NCECA Conference 2013: Finale

Spring always keeps me busier than I expect, so in the interest in covering a lot of ground here’s the remainder of my photos from the most recent NCECA conference in Houston, TX. Almost all of them hail from the Santa Fe Clay La Mesa show, except for the last photo from a demonstration.

Bonnie Seeman cup and saucer.

A gorgeous place setting by the popular potter Molly Hatch.

Bird plates by Donna Polseno.

Lisa Clague expressive sculptural cup.

Leanne McClurg handbuilt dishes.

 

Sculptural bird cup, also by Ms. McClurg.

 

Liz Quackenbush cobalt and gold luster plate.

 

Matt Hyleck simply patterned place setting.

Sam Chung slipcast dishes with artfully aligned rim coloration.

 

Peter Beasecker porcelain string series plates.

 

Gwendolyn Yoppolo 2-person serving set with microcrystalline glazes.

 

Sunshine Cobb handbuilt earthenware basket with sandblasted glaze.

 

David Crane beautifully glazed nested square plates.

 

Kristen Kieffer stamped and patterned place setting.

 

Myungjin Kim place setting with beautiful black sgraffito drawings.

 

Brenda Lichman large soda fired serving bowl.

 

Steven Godfrey bird-topped salt cellar jar.

 

Jake Allee cut and reassembled vase from a live demo.

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Photos from The Spring Show & Sale at The Craft Guild of Dallas

Firing back up to temperature after salting.

A solution of roughly 6.5 lbs of salt dissolved in nearly boiling water was sprayed into the kiln in increments, primarily through the rear ports located above the burner ports shown.

Just after opening the door, before unloading.

Almost all of the large pieces warped and/or cracked, and the higher than usual quantity of salt combined with a better volatilization from the water solution resulted in some both gorgeous and repugnant glaze effects. Yet another mixed bag. Thanks a lot lot, porcelain! (said with both sarcasm and appreciation)

TCG table setup after the Friday night reception.

I wore a Sugarhill Boutique horse batik dress from ModCloth with a Cynthia Rowley blazer from TJ Maxx, mint tights from Anthropologie, and All Black eel/fish skin kitten heels to work the Friday night reception.

A close-up of the pots on display, minus back-stock and what’s chilling in the Gallery.

I also have some things in the Gallery space at the front of the building and about 1/2 again as many pots holed up for re-stock and/or future events. I’ll be on hand again Sunday 5/5/2013 from 2-5 pm if you want to see something that’s not on display.

A close-up of some of the pots.

A final close-up featuring a dragon jewelry dish, necklaces, and assorted functional pots.

My work will remain on display through Sunday, so make plans to attend if you’re able! Hours tomorrow run from 10-6 and Sunday from 11-5. TTFN!

 

Spring Show & Sale at The Craft Guild of Dallas

I am proud to announce my continued involvement in the Spring Show and Sale and the Craft Guild of Dallas in Addison, TX next weekend, May 3rd through 5th. Which is to say, I will have a whole slew of pots for sale fresh from the salt kiln being fired tomorrow! All works available are handmade by members and instructors of the Guild and should include functional pottery, sculpture, jewelry, painting, textiles, books, paper art, etc. The reception and silent auction this Friday night runs from 6-9 pm with complimentary food and beverages. Additional regular hours proceed on Saturday from 10 am – 6 pm and Sunday from 11 am – 5 pm. Parking is free and the venue is located near the intersection of Monfort and Beltline, with the nearest parking adjacent to the Guild off of Montfort.

For more details, go to their website: The Craft Guild of Dallas

I hope to see you there! Watch the blog for fresh pottery teaser photos when we open the kiln on Thursday.

Salt Fired Pots in September

I got my most recent batch pushed through a cone 10 reduction salt firing at the Guild. It’s primarily more ambitious pieces and prototypes, but the nice high temperature at shut-off and good quantity of salting gave me pretty successful results overall. I think the Some Bright Green did a bit too much running, but otherwise warping and cracking didn’t plague the pots. This is an ideal situation considering I use grolleg porcelain which tends to take any opportunity to warp and/or crack.

A successful teapot, with a well-fitting lid fresh from the kiln.

The colors and textures evident in the glazes are a bit different than the palette I am accustomed to. A few re-fired bowls got some unbelievable color and crystal variation, for example. The halo and richness of hue in the teapot shown above represent the overall results well. I am happy with the blue slip decoration, both inlaid and trailed, including the few pots with sufficient glaze fluxing to make the slip bleed and run.

Part of the newest batch.

The next event I know of that I’m bringing pots to will be the Fall Sale & Show at the Craft Guild of Dallas, which arrives in early November. I plan to get some more pieces completed by then. The finished pots in my studio are beginning to overflow, however, so we’ll see.

The Craft Guild of Dallas Show & Sale: This Weekend!

I set up my table at the Craft Guild in Addison today. I feel pretty solid about the group of work presently in my inventory: the pots represent my current level of proficiency pretty accurately, are a pretty diverse selection of forms, and I see definite evidence of my aesthetic and symbolic evolution.

Here’s the group of work, ready for some thoughtful and discerning collectors to pass by.

The reception runs from 7-10 pm tomorrow (Friday, 5/4/12) night, 11 am-8 pm Saturday, and 11 am-5 pm Sunday. I am slated to work the Friday night reception and Sunday from 2-5, so come by during those timeframes to catch me in person. The pots will be available all weekend; those that don’t find new homes, that is. Stop in if you’re able; the Craft Guild is easier to find about 2 blocks down Montfort off of Beltline, just fyi. Look for the suite with Visit Addison in the windows from Montfort, the Craft Guild is intermingled with the visitor’s center. I would love to show you the pottery, give you the rundown on all of the other talented craftsmen and/or artists set up throughout the studios at the event, or simply talk shop about my studio practice.

Here I am with the table, tired and happy. What a big day with a few more to come.

Here’s the postcard image, front and back side, with some of the particulars.

Teapots: Bane of Sanity, to a Degree

From the time of my sophomore year in college, I have heard about the complexity and difficulty inherent in executing a successful teapot. “Phaw,” I scoffed, “the parts aren’t so hard to throw, and I’m good at centering. No biggie.” Right? I was so wrong.

Problem 1: Numerous assembled parts can become heavy. Tons-of-bricks-teapot + tea = unpleasant to lift.

Problem 2: Visual continuity of separately conceived parts (body, lid, spout, handle) is a difficult aesthetic process.

Problem 3: Warping of the body due to spout and handle pulling on the body during firing, trapping the lid forever.

Problems 4, 5: Glaze sealing the holes allowing fluid passage into the spout or glaze sealing the lid in place.

Problem 6: Successful glaze outcome. I have been progressing in this area concurrently.

And etc. I have been puttering on making teapots properly since I began the thrown pottery life, about 7 years now. I’m certainly not the best potter ever, so this duration may seem excessive, but I refused to put a teapot out there that did not satisfy my checklist for what I consider to be a successful teapot execution:

Proper overall weight, thin walls, good aesthetic relationship of all assembled/trimmed parts, nice pouring arc from spout, clean pouring cutoff, snug lid fit, and nice glaze job.

White stoneware teapot salt fired to cone 10, glazed with Ryan's Green-black. All parts thrown on the wheel except for the pulled handle.

 

I accidentally met all of these criteria while making a teapot for fun from a spare bag of white stoneware. It’s not absolutely perfect, and there are improvements to be made in future teapots, but this is a good prototype to lead the way.

 

Here's the other side of the same piece. Salt firing causes a lovely directional variation, and this glaze is quite responsive.