Form and Intention

In April, my brother-in-law asked me for a new planter for his tiny succulent plant. I have a love affair with plants in general, and this li'l guy inspired me to build a home where he'd be happy to stretch his greenery. The adobe-style house is about 3" tall, with plenty of drainage, per Jesse's instructions.

Thriving in his new home!

See the little steps and the arched entryway?

My husband remarked that this isn't my 'usual' style. Suddenly I remembered my professor in college, chiding me for not 'focusing' on one thing. Do I work on the wheel OR off the wheel? Why can't I stick to one style?

In my ceramics career so far, I've used different techniques to create my forms; I've used terra sig, underglazes, and glazes to decorate; and I've experimented with different firings, including electric, wood, gas, and pit. Sometimes I'm critical of myself, as if my experimentation is a bad thing. However, I'm discovering that 'focus' for me can't mean limiting the shapes I want to form out of clay. My idea of ceramics begins with creating wildly different forms guided by consistent themes:
I rarely smooth a surface completely or otherwise erase my touch on the clay
I try to make my pieces appropriately weighted, to combine the visual and tactile expectation
I am attentive to my choice of detail, adding or deleting marks purposefully

It's only when I pick up a paintbrush that the pieces start to look very different, and that's where I want to work on developing a satisfying but narrow range of finishing options.

As you look through these next pieces, maybe you'll see that they have similarities following the themes I described, and that it's the different decorating styles that make them so different. Maybe not! I'd love to hear feedback--one reason why I have this blog. Also, like a lot of artists, I find it challenging to articulate what I feel about my work, and here I have the opportunity to combine words and clay on a regular basis. Yesterday I was asked to describe my handbuilt work, and I stumbled through a vague answer, because I don't know how to talk about the finished pieces. I do know how I feel when I work; like a consultant or designer, pairing a client's personality or style with a specific product. The planter is an easy example, where my 'client' is the plant. It may seem that the next pieces are not related, but they are to me, for their specific purposes. 

My husband suggested I make espresso cups and saucers. These are tiny, espresso-shot-sized cups with leafy saucers. I didn't set out to make complicated saucers, but they simply had to sprout leaves! I have a set of four that will go to Coyote Creek Gallery this weekend. 

 
After the espresso set, I threw bowls, mugs, and a casserole dish, then realized I make very few lidded forms. I threw this with a lot of intention in the form, but it almost didn't turn out this way. I had an onset of laziness and wished I had thrown a flatter lid that could be finished quickly. I actually threw a half-hearted knob on top, but finally convinced myself not to ruin the form with banality and just add the iris already! Or rather, I marched into the living room and said something confrontational to my husband like, Should I keep this stupid, ugly knob on the lid or make a really cool iris instead!?

The iris pot is about 12" tall. I'm still considering what glazes I want to use. (See why I need to focus on my glazing and firing?)

Meanwhile, I've made a whole lot of magnets. They lurking in photos in my April-May posts; I only just glued magnets on the back and displayed them on the fridge. There are many more than the ones shown here, and they vary from blue to blue-green. I think they are so much fun! They're about 2.5" tall, 1-3" wide, depending on the letter. Should I put them on etsy or bring them to the gallery? Hmmmm. It feels good to have this sort of dilemma.
 

My clay magnets are cozying up to this lovely magnet made by my dear friend Katie.

These next two pieces were created a long time ago, and I've finally resolved the 'how do I glaze you?' problem.


These two tiles come from my friend Syma's barrel-fire workshop--I think it was the summer of 2009. There were leftover fresh tiles when the workshop ended, and I took two home, carefully stored in Ziploc baggies. My head was bursting with the excitement I feel by blank canvases, untouched smooth clay, or even an unlined piece of paper, but time passed quickly and the tiles stayed bare. I was feeling sad one day, missing my cat, and retrieved the miraculously still-damp tiles. I sketched a cat figure across them, then shelved the tiles for more than a year. On a particularly gray day this Spring, I revisited the tiles. Bright rectangles of underglaze and low-fire glaze add life to my kitty diptych. Each tile is 4" x 4" and is made to hang on the wall.

Do you see the square of clear glaze on each tile? Click on the photo to see it larger.

This vase is a piece I made in May 2010. It is covered with white terra sig and I pit fired it a year ago. It turned out mostly gray and black, and I could never bring myself to 'finish' it with tile sealer. When I loaded my kitty tiles into the kiln, it was a perfect opportunity to make a decision about the vase, by adding it to the kiln load and intending to glaze it with underglazes as well. All the black and gray carbon from the pit firing burned away, and I've redecorated the surface using underglazes.

