Creating a stain matte white glaze has been our goal, with dozens of recipes online and in books, there's no shortage of ideas around. We however, use a base list of materials for all our glazes. It simplifies ordering and cost for materials too. If all our glazes are based on the same ingredients, we have to order fewer bags of dry goods and larger cheaper quantities of our base materials.

This run has been seven edits along the line to create a solid, stain matte, white glaze. Glazes are a careful mix of melters (fluxes) stabilizers (alumina) and glass makers (silica). We prefer a boron based glaze with lots of nyepheline syenite. Plenty of calcium and zinc help the create a matte glaze, as does a commercial opacifier, like Ultrox.

After a week of testing, we're going to run with glaze 090911 the last in our series of tests. It's solid, matte, white and food safe too. It should take the decal well, which is important for this project! Always test and retest glazes. It may seem like a lot of work to do, but it's amazing to find a glaze that just works well for you.
We always save off-casts from the bottle runs to save for glaze tests. Usually it's the ones that we forget to time in the molds and end too heavy and thick to use.

Collected: BROMOSELTZER

2011-09-08T09:00:00.007-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This rough little apothecary bottle is a beautiful cobalt blue. The bottle is only a few centimetres tall and it's body is almost the same size as it's mouth. Bromoseltzer was a popular digestive aid, first produced in Baltimore over a hundred years ago.

Inscribed with BROMOSELTZER from the EMERSON DRUG CO, Toronto Ontario

Inscribed with BROMOSELTZER DRUG CO, TORONTO ONT.
After shooting this wee bottle, i picked up a second bottle, from Baltimore MD this time.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Deliveries and Awesome Finds

2011-09-07T16:42:00.000-04:00

Studio Goods

Today's studio work was spiked by good finds and deliveries of studio goods. On the way to coffee we scored a great street-side find, a mini drawer organizer. Put to quick use for storing our decals, it made fast work of keeping them sorted and clean. We figured that the case belonged to a fly fishing enthusiast because it contained stray hairs of assorted and well labelled animals. Our favourite must be the Muskrat Belly Fur label.

We were glad to receive our clockwork and arms in the mail, as well as our commercial clear glaze for the bone china clocks. Normally we don't rely on commercial glazes for our products, choosing instead to focus on in studio made glazes. The clocks, however, needed a commercial glaze because of the commercial gums within the glaze mixture that make it excellent to spray onto all ready vitrified work. Non porous clay is terrible to glaze, it's like water colour on waxpaper.

We traditionally glaze at cone six, but we fired these clocks raw, right up to maturity. Fired on face, the were much stabler and we avoided any deformation. They will be glazed at a lower temperature standing up in position without fear of slumping disasters.

The bottled Project Presents: Nolan Pelletier

2011-09-04T12:18:00.001-04:00

Nolan and The Lion

rcboisjoli and the Bottled Project are pleased to announce that the first successful pull of Nolan Pelletier's decal just happened. We had made a screen the other night but lost too much detail in the face so we reshot the screen. All that extra work was definitely worth it, because these lions are amazing.

Here's a sneak peek at what we're talking about. We'll be casting lots of bottles and printing many decals over the next while. Our first bottle will be ready soon!

Flora Found: Asiatic Dayflower

2011-09-04T09:00:00.001-04:00

Asiatic Dayflower: Backyard Garden

This odd growing weed has always been a mystery. It grows low to the grown, in odd shaped rambles, a branch that way, a few that way. It has rigid and triangular stems, with lily like leaves. The oddest feature are the two petalled bright blue blossoms, with mini daisy like appendages.

The name comes from the fact that each blossom is very short lived, only a day.

The Bottled Project: Moldmaking

2011-09-01T18:53:00.000-04:00

The Last Piece

This is the very last piece of a series of ten molds for the Bottled Project. Twenty pieces (plus one reject) for ten two piece molds. Having so many molds of the bottle will sure speed up production for our project. Tonight is set aside for shooting our first screen with Nolan's amazing work.

'L' shaped boundary boards and large quick clamps make easy work of moldmaking.

Collected: Three Glass Flasks

2011-09-01T09:03:00.006-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

A handsome bottle for sure, styled as a flask, this brown bottle shows excellent character when illuminated. The bold form has a rough chipped lip but a great profile. All kinds of detritus dot the interior, which shows with great effect in the second photograph. I like the rounded, more slopped shoulders compared to the heavier square shoulders of the two flasks shown below.

Although these two flasks look pretty much the same, their forms are just slightly different. Each flask has a different production code on the bottom.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Clock Face: Prints

2011-08-31T13:36:00.000-04:00

Clock Face Prints: First Round

Today is devoted to test printing our new screen, the HAMS clock face. This is our most complicated decal to date, with three overglazes on two separate decals, black, orangey and Glow In The Dark too. Here's the first round of black and orange prints. These will be fired onto the clock face first and a second Glow In The Dark decal will be floated over top of the first layer of decals. This has to be done because the Glow In The Dark fires at a much lower temperature then our regular decals. Two temperatures, two layers of decals.

