Lidded Pitchers

I am finally getting to a point with these lidded pitchers where I feel like I know what I want from them. Meaning that I feel that I have worked out enough of the details so that I can actually be somewhat satisfied with them. This does not mean that they are done evolving, It just means that they are to a point were I will fire them.

The two pitchers above are quite small. I think I would envision them as personal teapots. I am avoiding telling you to many of my ideas about them because I would like to request some feedback on them. I would like anyone who has time to give me a one word critique of the two pitchers above. Just simply comment on the post with the word that comes to mind when you see them. All feedback will be much appreciated.

Mill Creek Pots

Semi Famous Firing

I spent the better half of this past September in Gresham, Wisconsin assisting Simon Levin in firing his Anagama. To date, this has been my most influential experience in ceramics. Working with Simon and his apprentices, who are all very talented potters, has taught me a lot. Through working with them I have learned the importance in deciding who you surround yourself with. It is very inspiring to me to be at the bottom of the pack and feel the need to catch up.

We fired Simon's Anagama for six days and then downfired. Downfiring is a technique Simon developed. It is similar to reduction cooling but he lets the kiln re-oxidise after every stoke in the downfiring as opposed to keeping the kiln in reduction during the entire cooling cycle.

Simon also fires his kiln a lot cooler (in temperature) than most people. Cone ten's were down in the hottest parts after firing for six days. The kiln never got over 2200 degrees. The ash was melted by the heat work as opposed to just temperature, meaning heat over time.

The kiln is fired in a very controlled manor with a detailed hourly kiln log and thermocouple. Simon's goal is to produce lots of "information" on the surface of the pots. He has adapted the firing schedule in order to emphasize the surfaces he wants. He is also very conscious in loading the kiln. Every pot is very carefully wadded in place and some wads are hung between pots to create more information and flame path on the pots.

pouring pots

I have Incorporated a cup form that I have been working with into some pouring pots. I took the essential form of the cup and changed the proportions and size of them in order to make them work with a teapot and lidded pitcher form. Although the cup form was originally influenced by a cup of sequoia millers that I have, I feel that I have stolen the form rather than borrowed it. Stealing means that you take the idea and make it your own while borrowing suggests that you use the idea but do not change it. I have found that using the same essential form for a teapot and cups helps to make sets that "work" visually.The spout and lugs on this teapot help to balance the angular form of the pot. This teapot will eventually have a woven reed handle. The handle will also aid the balance and help to soften up the angular body of the pot.

I have been working with a sketch book a lot, drawing pots that I may eventually make. I arrived at this lidded pitcher form by drawing different versions of the aforementioned cup form and stretching the proportions. Then I think about what form it could be and add the necessary parts to the drawing. I think that drawing pots really helps to balance out the proportion of pots and also to weed out a lot of bad ideas.

Mugs Continued

I have been working on the same mug form and made a few changes. I changed the handle by making the bottom attachment similar to the top. I also made the handle a little bit thicker and wider. I really don't like small skimpy handles and I felt that the previous ones were a little thin for my liking. I have also been working more with throwing these off the hump. I found that I would cut them off so that the bottom was very thick. Since I do not want to trim these this was a problem. I think judging the thickness of the base will come through practice more than anything but I have definitely been paying more attention to it. I want the handles to taper to both ends. I want the bottom attachment to be the thickest and significantly larger than the top attachment.

I have also started to make a sort of travel mug shape. I am not interested in making big bulky travel mugs, in fact I really don't like the idea of travel mugs at all. My idea is to kind of mock the form of a "travel mug" but bring it down to a smaller size, and also tweak the proportions a little. Since I find these "travel mugs" big and ugly I thought it would be an interesting challenge to make some that I actually like.

I have also been working on a new yunomi form. This form is kind of inspired by a Michael Simon cup that I saw at Guillermo Cuellar's house. I think that it is a very interesting form with a lot of potential. My cups are definitely still in a very rough prototype stage but I am interested to see how they work out. I like how the foot kind of stands out in the profile of the cup.

I have been looking at a lot of Michael Simon pots lately. I think Michael is probably one of my favorite potters. I think he is very under appreciated currently, it is pretty obvious when looking at his pots to see how many people have been inspired, or flat out copied them.

Working on Mugs

I have started to work on a new mug form. Its kind of Ruggles&Rankin/Clary Illian/Sequoia Miller inspired. This mug form is pretty different than the mugs I have been making recently (Simon's mugs). I just got back from a trip, which I will write all about soon (I promise Ryan). Anyways, this trip made me think a lot about the pots I am making and the pots that I want to make. Being surrounded by a lot of good pots and potters made me think a lot about what makes a good pot. This is kind of an unanswerable question but it is very thought provoking.

The point that I am trying to get at is that I am back in a very "investigative" place in making pots. I am trying lots of new things and following lots of new influences. I am very excited about these new influences and new ideas to try out. This has caused me to get back into the mode were all I want to do is make pots. I am trying new things with clay bodies and also I have been throwing almost everything off the hump. I was inspired to throw and trim off the hump by Simon. He throws most of his pots off the hump, including plates.

Throwing off the hump can be difficult to begin with but provides many advantages in my opinion. There are the obvious benefits of not having to make individual balls of clay and increasing how fast you can make pots. But for me one of the biggest things is that the pot is raised up on a pedestal of sorts (the hump). This allows you to see the pot from a more objective angle while you are throwing it. I also like the freedom of making many pots quickly and I also like the process and the marks left from cutting the pot off the hump.

Trimming off the hump (soft clay chuck) allows you to keep the pot steady without using wads and without flattening the rim by sticking it to the wheel head. The pot also moves around a little which allows you to have a little more movement in your pots.

I believe that working in this way, using the processes described above, allows me to move closer to making the pots that I like. I have a lot more ideas I am currently working on and I will share them with you soon.

Arizona Pots

(stoneware with flashing slip- small train)

(porcelain with flashing slip- wood-soda/double cat)
(stoneware- side stoke of double wide train)

Here are some finished pots form my Arizona trip. I have plenty more pots from my trip but I thought these were the best. Feel free to ask if you have any questions about the pots/firings etc.