Tuesday - More Japan pots

I am still working through my feelings about the disaster in Japan and trying to express those feelings on pots.  This is the latest "broken vessel" piece I've been working on.  I painted it with underglaze and will spray it with rutile and some clear.  It's the first piece that I've painted that's meant to lay on it's side, but I feel that it speaks on several levels.  I have more ideas and more to say.  Stay tuned.

.

Thursday - Glazing Pots

Thursday night I glazed some pots for the upcoming gas kiln firing.

The pot with the bumps on it (lower left) is made of craggy crunch, glazed with turner's red, the bumps were waxed, then it was dipped in Tom's clear.  It was Greg's glaze suggestion, but the finger marks are mine.

The four yunomi (tea bowls) (upper left) are porcelain (helios), glazed with spotted shino, the "notches" are waxed for emphasis, and the pots are sprayed with a rutile blush.

The "baby pots" (big group on right) are made from craggy crunch, some have white slip pours, all are dipped in spotted shino, Catherine's oribe poured on, rims dipped in Alfred blue, sprayed with rutile.  It's a lot of work for a little pot, but they do come out nice.

Glazed pots waiting for heat.

.

Another Tall Pot

In October 2010 I made a tall pot using phoenix and sliced it into quarters (top to bottom).  I then pieced it back together and put some nickel-chromium sutures in it.  I sprayed it with some oxides and rutile, then sprayed a few light passes with clear glaze.  It came out great with a warm, almost wood-fired look to it.  I really liked it though several friends were not comfortable with it.

I sold it in November at the Concentrix terra4m sale and felt validated:  someone else liked it too.  After selling it I decided I was going to make some similar pieces in the future.

On February 5, 2011 I was working on another one and before I could slice it into quarters, a friend offered to purchase it if I didn't slice it.  I was still determined to make more "broken vessels" so I resigned myself to start another one as soon as I could.

The next day I received an email from the person who purchased the original piece asking if it was one-of-a-kind or if I might have similar pieces.  He wants to buy a piece for a friend.


Apparently this is a popular (and somewhat classic) form.  I see more of these in my future.

Even in the midst of all this commerce there exists a conundrum in my own mind.  The first one I made (on the left) has a nice shape, but doesn't really adhere to the rule of thirds.  The neck is too short to be a third of the overall pot.  On the next one I really paid attention to the height of the neck and even though it is closer to a third of the pot, I like the first one better.  I guess some of the "rules" are more like "guidelines" when the clay hits the bat.

I was also struck by the (accidental) almost identical height of the two pieces.  It's funny how the mind works on a subconscious level when making similar forms.




.

2009-04-21 Tuesday New Pots

I have finally taken some pictures of some finished pots. These pots were fired in the last two ^10 gas firings. I will try to post some of the others as time permits.

This is the pot with the sutures
that I sprayed with oxides:
iron, copper, rutile, and cobalt
(alfred blue glaze).

Spotted shino with alfred blue.

Spotted shino with alfred blue on rim.

Detail on rim and neck.

Yunomi with spotted shino and alfred blue.
Sprayed with some oxides.

Yunomi with spotted shino and alfred blue.
Sprayed with some oxides.

Spotted shino with oribe on rim
and yanagahara accents.