ceramics september thru october 2010

I took this class at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena as a way of getting to know my new local arts group. It was okay. There was no time available to work outside of the class period and the materials were limited. There weren't any bats for the wheels. The only glazes available were the kind you ordered from a catalogue and that came in little bottles. I may have been spoiled at Vanderbilt in Nashville (and Buffalo Arts Studio in Buffalo) by having access to people who mixed their own glazes and did so in giant buckets that you could dip your whole pot into.


 

Square bowl bottom. First time I've ever trimmed a pot freehand rather than on the wheel. Time consuming. Not a fan. (Looks okay.)

The pod things were inspired by the group trip to Yachats Oregon this summer. I was going for something abstractly marine. The pods themselves are actualy thrown on the wheel, around an enclosed airspace. Then the tails are pulled like handles. I carve them after they've had a chance to harden a bit. These are small test objects. I would like to make them ~10x larger. (They remind me of some of Frank's earlier work.)


This was a throwaway piece I roughed in by hand as I was waiting for something to dry enough to trim. I really like it. I put drain holes in the bottom and now I use him as a sponge holder next to the kitchen sink.

I need to do more clay, but haven't had much luck finding someplace with decent materials and access to the public anywhere around here. I may have to get a kiln for the garage.

 

Pottery Index

-marg