Thinking Back

When I arrived in the town of Logan, back in 1995, I had no idea what grad school would be like. Sure, I had my preconceived notions, but no real clue. Something about the sharp slightly dusty smell that fall carries with it, reminds me of that time in UT. (probably because it is never really that arid here!)

These were pots made by fellow students when I was at Utah State during grad school. I wish I could tell yo more about these pots. USU's program was pretty large and the volume of students who moved through every year was massive. I feel negligent for having not kept in touch with many of my fellow alumns. I guess that is my take-away from this week. Quasi-nostalgia for a difficult time in my life, when the pots were the greatest reward. I don't think I would recognize the face of my next-door neighbor of four years (from UT) if I saw them on the street... but I would never forget these cool pots!

Grapefruit will break your heart

This was my first successful cylinder, ca. 1989. Made at Barry University in Miami Shores back when my aunt was teaching ceramics there. I had been trying to throw for about a month. Not much was coming off the wheel in one piece. Up until this point, I had been glazing my "pots" with Duncan underglazes and low fire glazes. I was completely bored with the palette of colors and textures that came out of these tiny cups. I wanted stuff with life, texture... what I really wanted was a higher temperature (gas reduction!)... but that was still a ways off.

Seeing my frustration, my aunt suggested I make my own glazes. She handed me Chappell's Potter's Complete Book of Clay and Glazes and said: go to it. I had no idea what these materials were, or how they worked. No clue about toxicity. Not an inkling about protecting my health.

I started reading and found a glaze called Grapefruit Green. I have always been a fool for greens and blues. I thought that Grapefruit Green sounded so cool. I imagined an unripe grapefruit, much like what my parents had in their backyard in Miami. Having hit thousands of them with the lawnmower, I was pretty sure what to expect.

The glaze turned out so incredibly different from what I expected. I think if it had turned out green, it probably would have been tossed like so many of the pots from this era. Instead, it has traveled with me as I have moved across the country so many times. Not a terribly functional size. You can't really drink coffee or tea from it. It holds pennies well. That's about it. The sides and bottom are incredibly thick. As a pot, there is precious little that redeems it. That color however was my first glimpse into a world that would become my life for over 20 years.

Jason Walker (way waaaay back when)

Nancy and I talk about Jason Walker's work all the time because we see his new work pop up all over. It is featured in magazines (this month's American Craft), websites, pinterest pins... you name it... and he is everywhere. Very VERY cool.

I met Jason when he was finishing up his undergrad work at Utah State in Logan UT. This teabowl was made during that time. His new work is so far removed from this as to seem made by different artists. And yet, when I look at where his work was going before he started working for a sign painter in town... he couldn't have made this teabowl without the fluidity of muscle memory that comes from lots of time behind the brush. His brushwork changed almost overnight. He went from simple overglaze enamels to underglaze work like this in a few short weeks. Amazing!

His new work is no less phenomenal. In fact, it is staggering. I find the imagery so compelling that I plan to write a longer post about it when I finally get to see some in person. I love the work so much that I don't want to comment on it until I can see it, touch it (and get yelled at for touching the work!). Here is a link to his current body of work: http://jasonwalkerceramics.com/portfolio.php?page=collections
From Ferrin Gallery http://ferringallery.com/dynamic/artist.asp?artistID=65

I am frustrated that I can't find other images of his older work. Guess this teabowl will have to do.

I love the penguin in the bottom of this teabowl. Like a little sweet bon mot to brighten your day.

Ovoid Bottle by Mark Lambert

This paddled, ovoid bottle was made by Mark Lambert while he and I were in school at Utah State University. Mark now teaches in Minnesota. This little woodfired bottle has to be one of the most handled bottles in my collection. Everyone comments on how each side is so different. The extreme flashing and woodash deposit on one side... left the otherside almost a leather brown. Pretty wild considering how small this bottle is. My only regret was not picking out more pots from this firing of Mark's.

Compliment-ary Copy

When the March/April 2012 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated arrived back in February, I was surprised. We hadn't had a subscription for probably at least three years. So I opened it up, assuming it was a promotional device, hoping I would come back. Got to the next-to-last page and saw these wonderful drawings of pitcher forms.  As I quickly scanned the page, I thought about how back when I first started making pitchers these were exactly the images I drew my inspiration from... well... except for the folks who weren't even making pots back then (youngsters, lol)....