The underglazes on the vase have not yet been fired. The very faint lilac will turn into the deeper purple on the kitty tile on the left. Similarly, the pink, yellow, orange, and brown will become more intense. Then I will apply a clear glaze to the entire piece, and Piers will add a handle.
 

Button closure

I used to work at Breckenridge Blinds & Draperies, where our office was filled with fabric sample books, floor to ceiling. Rich chenilles, airy linens, beautiful silks. Textiles provide a lot of inspiration for me, and I spent a lot of time at Breck Blinds eyeing designer fabrics, searching through sample books for just the right choice for particular projects. (The designers would ask me if I had time to look. You're kidding, right?)  The shape of this vase works well, divided into two fabric-inspired patterns as if I had found fabric in two color ways that I couldn't decide between, and displayed both to the designer.

I'm looking forward to firing the vase. It is decorative (cannot hold water) and will be fired at a low temperature--which means I'd better get to the studio so I can throw more work and fill a bisque load!

Where are my May Flowers?

This is the time to vacation! Tourists have disappeared and the days drag along. Usually, it's muddy outside, a real in-between season when the ground's too soft for a long hike or run - or you're stymied by several-foot-high snow fields lurking in shady sections of the trail. This year, however, we've hardly entered mud season at all. It keeps snowing... and snowing...

The first of May came in with a bang: my glaze firing turned out well, and when I brought the new work to Coyote Creek Gallery, I sold one of the pieces right away, a medium-sized footless bowl that flared out at the top. Talk about immediate gratification...

Ta-da! Reassembling most of the work from the bisque photo in my last post

A few days later, I was on the plane with my husband, flying to see my parents in Bloomington, IN. I was excited to be drenched in sunshine and Midwest mugginess! Ironically, the weather at home turned beautiful while we were away, and Bloomington was still groggily shedding its winter chill. Here I am, enthusiastically embracing summery blossoms, while wearing ...a scarf and a sweater. Grumble. Then as the weather improved, I got sick. Shoot! And back in Colorado, it's been overcast and snowy since our return home. ARGH!

I just have to be a little more patient. The sun is shy.

Spring has sprung in my studio. I'm happy for the inspiration I've gotten from the frosty weather; I'm adding brighter colors, and using leaves and flowers in my work. Photos are coming soon!

Failure! And trying again...

Uck.

I misread my glaze notes, and applied too much glaze to...... eight, ten, twelve pieces?  Large platters, bowls, tea cups.... I don't want to remember.  Total waste of time and effort and I ruined shelves.  Frustrating! The pile of failures is banished to Piers's woodworking area of the garage.  Maybe I'll smash them, maybe I'll ignore them some more.  Grrrr.

I'm extraordinarily thankful to my sweet partner for being calm and supportive.  Yes, I feel like I was careless and destroyed my work unnecessarily.  I also simply love working in clay, and that's where my passion and drive stem from.

So I've taken a deep breath (many deep breaths) and wedged some new clay.  Here's some work fresh out of the kiln:

More work is being glazed, and I have greenware drying slowly in my studio.  I'll post new pictures after the next glaze load (gulp!) .....Keep your chin up, girl!!

Where Mugs Come From

We all know where babies come from.  But what about mugs?  And why does it take me so darn long to make the ones for the Corral?  My husband and his brother documented some of the process for my most labor-intensive mugs.

Step One: Make clay

Since I've switched clays, I don't buy any more of this gray clay (and I can't use my new red clay to make these mugs because the glaze color doesn't turn out the same), so I reconstitute it from my bucket of slop. Here I've scooped out as much wet clay as the plaster bat can handle.  I let this dry for a day and a half in my studio.  The top air-dries, and the bottom has moisture sucked up by the plaster, so I'm left with a crunchy cookie that's still mushy on the inside.

Step Two: Prep clay for throwing

Now it's time to wedge the clay cookie, mixing together the drier and wetter parts until it reaches an even consistency.  I let it dry for several more hours until it's stiffer and ready to be thrown on the wheel, then weigh out the clay into 1 1/4 lb balls.

