MY CLAY & GLAZES
Hand thrown pottery is the perfect expression of human interacting with nature. It is not only a pleasure to look at, it is wonderful to hold. As with any craft, each piece "speaks" differently to each individual viewer. Everyone has a favorite color, style or subject.
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If
you are (or would like to be)
inspired by even the bowl from which you eat your breakfast cereal... welcome to
my world!
CLAY: There are low, medium and high fire clays (earthenware, stoneware, porcelain). With the exception of my tiles and "minis", I work primarily in stoneware. There are many varieties of stoneware, ranging from an extremely smooth white to a gritty dark brown. Although I do not use it exclusively, Iprefer a stoneware that fires to a soft off white, because it accents my colors and designs.
GLAZING: There are many types of glazes and many ways to work with them. I use primarily two methods, glaze on glaze and stain on glaze. It's important to understand the difference to fully appreciate each style.
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GLAZE
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GLAZE ON GLAZE: This is when two or more glazes are applied one over the other. The materials in the clay and in the glazes interact during firing. The results vary depending on many factors: the type of clay used, which glaze is applied first, how hot the kiln is fired, etc. Using the same materials, variations in technique can produce two completely different results.
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STAIN ON GLAZE |
STAIN ON GLAZE: This is often referred to as Maiolica. It involves applying stains over a pre-applied dry, but not yet fired, glaze. Because stains have been prepared from already fired materials, they are extremely color stable. This results in brighter colors, stable designs, and very little interaction of the materials during firing. While Maiolica is traditionally done on red earthenware, I like to do mine on white stoneware. (A stain can also be applied directly onto the bisque, the piece glazed and then fired. This will produce slightly different results.)
Each style has its own particular beauty, and being attracted to one does not necessarily mean that you will be attracted to the other. It's a matter of personal preference, neither is "better" than the other. I happen to love working with both techniques...they both "speak" to me in some mysterious way!
MATCHING SETS: To understand the concept of "matching sets", you need to understand the difference between hand made and hand thrown pottery. Pieces that are created on the potters wheel (thrown) are made one at a time. There are often slight differences in size, thickness, etc. This is one of the cardinal signs of hand thrown pottery - it coordinates, it accents, it appears similar, but it doesn't "match" perfectly. "Hand made" pieces may be made using a form for shaping, and will usually be identical in size. All my bowls are hand thrown. All my platters are hand made using a slab technique.
DEFECTS: "It's defective, I don't want it." is, of course, something no one wants to hear. And there are defective pieces. Those with chips, cracks, and certain clay and glazing defects that occur during drying or firing should be discarded. However, the very way that clay and glaze interact make all sorts of wonderful things happen in the kiln. Sometimes six pieces from the same clay, glazed alike, and fired together will all come out of the kiln with very different characteristics. These differences are definitely not to be considered defects, they are precisely what makes being a potter so interesting. I always have some exciting surprises when I open the kiln.