And as I reached the bottom of the page, I saw our beaked pitcher from way back when. Probably made that blue pitcher back in 2008. I had planned to make a whole series of them. It just never happened. Between a series of rotten shows, health issues and then the coma, they were put on the back burner.

On one hand I am honored to have my pitcher show up in the magazine. On the other hand, no one called or wrote to ask my permission for inclusion in the magazine. Not sure how I feel about that. Seems like a pretty obvious issue of copyright infringement.... but at the same time, I am honored. Such a conundrum. How would you feel seeing your work show up in a magazine, without your foreknowledge?

Certain Dessication - 101198A

Today marks the first substantial rain we have seen since May. Over two months. Less than 1/4 of an inch of rain has fallen. Around here, that is unheard of. Still doesn't qualify as a drought. My yard has never been brown before. Even the weeds have given up the ghost. The clay soil that comprises the bulk of our soil has cracks wide enough to push a finger into. My yard has cracks. Where we should have grass... we have dust.

When I stare into this platter, I am reminded of how fragile our landscape is. Islands that have stood above the sea long enough to develop oral histories of their settling, are now in danger of subsiding under the rising seas. Parts of our own countryside, known for the most varied crops of apples anywhere, this year will produce virtually none. No apples. That means no cider. First world problem? Maybe. But I think it is really more of an indicator of what we have to expect for the near future.

Last year we were inundated with flooding from multiple hurricanes. Fall was torn apart with tornadoes. Winter brought us virtually no snow and warm temperatures. Grass was bright green in March this year, when it should have been buried under a foot of heavy snow. How long until our vernal island between these massive lakes dries up and crumbles? My guess is that the frakking for natural gas (scheduled to begin VERY soon in NY state) will accelerate that process and perhaps even be the tipping point.

Up From Underneath - 91398B

Up From Underneath - 91398B 

The slow cooling factor of these platters was a direct result of the way they were fired. Imagine the inside of most kilns... a big giant empty chamber surrounded by bricks.... all the fire surrounding the ware on thick shelves. When fired this way, these platters would crack right down the center as they were heating due to the massive thermal shock (the difference between the temperature of the edge of the platter vs the center of the platter). If they were heated too fast, CRACK! Since there are no real windows in kilns, you couldn't tell which platters had cracked, and which had spilled their glaze contents all over the shelves. For the first few months of making these, the loss rates were almost 90%. The cleanup mess was insane. 

To slow down the extreme heat, I decided to create a "muffle" for the ware. By building a baffle of bricks that surrounded the platters, the flame had to heat up the bricks (huge and heavy) before they could begin heating the platters. The upside to this was that cracking dropped dramatically. Unfortunately, by adding all of this excess brick, the firing times increased enormously. From a typical twelve hour cooling time (after a 9 hour firing)... my firing times jumped to 16 hours of firing and over 24 hours of cooling. Within a few months, my firing times extended into days instead of hours. Cooling times extended sometimes for three or more days. 

One of the effects of this radically slow cooling was that the fluid glazes had ample time to recrystallize and form fascinating geological formations. Some of these crystals were so spectacular. Other times, the glazes made the most simple, almost boring, flat shields of matte crystal formations. In this platter, you can see the crystal patterns formed over a fluid glaze underneath. What I initially hoped for is almost impossible to describe. I wanted snowflakes of peach floating on a blue watery field. Due to the extended cooling time, the titanium that was seeding the glaze solution spread and formed thick icy sheets of titania crystals. Looking back at this platter, I wish I had been able to experiment more with this style of glaze. So many opportunities, right under the skin.

More glaze experiments at Glaze Tectonics!

Dried Up Toothpaste, in Bed (from Glaze Tectonics)

This was another one of those massively wide-lipped platters. Because that rim is actually hollow, it is one of the lighter platters I made. Probably only 15" in diameter, it is a good five pounds lighter than a platter of a "normal" rim.

The inside of this platter was originally supposed to be bright fire-engine red...and crunchy! I think in my hurry to get things ready for this firing, I cut back on my thoroughness in the glaze lab, and didn't mix this glaze as thoroughly as was needed. My guess is that the lead frit in this glaze simple settled in the slurry.

In the end, it is certainly not what I expected, but it also has intriguing aspects. And it does really resemble dried up toothpaste, in bed.

Like what you're seeing here? Check out GLAZE TECTONICS. All platters, all the time. More images, more details, and lots more information about the making of this body of work.