Each round of printing we get better at lining up the screens. A quick clamp has become the best tool for holding the screen whilst we pull the overglaze. We opted out of a very thin trap because the overglaze shows overlapped areas. We have zero room for error, so it's tricky business printing these clock faces. Good thing there isn't a hundred to do.

Bone China Slip Trials

2011-08-30T19:37:00.001-04:00

Bone China Slip Trials: Ten Kilos

Here in the rcboisjoli studio, we've been weighing, measuring, recording and mix mix mixing. We've completed our first batch of Bone China Slip. We did a larger ten Kilo batch as we found small batches were just too hard to get just right. Most recipes call for 100 pounds of clay to start with.

We definitely have come along way with our slip knowledge. We've experimented with Soda Ash, Sodium Silicate and Darvan #7 to get the batch just right. Ultimately we added a tad too much water, (our Specific Gravity is about 16.8) and we had to increase the deflocculants by about 30% from normal clay body guidelines. We'll be preparing a technical document for anyone interested in making your own slip soon, once we're sure it's working just fine.

All those scribbles are important! Each addition was carefully recorded and noted. We stared at that bucket for way too long. rcboisjoli is looking to invest in a real mixer, one on a stand.

A Bit Of A Flop

2011-08-30T11:38:00.001-04:00

Bone China Slip Trials

We're back to the studio today for some more slip trials, we had a kiln full of tests last night, and one bit of a flop. We tested the final form of the clock to see how it would stand up to being fired on foot, we knew it would slump. We just didn't expect this much.

Looking like something out of a Dali painting, it's actually kind of cute. Not quite what we want though. This test was done in our regular slip just to test the form and mold out. The bone china slip will warp even more when we get it to cast, so we'll be setting up a different firing routine for the HAMS clocks. We'll be firing raw to temperature and glazing low. That way we can fire face down for stability and glaze upright without fear of too much warping.

Flora Found: Backyard Garden

2011-08-29T09:00:00.001-04:00

Hosta: Backyard Garden

A garden favourite, the hosta is a large shade loving garden fixture. Low growing, with large ever expanding clusters of leafy greens, from hunter to lime and variegated stripes. The small plumes of flowers emerge in late summer and are often overlooked.

Small waxy looking, bell shaped flowers are a tasty looking purple. A profusion of stamens jump out to distribute pollen to any eager bee. Our Double Mustard Bear is featured here.

Bone China Slip: Testing

2011-08-25T13:39:00.001-04:00

Testing The Tests

Today is all about Bone China, making and testing. Slip making was never taught in school, we don't even know anybody who makes it. There are those out there who do, we're sure of it. Making slip is tricky business and we've learned to really appreciate our regular slip so much more. One needs a light tough and a good mixing arm too. It's all about the perfect ratio of water, dry materials and deflocculants.

It's hard to believe that this small amount of water is enough to liquefy 2,000 g of dry clay materials. Deflocculants are wonderful for that, they charge the particles of the clay and in return they repel each other. Rather than attracting to form a solid, they all separate, and poof, you have a liquid slip. It would take five times as much water alone to make the same consistency, and they clay would be so weak that it wouldn't cast. This handy digital scale is a great way to save time. We miss our triple beam scale, but digital is so much faster.

Testing means good records, always making notes of how you did it, what you did and if it worked out. Notes are all over the studio and rcboisjoli is fuelled by coffee.

A Quick Proof

2011-08-25T10:06:00.002-04:00

Clock Prototype

Always when we make a new mold here at the rcboisjoli studios, we can't wait to try it out. There are tricks to fast curing your mold, fans, kilns, sunny windows and even the microwave. We always try to pull a cast just before it's dry and the resulting first cast is always a wonky mess. This clock actually came out great. A preliminary mock up for the HAMS clock. We're working on a new doodad for the top of the clock, something a bit more substantial.

Now we're stuck with the task of making a bone china casting slip. Lots of trial and error and buckets of slop in the studio right now. We had our first successful batch last night with a terrific lightning storm all about the studio, mad scientist style. Bone china is a great hard white translucent clay body but terrible to work with. The bone ash, which is synthetic now, is very caustic and works against the deflocculation of the slip. We'll post more when (if) we get better results.

