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René Castillo

Atelier et école de céramique à Montpellier Atelier de céramique et formations en tournage en céramique.

19/06/2022

Je suis très content de finalement pouvoir travailler dans le development d’un émail qu’en utilise tout le cycle de vie du bois. Ces cendres on été utilisées par des amis a Barcelone pour la production des poissons, viandes et beurre fumé.

Ils proviennent d’une mélange d’hêtre et chêne a un pourcentage inconnu car les bois sont brûlées selon le produit qui doive être fumé. Il y a donc un processus tres long a suivre qui consiste en trouver la masse molaire de cet melange et puisse preparer 63 tessons dont 1 me servira comme basse pour developper un gamme de couleurs a base de fer.

Ces cendres calcinés à 950 degrees montrent des différents nuisances de couler suite à la perte de l’eau lié chimiquement. Chaque essai doit être pesé, tamisé et appliqué sur des petites tuiles qui seront cuites a 1300 degrees.

R.

@ Montpellier, France

05/10/2020

This beauty arrived last week in the studio, and I was hoping to be able to fire some work this week. I just wished that my school would have taught me as kid how to be more self-sufficient, I’m saying this because I need a new circuit breaker installed in the studio and to be honest I would do it myself if it didn’t seem so daunting when I look at the electrical installation in complete and utter confusion.Anyhow, I’m impatiently waiting for the installation to happen (to which I will pay close attention so next time I’ll be able to do it myself).

My kiln which still awaits a name (feel free to suggest one if you read across this) is an Ecotop60S. I looked and looked into kilns for ages before deciding for this one. I’ve seen kilns pretty much on every studio I’ve gone to, and they seem to have the nicest build quality.

When you look inside a ceramic the kiln you would be surprised by the small size of the chamber compared to the total size of the kiln, but after all, kilns are basically heat retaining boxes and the sturdier it is the more heat it's likely to retain.

As soon as the circuit breaker is set up I’ll be able to fire my glaze test tiles, bisque fire and finally glaze all my work.

René

28/09/2020

I’ve always been interested in science, in fact I require scientific facts for many things in my life. I’m happy that ceramics besides its artistic part, carries with it an inherent scientific part which blows my mind the more I learn.

Geology, Chemistry, Physics and even Biology, each have something to do with some part of the ceramic process. I feel like the possibilities of what can be studied and then applied to what we do are infinite.

For the most part I’m interested in ceramic glazes and the science behind them. I believe that having the possibility of understanding how glazes function and being able to manipulate them gives me more control over my work and therefore my work becomes even more of myself.

The book in the picture is called “Ceramic Glazes” by Cullen W Parmelee, if you can get a copy of this book I would highly recommend doing so. It covers in depth many subjects on ceramic glazes, it can be quite a heavy read but I can assure it’s worth the struggle of fully understanding it.

René

27/09/2020

Trimming tools, ribs, my callipers… These are the tools I use the most. In the excitement of trying to learn new techniques I’ve bought many tools, but these are the ones that I use the most.

I really appreciate the ribs, I throw mostly everything with the smaller rib but I find the round rib especially useful for the inner side of bowls. I remove the excess clay with the tool on the right which really helps with the foot; I will then cut the bottom of the piece with the fishing line attached to the two pieces of wood. The callipers help when I’m throwing vases and I have to measure their size.

I think it’s quite amazing for us potters to get used to certain tools that will do specific tasks. I’m sure I will be very sad when certain tools are gone (I tend to loose things). Some of these tools come from potters that have decided to produce certain tools and I really appreciate what they’ve done.

On a special mention I would like to acknowledge for my ribs, for my best trimming tool and for my pointer.

René

26/09/2020

I have a bunch of this high manganese grogged stoneware and I’ve been using it to test new shapes that I wanted to make. I’ve had this clay hanging around for a while now and because of the high temperatures we had during the summer it’s now on the stiff side. Before I throw with it, I wrap it in a wet cloth, the clay will absorb the moisture and the texture will be just fine to throw with. Grogged clay hurts my hands but I really like the effect it can give to some pieces, its definitely not my go to to clay but since I have so much of it right now.. Well my hands will be hurting.

