Friday, August 27, 2010

More Than A River

9298C - More Than A River, cone 7, fired for four days, cooled for three days.


9298C - More Than A River, detail


9298C - More Than A River, detail



9298C - More Than A River, detail



9298C - More Than A River, detail


I am always somewhat reluctant to post images from these platters... not because I don't love them, but because I feel like I have so little to say about them. I guess for folks wanting to know more about them, I am open to questions. Unless mentioned otherwise, they are for sale. Shipping isn't as bad as I thought it would be, considering that most of these platters weigh upwards of 50# and are in most cases 18-22" across. BIG is an understatement.

So, fire away with questions and comments.

3 comments:

Brian said...

I keep staring at the detail shots, trying to figure out what makes the white look like crashing water.
In some places it looks like the glazes were poured in wet, in others it looks like dry ingredients were loosely stirred and left to do their thing. The 4 day firing and 3 day cooling does explain the crystals though.
Beautiful work!

-Rob, Simple Circle Studios said...

I have always dug you glaze tectonics stuff when you posted them before. This one though...absolutely amazing. While I do not have a question about this piece in particular, what was the impetus behind the glaze tectonics series? And why did you choose large, probably non-functional platters as you canvas? Did you ever consider using any of these techniques on functional ware? And finally, when/why did you stop making these? Ok, that's enough out of me.

Alex Solla said...

@Brian-
If you really want to know what makes the white look like crashing water...

It's just titanium. Recrystallizing very slowly, in a very fluid matrix.

Very fun process.



@Rob -
This series began after my daughter was born. During a time when my sleep deprivation was at its worst, our studio in Utah had a guest artist from New Zealand, Brian Gartside. His workshop was called Gumboot Glazing and it was the shot in the arm that I needed to rethink how I saw glaze.

Once I saw the first test tiles come out, I didnt want to see them in tiny dishes. I wanted to see them as big as a dinner table!! That led to this series.

The reason for their non-functionality was that I was using materials that were inherently very toxic. Ruling out functionality made it possible to think out of the box that I usually found myself in with utilitarian pots.

Lastly, you asked when I stopped making them. Good question and a wonderful topic for another blog posting. I stopped making them when my divorce began. Once I had to leave Utah, it became very difficult to find huge kilns where I could fire these beasties. My initial hope after my move was to build a 100cu ft gas kiln and begin making more of them. With my current state of health, I think my days of making these are over.

Hope that helps answer your questions.