Plates

I have been out of the studio for a little while for various reason but I am now back in the cold garage getting into the swing of things. I have started out making a couple of prototype plates. I know the general design I want for the plates but I have been playing with some small details trying to find the right balance.

I changed several parts of the process for making these most recent plates. One of the major changes was that I threw these on bats as opposed to off the hump. I wanted to get a more consisted thickness to the plates and also to be able to leave less clay in the bottom. This allows me to do less trimming which means less reclaim and more spontaneous marks.

Plates are an interesting form to me because although they are not technically difficult to make there are numerous small details that can make or break the pot. I like the sort of routine quality that can come out of such simple pots. When a pot is made up of virtually one plane it brings attention to the smaller details and marks on the surface that you may overlook on other more complicated forms. The quality that I am after with these plates is a sort of fresh spontaneous imperfect look and feel. For me that freshness comes out when things are done quickly but with precision and a knowledge of the marks and amounts of clay you want to leave throughout the pot.

10% off Holiday Sale

Anouncing a 10% of sale on ETSY. Enter holiday as a coupon code at checkout and recieve 10% off of your order.

Happy Holidays

Pitchers

I have been making a lot of the same pitcher form trying to fine tune all of my ideas. One of the main things for me is making the handle continue the line created by the bottom section of the pot. This form needs a handle to complete it, but if the handle is wrong it throws off the whole pot.


I have also noticed that I like the pitchers to be more narrow and cylindrical shaped. I think that on the wider ones the angle created by the two planes meeting is too sharp visually. I made a couple pitchers in various sizes to create a sort of set. I'm not sure if I will photograph the finished pitchers as a set or as individuals. But I think if done well, sets like these can be a pretty powerful image.

Just a Slab

Jan Mckeachie Johnston
Simon Levin

Shoji Hamada Ruggles & Rankin

I have been working on making some slab hump/drape mold plates and platters. I like the idea of slab plates for several reasons. First off, they are different from anything else that I am currently making. They also offer lots of variety in surface decoration and texture techniques, like Simon's wadding resist or Ruggles and Rankin's brushwork. I learned a while ago that making molds and pots from molds is not easy; however, Once you have made a good mold it is a relatively easy process to produce multiple good pot's.

It is frustrating to me that the thought of using molds takes away from the idea of handmade pot's. I know this is many peoples first reaction to the idea because it used to be mine. The word mold has a negative connotation for whatever reason. I think that making pots from molds, when done well, is just as valid of a process as throwing. It is definitely not easy and deserves better recognition.

I am very excited about the new possibilities that this opens up and I will post some pictures of my interpretations of these great pots shortly. And if all goes well they will eventually wind up on my Etsy page.

What is your opinion of pots made from molds?

New Pots and Etsy

Pitcher with Flashing SlipYunomi with Flashing Slip
Mug with flashing slip (a favorite of this firing) Rice Bowl fired upside downLidded Pitcher

Some new pots from the latest firing at Mark Terry's Anagama. I had Kindof a lot of variables going into this firing new clay body glazes and slips. All in all im pretty happy with the results. The only problems I had were some issues with the functionality of some of the pots, all my fault. I was really happy with all of the surfaces though and I have a lot of new information to go off.

I would also like to anounce my first etsy sale. I have posted a couple items in my etsy store from this last firing and they are all waiting for you.

progress in the studio

I have been focusing a lot on feet lately. When I think of good feet words that come to mind are satisfying, and confident. These words seem to contrast somewhat because a satisfying foot needs to be of a certain size; however, enough material needs to be removed in trimming in order to show confidence with your chosen tool. When these two factors are well balanced the resulting foot can be spectacular but if a foot is to skimpy or to chunky then it can ruin a pot. On the bowl pictured above I wanted to create a very tall foot. I feel that I may have over emphasized the satisfying part of the foot with its large scale, while not successfully conveying a confident statement with the foot because of how much cutting is required to produce this larger foot.
I have been having some problems with these inset lids. I need the knob to be a certain height to be easy to grab but I do not want it to be too tall and break up the flow of the pot. I have also been working on cleaning up the knobs and adding the same texture to them as the rest of the pot.

This is a new vase form for me. It is kind of inspired by Bede Clark, but I think they are still evolving. I am usually not one for the little pellets or smeared balls of clay but I think they work as little handle accent things.
I also revisited a faceted bottle form I haven't made for a little while. These pots are really about the small details and proportions, which makes them very difficult and frustrating to make. I'm not sure if I will make anymore of these, they may have to be one of those pots that I admire of others but never make myself.

Feet: Round Two

Some more good feet, no repeats this time, any guesses?