Window Into Another World - 82598C

With many of these platters, the rim was fairly large... sometimes over an inch wide. But with a select few, they were thrown hollow, with four to six inch wide rims. HUGE by pottery standards. In this case, if you flipped the platter over you would see the hollow-nature of the rim.

The glaze that was added to the center was originally supposed to be this wild acid green. What I didn't anticipate was that it would steal so much silica from the claybody. It kept turning it to glass, adding more material to the molten mix, and eventually, a lot of it recrystalized over the ultra-fluid layer below it. This tiny window into the inside of the melt is all that reveals this hidden nature of this glaze. Almost like a peephole into an entirely different world.

Thinkin' 'bout Tom

When Aurora was not quite three years old, she and I took a trip to Amherst for a college reunion. While we were in the area, we had to stop by and visit my friend, Tom White. A potter's potter, Tom makes the most amazing pots... simple, subtle but very strong. This little espresso cup was just the right size for Aurora's hands. As soon as Tom put it into Aurora's hands, she knew immediately that it was her's. She was so protective of it. No more plastic sippy cups for her.

While Tom and I visited a bit, Aurora made her way around the studio. Yes, we are still talking about a kid who wasn't three yet. Yeah, I know... who let's a toddler roam around a room full of sharp tools and clay and bone dry pots? Other potters, that's who.

Aurora found a box on the floor with a light just barely inside it. As she got closer she could hear chirping coming from inside the box. Turned out to be a box full of pheasant chicks. Tom has always been an avid hunter and leads hunts throughout the fall. Most years he raises quite a few pheasants. Tom reached into the box, and handed a tiny pheasant chick to Aurora. I just watched that kid melt. She was so happy. She may be twelve years older now, but she still remembers that day fondly.

This teabowl was my reward for helping Tom with one of his studio sales back when I was in college. Tom was throwing exclusively porcelain back then and creating some of the most stunning copper red glazes I had ever seen. I wanted to make reds like what Tom was able to achieve. He and I sat and talked about glaze ad nauseum when I was working with him. He added apple woodash to some of his glazes to get them to be more active. Amazing combinations of color and texture. To this day, I think his reds are some of my absolute favorite pots.

So why am I thinking about Tom today? I came across a postcard of a show he did in Northampton a few years back. It was such a surprise to me to see him making stoneware pots again. Just holding the postcard in my hand took me back to his studio, the woodfire going during all but the hottest months of summer. His house nestled in the woods. Dinner being offered some nights... and the always present wickedly seared meat. Having been a vegetarian for the previous three years, it took one week at Tom's before I succumbed to the smells of roasting venison (and elk steaks!). To this day, when I think of my favorite meals, quite of few of them happened while sitting around Tom's table, talking pots and grad school and potters. That is why Tom was on my mind this morning.

Getting Ready for Lemonade Season

This lovely pitcher holds the better part of a gallon of lemonade and was made by Neil Estrick back when were in grad school at Utah State. Wood fired with lots of drippy ash on one side and nice toasty fly-ash on the other side. Love that nice thick handle. Seems to give it just the right amount of lift and strength.

I am really looking forward to parties outside on the lawn this summer, with lots of tea and lemonade from all of our pitchers! (Might be time to stock up on some tumblers though)

This Blog is So Dead

Somehow I really thought that I would have more to say about clay periodically. As things would have it, I am slowly moving farther away from clay than I would have imagined. This blog has suffered as a result. Nothing much to share on the clay front.

Maybe in May there will be something more to share.

Glaze Tectonics has a new home

I have created a new blog where I can post lots and lots of images from the Glaze Tectonics series. Hopefully this will be a more stable platform than what I was using with Wordpress. Comments, questions and inquiries are welcome.

http://glazetectonics.blogspot.com/

Where Did Glaze Tectonics Go?

I've had quite a few people asking where the Glaze Tectonics blog has gone. All those beautiful platters didn't suddenly up and vanish. No one bought them all (oh wouldn't that have been amazing!?!). Nope. Instead the answer is far more prosaic.

The blog was hosted through www.coldspringsstudio.com. My old studio domain. When we decided that keeping that domain was kinda silly, and expensive, we turned it off without a second thought. Unfortunately, that second thought knocked Glaze Tectonics off the face of the internet.

In a hurried rush to be efficient, we lost over a year of work on a pretty amazing blog. Lots of fantastic images... stories,... ideas.... all of it went POOOF!