Collected: Green Square

2011-08-25T09:00:00.003-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This larger bottle is almost like the hefty older sibling of last week's squat square bottle. Hefty and solid, with a great green tinted glass, this bottle holds a great bouquet.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Sneaky Peek

2011-08-23T14:45:00.000-04:00

Plaster Lathe: Prototyping

Here's a peek at a new form, just turned on the plaster lathe. Destined to be a clock body, with decalled face and real clock works, this model is just the beginning. This is the first collaboration between rcboisjoli and HAMS. It'll be a fun one for sure. We're excited by the project and will post lots more in the months ahead.

And The Winner Is...

2011-08-22T11:34:00.002-04:00

Bloorcourt Street Fair/Facebook Feathered Giveaway

Even though we had a bit of confusion last week with our facebook group/page we do have a winner!
Nadiene Giguere

She has won the lucky draw for one fine feathered vase. She'll be contacted directly and receive a great package in the mail soon. We'll have another giveaway in the future, probably in the dark winter months ahead.

Flora Found: Edibles

2011-08-21T09:00:00.001-04:00

Thai Basil and Nasturtiums: Back Garden

This tasty pair of spicy peppery nasturtiums and sweet licorice Thai basil is a great combo. They look just as great as they taste. I love the contrast between forms, smooth leaves and fluttery petals, orange blossoms and purple stems.

Collected: Hartley's Drug Store

2011-08-18T09:42:00.002-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

An amazing bottle with very decorative script and beautiful faceted features. The bottles has great a gradated scale on the sides, great facets across the neck and very elaborate script, inscribed with HARTLEY'S DRUG STORE, 411½ Parliment St.

The bottom of this rectangular bottle has a diamond logo with KING OVAL.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Collected: Brown Square

2011-08-18T09:36:00.002-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This more recent bottle was a gift from a handsome friend, it's dark brown glass adds a mystery to it's square profile. Not much of a neck, but a strong rolled rim finishes it off well.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.

Flora Found: Squash Blossoms

2011-08-15T09:00:00.002-04:00

Squash Blossoms: Backyard Garden

Large, bright and hard to miss, these magnificent Pattypan blossoms fill up the garden every year. Not only do they attract a whole host of pollinators they also leave behind tasty flat UFO shaped summer squash. These porcelain barrels are in full production now, after their time in the limelight at TYPE Books for The Niagara File installation.

Click for images of the window featured these mini porcelain barrels.

Bloorcourt Street Fair

2011-08-14T20:13:00.001-04:00

Bloorcourt Street Fair Fun

Thanks for all the people who stopped by and to those who purchased some rcboisjoli products! Here's a few pictures of the set up, bright and early.

Biking up Dovercourt rd, gear in tow at a very slow speed.

One last sign, there's always one that you forget to print, especially when you do them the morning of.

The booth, almost ready to go. Product out, bunting up and sand bags holding down the fort. Just a few tweaks and we were ready to go!

New Facebook Group!

2011-08-14T12:01:00.000-04:00

rcboisjoli On Facebook

This weekend at the Bloorcourt Street Fair, we started a campaign to draw focus to our facebook group as a tool to spread information about rcboisjoli. We didn't realize the difference between a 'page' and a 'group' but now we do, mostly.

We'll still have the original giveaway but start another one with our second real rcboisjoli Facebook page. one that's actually likeable.

rcboisjoli on facebook

If you enjoy hearing about rcboisjoli, be sure to 'like' us on facebook. Anyone who posts a comment on our new page will be entered into a competition to win a new Feathered Vase! One random commentator will be chosen on Saturday August 20th.

Cloudy, With A Chance of Crafts!

2011-08-13T08:04:00.002-04:00

Today!

Bloorcourt Street Fair Goods!

2011-08-12T12:40:00.001-04:00

Goods For Sale!

Just in time for the Bloorcourt Street Fair, these new wares from rcboisjoli are set to go! One with a great run of new decals, on an older underused form. The slender but heavily shouldered vase was popular with it's double bird decals but now clad with a single feather.

Glazed in our classic Seagull Egg glaze and decalled with a single large feather, in a lovely acorn brown and a few in the mustard as well. Feather design by our in house graphic genius, Ian Phillips

We're also pleased to release a limited run of Double Bear Octagonal bottles for the show.

Just For The Weekend

2011-08-11T12:39:00.000-04:00

Octagonal Bears

These back to back rusty bears are on a limited edition octagonal bottle. Only a few have been made and will be for sale only this weekend at the Bloorcourt Street Fair. Be sure to come early if you want one. Click for me info on the event.

Collected: Japanese Glow Bug

2011-08-11T09:00:00.004-04:00

In Appreciation of Bottles

This may be my favourite (and smallest) of my bottle collection. A precious gift from a handsome fellow, this tiny bottle is an old Japanese bottle, clad with a little firefly design.

I really love the lines used to show light emitting from the firefly's backside.

To view the Collected series as a whole visit our flickr page, updated every week.