pottery | Gunsmoke and Knitting

Posts Tagged ‘pottery’

What am I throwing down?

October 23, 2019

I know this is an ad, but as a potter I am just blown away by that fellow blithely throwing 40 pounds of clay (!) I did notice that the throwers are all men and the decorators are all women . . . . Anyway I get to open my kiln tonight. It is only a bisque firing, but I do have some tiles with under glaze on them that I am anxious to see.

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What am I throwing?

February 26, 2018

I found this video on the site “This Week’s Top 7 Smart Videos”

I think this technique and it’s execution is pretty cool.

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Why are ceramic artists so good at dealing with failure?

January 10, 2018

photo: deightonceramics

“In mid-November, Jennie Jieun Lee was moving a life-size ceramic sculpture of a woman out of her studio. The piece, which had taken her a few months to create, was about to be photographed, ahead of its debut at a Miami art fair just weeks later. But Lee’s dolly hit a bump, and the ceramic figure toppled to the floor. It was shattered irreparably.

What exactly makes clay so volatile? Issues can arise at the earliest stages, from the moistness of the material to the way it’s kneaded and stored. If clay is too wet or too dry, it can collapse or crumble; if its parts are improperly attached, it can break; if it’s not “bone dry” when it’s fired, the piece may crack or explode in the kiln.

photo: deightonceramics

Glazing, too, is notoriously tricky; if the coating is too thick or too thin, the desired results are impossible. Plus, chemical reactions between clay and glaze can cause things like “shivering,” when a glaze cracks and flakes off a piece’s surface. And firing is a science all its own, which, when executed poorly, can also lead to cracks and explosions. Indeed, ceramists are not only challenged to achieve feats of dexterity and creativity, but also chemistry. Of course, even when a piece is complete, there’s ample danger of the fragile material breaking.”

Why do it at all?

“There is such thrill in opening a kiln door after a work has been fired,” Wedel explains. “There is so much hope and so much wonder. The material has the final say over who you are as an artist. It can be both humbling and humiliating, and not many artists are okay with that.”

I don’t typically take photos of my failures, but I do have my share of them. I follow The Potters Motto: Make another one; just make another one.

My recent firing – It was a good day

Full story by Cassie Lasser on Artsy

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At what am I marveling?

November 28, 2016

hosono-3

“Merging botanical forms from England with the delicate plant shapes from her childhood in Japan, ceramic artist Hitomi Hosono produces delicate layered sculptures that appear as frozen floral arrangements. Often monochromatic, the works are focused on carved detail rather than color—repetition of form making each piece uniquely beautiful.” – Colossal

Hosono works in porcelain. As a potter myself, I find her work absolutely amazing – and not just a little OCD.