Now I think I will try again... only this time design a blog for the platters via Blogger. Keep it fairly simple and go from there. As soon as it is ready for prime-time, I'll announce it here as well.

New Woodfired Pots by Cary Joseph

It was very exciting getting to shoot Cary Joseph's new work. The range of color coming out of the anagama in Corning, NY is astonishing. There are times where I really wish I still made pots just so I could get a few into these woodfirings. I miss the lovely path of flame over the clay's surface. Cary manages to really push his clay to the limit, giving it more of a stony leathery texture. The ash and flashing LOVE this surface.  

Cream and Sugar

Four years ago, Nancy and I had huge ideas about how we wanted to make a cream and sugar set. Even got so far as to make a little prototype. Time passed, things happened, and it never got made.

Fast forward to this Christmas, and we found this cute cream and sugar set at Renata Wadsworth's studio during her holiday sale. I know that for some, the crawling glaze around the edge would be a deal killer, but for me, it is just part of the character of that glaze. I love the stripes! I love the Dr. Seuss-ian knob on the sugar jar. I like the same attention to the handles on the tray.

I just feel good using this set. I think that is what sets good pots apart... if you feel good using it.... that's the key.

Some of Our Pots from Renata's Holiday Sale

We bought so many amazing pots during Renata's holiday sale. Some have been used so often it seems like they live in the dishwasher! Others, like this pitcher are waiting for the first lovely hot spring day when we can make iced tea or lemonade.

This mug has spent most of the past month bringing hot chai or hot chocolate to our lips at least once a day. I was surprised to find it on the shelf tonight... must have just gotten washed! I have more images of some of Renata's mugs coming tomorrow. Along with some of her new ideas for handles!

New Pots from Renata Wadsworth

Renata brought me a box of pots to shoot last week. These were some of the latest pots to come out of her Fast Fire woodkiln. At the beginning of the fall, Renata was having some trees removed on her property when her tree guys dropped a tree onto her kiln's chimney. Didn't quite knock it down, but it put a major twist on it!

She took down the entire chimney during a chilly wet icy rain. After looking at it more critically, she decided to take her flattop/arch down as well. After a few more weeks she had a spiffy new arch and her chimney was back in place and lookin' good. Her firings times have shortened and the pots are looking great! There's even talk of adding some soda ash during the firings. Can't wait to see more!

Wicked Little Vase

When I picked up this little vase back in November, I knew it was coming home with me. Renata Wadsworth's pots are like that. You love them instantaneously. They fit right into your hands... and the last thing you want to do is put them down.

We went to her holiday sale with the intention of picking up a few small pots for family members. By the time we left, we owned 4 more new Renata mugs and quite a few other pots. Enough to need a box and then some. Here's the funny part: the only gifts we gave were two small ornaments. We kept all the pots for ourselves. Is that bad?

Renata is getting ready to explore some new directions in her work this winter. Hopefully I can convince her to write about it on her blog and on Facebook. I think it is going to be amazing! Of course, after the firing, I'll be showing off the pots I come home with, right here.

How Many Potters Does It Take To Make A Mug?

When Nancy and I began making pots together as Cold Springs Studio Pottery, the first order of business was to make mugs for our upcoming wedding. The plan was that we would make the mugs for the reception. We had washing stations so that as folks finished at the reception, they could wash their mugs, and take them with them as wedding gifts fro us.

We had a few glazes that we hoped would work at cone 6 and a kiln that wasn't happy getting that hot. While I could throw the mugs, it wasn't really a group effort... so we decided to handbuild the mugs for the wedding. Aurora was five years old and was trying to figure out her role in the studio. We decided on making soft-slab mugs with impressed/stamped decoration. Each of us designed stamps to decorate with, and chops to indicate who had made what pots. After a couple evenings of making mugs, Aurora went wild on this one, and used everyone's chops AS the decoration. From this angle you can see my AS chop, Nancy's bunny chop, and Aurora's killer whale chop. 

In addition to these handbuilt mugs, we made soupmugs and a few short thrown diner mugs. I think, for our 65 guests, we made a few more than 100 mugs. There were maybe 6 pots left after our wedding.Ten years later, there are only a few of these pots left in our collection. I think two soupmugs have survived the "pre-dishwasher" stage in our house. One of the last diner mugs from this time has a good sized chip in the lip. But this mug soldiers on.