The teapot process is quite long and there are many factors to consider. Body, spout, handle, and the shape and size of each must be thought of; there are definitely infinite possibilities on what one can do. I’m using a drill bit to make the small draining holes on these prototypes, it’s not as neat as the tool that specifically serves this purpose but it does the job. The teapot on the back has the wheel thrown spout already attached to it, I would usually pull handles but this time I’m attaching brass wires to hold a handle over the top.

Temperatures here in the south of France have dropped astonishingly, two weeks ago I would have keep everything wrapped in plastic as I worked. Now temperatures are low enough that pieces won’t dry in 3-4 days even unwrapped. I’m getting mentally prepared for frozen hands each morning as I bike to the studio.

René

24/09/2020

The time has come and the new kiln is arriving Monday. These are the last test tiles and test cups that are being glazed before the firing.

For the past month I’ve been working on developing my own glazes from scratch. Thank goodness I’ve always had a thing for science and the whole process on learning how to do this has been quite fun and very instructive.

I’m currently working on magnesium bases that will take in colouring oxides; although I’m much more interested in matte textures I will also have a gloss base and microcrystalline glaze with higher alumina than the usual crystalline glazes.

When I’m done with these initial tests I have 300 test tiles to play around with. I’ll be photographing and documenting whatever I found interesting and posting it in here.

René

23/09/2020

I can say that wax resist is my best friend when it comes to glazing, especially my little test tiles. It makes the cleaning of the back part of the tile much easier.

The small footed bowl holds the wax I get from , unlike other waxes I’ve used, it’s more of an emulsion so it’s much thicker, which is something I really like, as it makes the application much easier.

I use a” retired” aquarelle brush which is perfect for the job, it is a tedious task, particularly when I have more that 300 of these tiles, but it’s well worth the time.

When I started potting, a couple of people told me that wax resist was not a good thing to use, but never gave me a real explanation of why. So until I don’t get some kind of scientific and concise explanation, I shall keep my wax close by.

René

22/09/2020

As simple as it seems, this small jug covers all the basics of throwing.The steps must be done correctly to achieve the desired height and shape.

When pulling up the clay I keep a tall narrow neck that leaves me some playing field to increase height when I round the bottom part (which makes the piece loose height)

For the past year I’ve been throwing on earthenware, also called “faïence” which is named after the Italian village of Faenza. Texture-wise this clay is my favourite clay to throw with on the potter’s wheel; it’s soft and very plastic but can also be quite capricious.

When fired, Faïence gives a beautiful warm terracotta colour which I prefer to leave unglazed as it reminds me of traditional Mediterranean pottery.

In other news, I’ve just ordered my new kiln from and it should be in the studio by next week!

René

21/09/2020

For a long time I worked with studio glazes and didn’t pay much attention to the many factors that could influence the final result of my glaze. This had price to pay as it is hard to reproduce the same result when you have no recorded data on what you’re doing.

As I started looking into the components of glazes and started to account for the factors that may affect the application, I realized that it would be much better to make my own.

These small tiles measuring 2.5*7cm are my testing tiles for the possible glazes I’ve been formulating for the past month. Each one is marked with its own reference that goes back to an excel sheet containing data on all of my glazes.

It’s been hard to work on this project since I don’t have my own kiln, I’m walking slowly but surely and sometime soon I’ll be able to show the results.

René

21/09/2020

A quick word for all who decide to hop on:

I’m opening up this account to document my work and life as a potter.I want to share with you my ideas and continue to spread one of the oldest crafts known to humanity, which also happens to be my job.

I'm currently working with a traditional French potter and use her studio as my working space. Hopefully I will find my dream studio to go "solo" one day but in the meanwhile I'm very happy where I am.

It is important for me not to lose the artisanal and artistic professions that have been around for such a long time, not only because of their inherent cultural and historical importance but also because the aesthetics of handmade objects make me happy.

Letting aside my little romantic discourse on pottery, I hope you enjoy my work and content.

René

Adresse

121 Rue Fontcouverte
Montpellier
34070

Heures d'ouverture

Lundi	10:00 - 17:00
Mardi	10:00 - 17:00
Mercredi	10:00 - 17:00
Jeudi	10:00 - 17:00
Vendredi	10:00 - 17:00
Samedi	10:00 - 17:00

Site Web

http://www.rcastillo.fr/

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