Step Three: Throw mugs; Step Four, Trim the bottom

Here I've thrown six mug forms, and allowed them to dry enough for me to trim the bottom.  To keep the clay bodies from mixing, I've flipped the bat on my wheelhead (from the red clay side to the gray clay side), and set out a large plastic bag to catch my gray clay trimmings.  I guess I've been keeping a lot of trimmings--that pile should really go back into my slop bucket.

I center the mug form, and secure it with wet clay (above), then trim away excess clay and shape the bottom with a trimming tool (below).

Step Four continued, since Steps Five through Seven are missing...

Okay, so there aren't any photos of me making handles, letting the handles dry, stamping each mug body, and attaching the handles.  You'll have to use your imagination for those steps.
 

Step Eight: Bisque; Step Nine: Underglaze

Once the mugs are fully assembled, I let them dry completely, then bisque them to around 1950 degrees.  After the kiln cools overnight, I apply three coats of black underglaze to the stamped logo area, using my small brush.  Then the mugs go back in the kiln for a second bisque.  The underglaze becomes shiny and permanent, and I can keep it separate from the brown glaze that goes over the entire mug.

By the way, I want to point out the plant in the background, above.  It's either a lemon, grapefruit, or orange plant; my husband can't remember what he was eating when he planted the seed, since he never expected it to sprout.  At this rate, we'll have a full-fledged tree gracing our living room in, say, ten years.  How exciting!

Step Ten: Second bisque, Step Eleven: Detailed glaze area

For the glazing, I apply three coats with my small brush, around all the detail of the logo.  I enjoy this sort of work; when I have to paint a room, I prefer the edging and trim work instead of the roller application.  After the detailed areas are done, I grab a large brush and apply three coats inside and out.  Whew!  Back in the kiln for a glaze firing, around 2230 degrees.

My pottery is microwave- and dishwasher-safe.  I think everything tastes better when it's served in a ceramic or glass container.  Especially when it's handmade!  I love the special moment you feel when you pour your drink into a handmade cup, enjoying touch, taste, smell, sight; a lovely indulgence in Life.

The next morning, I open the kiln to see how the glazing turned out.  These are for Barbara and Geoffrey...  Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoy your mugs!

Happy Results

The glaze firing turned out nicely! I'm quite pleased with my clay. Here are some of the pots:

I particularly like these mugs.

The Corral mugs, ready to be packed up:

 

Into the Bisque

Last Thursday, I put work in the Fairplay co-op, Coyote Creek Gallery.  When I checked in over the weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to hear I'd already sold a piece!  The more work I sell, the more space I have for my new pieces.  Here are some pots I set out to dry yesterday for this afternoon's bisque.

Bowls, mugs, tumblers, serving dishes.

The brown pieces are all slightly squared (except the bowl in the middle - that was my very first piece in the new clay, and it will be glazed differently than the others). I made tumblers, mugs (back left), bowls, and a serving platter.

Iris stamp

To accompany the new year and new clay, I also made a new stamp: a stylized combination of Siberian and Japanese irises that I hope will look nice under glaze. I plan to replace writing my name or initials with my stamp--except for the Corral mugs, below, which I've already stamped the side of, and I don't want to overcrowd. This new clay body has a lovely color when fired, and I'd rather leave the bottoms of my pieces simple.  The stamp is hand drawn, so that it has a uniqueness of a signature, but it allows me to express something other than just my name. At a workshop by Takashi Nakazato a few years ago, I was surprised to learn that the mark he makes isn't related to his name; it means "money" or "sell" or something like that. He is a businessman besides being an artist, and truly intends to for his work to be purchased.


The light-colored mugs are for The Corral, a condo complex on the South side of Breckenridge where I do property and HOA management (aka, my day job). I've found a lot of opportunity at work to involve my creativity, including overseeing the web site project, where you can also see the photo shoots I coordinated.  The President of the HOA saw my show last summer at the Breckenridge Theatre Gallery and asked me to hang my pit fired masks in the office, so there's art around me all day.

I'm quite happy with the stamp I made here. Usually, I free-hand (backward) any design or lettering for a stamp. This design posed a challenge in presicion, so I X-acto'd the logo from regular paper, moistened it only enough to stick to the clay, and about five hours later I had what I hoped would turn into a usable stamp. After the stamp was bisqued I breathed a sigh of relief. I wouldn't have the patience to replicate the stamp any time soon, so I'm extremely careful not to lose it or break it.

All right, enough time goofing off! Time to load the kiln. I'm not sure I have time to glaze before Monday, but if I can high fire these pieces next Tuesday, I'll post the results asap!