Three Pots from Chris Baskin

Chris Baskin was a grad student at Alfred while I was there as a "special student". Chris had apprenticed with Byron Temple, which in my mind, enabled him to walk on water. Having used only a few of Byron's pots, the sensibilities shared are immense.

Whenever I asked Chris if I could sit and watch him pull handles, he always made it seem like "no big deal, handles are easy, no problem"... and I struggled for another five years before I began to find my own handles. Looking back now, I see so many things in Chris' pots that I borrowed or stole outright. I doubt he has any idea of what an inspiration he was to me during that seminal period at Alfred.

Chris Baskin's website has his current work available as well as his thoughts on various firing methods, etc.
Definitely worth a read! http://chrisbaskin.com

Sake Set from Shigaraki, Japan

I just figured I would share a few more images from pots in our collection that we re-discovered a few weeks ago.

This sake set was given to me as a gift (and no, they are not looking for a new home). They were made in Shigaraki, Japan. I have always wanted to go to Shigaraki. I love the roughness of the clay; the woodfire marks, the ash drips... it was what I hoped to create in my own woodfired work.

More Pottery Looking for a New Home

This carved dinner plate and tumbler are up for grabs  going to a new home. You can either pick it up here at the studio, or arrange for packing and shipping. Yay for local pickup!

You Slow, Slow Bastards

No, I am not being humorous here.

I posted all these cool pots here on my blog, and no one has really said much of anything.

I posted them 2 min ago on FB and they are FLYING off our shelves.

You know what? That'll teach me.

Blogs suck.

No More Mac & Cheese

When I first made this casserole, I had never joined a thrown form to a slab successfully. Most of the time, I could be assured that there would be some cracking; either an S-crack in the middle or a crack along the seam where the thrown cylinder joined the slab. After trying all sorts of solutions, I tried just dropping the freshly thrown cylinder on the wet slab and leaving them to dry together before doing anything.... and lo-and-behold... it worked. These forms would later morph into my oval baking dishes and my oval pitchers and my oval vase forms.

This is a very used casserole. It was woodfired, with only a liner glaze on the inside. It has seen mostly mac and cheese in its day. Now that I no longer consume pasta and cheese with regularity, it is time for this handsome casserole to find a new home. I give no guarantees about it lasting another decade or two, going in and out of an oven and all the temperature extremes. So far, it has been very accommodating of thermal shock. I would imagine, if you continued baking with it, and NOT preheating the oven, it would last quite a long while still.

This casserole is up for grabs. Pay the postage on it, or come pick it up.

This was the second cup I ever purchased. This was a "second" being sold as a first in a gallery in Northampton MA, back in 1990. Bill Campbell's pots are found almost everywhere in this country. http://www.campbellpottery.com/index.html

Up for grabs.

Other Pots Needing New Homes

Woodfired, but beyond that, I can't remember much. I am mortified that I can't recall who made this. Definitely happened in Utah. Hand sized. Makes a nice cup.

Not a terribly large jar. Great for a small batch of cookies. I think this was made by Tony Clennell but I am not sure. One of my students glazed it at the end of the year when we were emptying shelves and tossing bisqueware.

I can't recall who made this. Tall mug. Nice airbushed blue glaze over Oatmeal, cone 10, reduction.

All of these pots are up for grabs. Pay for shipping or come out to the studio to pick them up. Who ever claims them, gets them. I'll edit this post to reflect when they are gone.

Two More Pots Looking For a New Home

This gnarly jar was made by Testuya Yamada, back when he and I were "special students" at Alfred University. This is not a light jar. If you think you want it shipped, I will need a note from your doctor, proving that you have full control of your faculties. (Wood fired, cone 10, with Oribe glaze)

This was made by David Kingsbury, from Ithaca, NY. Cone 10, matte glazes. Quite large; holds more than half a gallon.

Should've Taken Better Notes

I feel like a failure. I look at these pots and I remember the faces that made them, but the names escape me. I think the small mug above was made by Wil Shykaruk from Canada, but it doesn't have his usual chop.  The rest of the pots in this post are anonymous.

This pot has found a new home. YAY!

 The last image is of the very first cup I ever purchased.  My girlfriend at the time, Jen, found it for me in a gallery in Port Townsend. She wanted me to make work like this. Yeah. Not so much.

All of these pots need to find new homes. Prefer local adopters, but if you want to pay USPS or FedEx to get it home, we can arrange for that too.

Other Pots From Our Collection

This mug is one of Jason Walker's from back when we were in school together at Utah State in Logan. This is one of the most amazing examples of freehand brushwork I have ever seen. If I remember right, Jason was working for a sign-painter doing hand-painted signs. What a way to learn the skill of the brush! Inside, where the lens couldn't quite see, is a stunning penguin, staring up from the last bits of my morning's green tea.

End of the Year Give-away

As I was going through the last three crates of pots from our collection, I found these two bowls that I made back when I was in Utah. They need a new home. Speak up and they're yours. We'll ship if you'll foot the bill for shipping. Otherwise you can come and pick them up here at the shop. So who wants some new/old pots for the new year?

(just a minor footnote: these pots are now spoken for and will be shipped out asap.) 12/22/12

Giving It Another Try (598)

598, 1998, untitled, fired to cone 8 over three days, and cooled 

for three days, oxidation. $1200

This platter never received a wonderfully descriptive or artistic name. It still sits there, with it's original designation: 598. It wasn't the five hundred and ninety-eighth platter... rather it was made in May 1998. That really just takes into account when it was thrown. In many instances it was months between when the platter was thrown and when it was glazed and then fired.

When it first came out of the kiln I was so disappointed with the glaze blisters. I almost smashed this platter into gravel, I was so frustrated. I kept it on my shelves for a few weeks in hopes that I would find something redeeming about the flaws. Over the next month it began to grow on me. By the time I put it on the way for its first vertical exhibition, I was quite taken with it.

Some of these details may end up as posters. The level of detail is staggering. So much rich color and texture!!

Untitled: 5198II

Trying to describe the slight metallic pearlescent cream glaze, and how it interacts with the fluid blue gloss glaze is downright impossible. The recrystalization of the fluid blue is almost like watching ice form on a still pond.  This platter was shown in the Ithaca Ceramics Exhibition back in 2008 and is still available for purchase or for exhibition.

As you get closer and closer to the details, you can see that there are crystals that are partly submerged in the blue glaze. I wonder if they are growing up or down through the glass!

Waves Upon the Shore : 9298A

 9298A, Waves Upon the Shore, cone 7, fired for three days and cooled for 1 day, 1998.

Purple-Black Storm (9298B)

Purple-Black Storm, (9298B), 16" diameter, fired to cone 8 over three days and cooled for two days.

It is amazing seeing these platters again. The level of detail in the closeup images just blows my mind. I wish I had enough wall space to show them all off, all the time! They really need to be seen, with good light, at eye level, to really appreciate them.

A Pale River - 9298H

A Pale River - 9298H 

It's hard to describe the feathery crystals that create the movement along the edge where these two glazes meet. Like the shoreline at high tide, with the waves pulling back... the shore gives some and takes some. In this case, the glaze changes with every layering interaction.