forks throws pottery (and maybe you do too?) - An ILX Ceramics Thread

thumbs up

three new cups done on consignment as wedding gifts for a friend

http://i.imgur.com/0rYNnfK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/9CrObYa.jpg

cad, I'm afraid that salt bowl is gonna have to wait; i'm gonna try a piece of political art that may take a month or two. Will report back.

no prob, i'll be around

i mean
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNqHvIIgpC-/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNqHvIIgpC-/

weird. alright:
https://vimeo.com/94667191

https://vimeo.com/195532231

and since I'm here I might as well share some recent work in progress. These are all not yet bisqued.

http://i.imgur.com/9b8hH6k.jpg

^ mostly done interior of a platter/bowl

http://i.imgur.com/pmsr2Hz.jpg

^ small vase

and then these two are my first attempts at making trump vases. it's harder than i thought; think i'll be working on this for awhile.

http://i.imgur.com/XXajm60.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/5xJ7LSM.jpg

Forks, there's a new series of The Great Pottery Throwdown on the BBC. A really good group this year. If you can't find it then send me a private message if you can torrent.

Love that platter!

the city plate = super dope

thanks! I am still finishing the painting on the plate... it's probably thirty hours of work.
Trumps came out glazed. will post images later.

http://i.imgur.com/ltFrXQU.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/iN5pU6h.jpg

^ Trump 1: slight profile and rear.

http://i.imgur.com/3pyu3av.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/7UTOhAA.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/6wvaW8E.jpg

^ Trump 2: front (i kinda like the face cracking), profile and rear.
The quote is from Lincoln: "If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a ntaion of freemen, we must live through all time or die by suicide."

http://i.imgur.com/KrYSbgx.jpg

^ Abstract synapse vase

http://i.imgur.com/47LYydd.jpg

Definitely the most complex thing I've made yet. About thirteen or so inches in diameter. Created by throwing the bowl, coating the interior in white slip, carving the design into the slip, firing the bowl, then delicately painting every surface with glaze. Took a good two or three months; probably about thirty hours or so. Made this for a fellow ilxor and good friend. Will likely try more in this vein in the year ahead.

Some detail shots:

http://i.imgur.com/5FhJBV5.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ibiRF5h.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/luMijbu.jpg

damn man

and here's a new trump vase + carved cup in progress

http://i.imgur.com/xcMwrkz.jpg

Incredible

lol, the current episode of pottery throwdown featured a toilet creation challenge

http://i.imgur.com/MGUpIWf.jpg

was in the studio from noon to midnight today.
so here's a thing i figured out: any potter who's made a few pieces knows that when glazes touch each other, there's often a chemical reaction and they run, mix, bubble... something goes down. because of that, people use underglazes, which are essentially paint that works on ceramic, followed by a clear glaze on top. the problem with underglazes is that they're a bit dull, so to get them to show up sharp, you have to put them on three or four coats. because of this, little fiddly work is not fun or sometimes even possible with underglazes if you want the colors to pop. so i started experimenting with painting glazes directly on to the pottery... the bowl up top is the result of that experimentation. what i discovered was the only thing that causes unplanned issues is when the glazes come into contact with each other. so you can do RIDICULOUSLY fiddly work with tiny details as long as you make sure the glazes never touch. So I figured I'd try something in that vein that was a little less work intense that I might be able to quickly replicate, maybe even sell if it turned out to be fast to make.

So here's this:

http://i.imgur.com/jyTvRKU.jpg

The throwing takes maybe a half hour start to finish, the carving takes an hour... i had hoped that the glazing would only take two hours but SURPRISE, when you have to do the painting that small (that bowl is big enough to hold a decent size grapefruit but that's it) and to be meticulous about the glazes never touching, it takes somewhere between six to eight hours. so that's a seven to ten hour bowl when all's said and done, probably would need about $200 as a price tag to make it reasonable to sell. And that's assuming it actually comes out okay! I have two or three more in the works with different patterns.
Exploration continues.

http://i.imgur.com/4kpywx9.jpg
http://imgur.com/FOdESIj
http://i.imgur.com/rzXXIjn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/0s4wytX.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ZJDNYrU.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ieudSP9.jpg

back of the new trump pot
http://i.imgur.com/FOdESIj.jpg

these take forever but they are really delectable when they're done.

http://i.imgur.com/mqsIf4W.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/EF1NZmU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/yeac4Iz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/sdWOS1L.jpg

exploring different ways to do them more efficiently. working on another more complex interior bowl design (though the clay may be too dry for me to do this and I may just need to start over with a fresh piece) and a potential collaborative piece with another potter in the studio.

really really enjoying this work right now; would do this all day every day if someone would just pay me to do it. next lifetime.

New bowl based on a subway experience: "Kid Universe on the F"

http://i.imgur.com/lhuwqDX.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/E4ty11d.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/f5geKs3.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/VRFcyLP.jpg

ken price vibes

did not know the guy, but liking what i'm seeing online! thanks for the compliment!

you're welcome, your pottery is making me feel like I want to sign up for a couple of classes and fill my flat with hot pink memphis milano knockoffs

my local deli guy makes a crazy good meatball sub and I promised him i would make him something so i channelled r crumb

http://i.imgur.com/PMaPdIM.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/ziRWEU5g.jpg

yes!!

last night
https://www.instagram.com/p/BT8Fa6FF-jx/
i'm afraid i might just become a potter or something and quit everything else. being in the studio and carving for five hours straight feels deeply meditative, if a bit crampy. this shit brings out my zen.

kinda having fun with this
https://www.instagram.com/p/BUYA-QGFdE_/

i just saw some early work from yayoi kusama (specifically the infinity nets) and it broke my mind. OCD based fine art! It's out there!

anyways, here's some recent work and collaborations:

http://i.imgur.com/bAtR5xh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/e3T92rZ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Y6YSFDP.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/T3YVXwi.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/KZMrhLO.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/3ca7WQw.jpg

http://imgur.com/C3i25cf
http://imgur.com/XDlrTAg

whoops
http://i.imgur.com/XDlrTAg.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/C3i25cf.jpg

Love these, forks, especially the pot with the cut outs.

Would like to see more of the one with the legs. I can only see one pic ATM.

one with the legs has moved on with someone else. that house got finished though I haven't gotten around to photographing as of yet.

some immediate work:

http://i.imgur.com/S0IPPf4.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/BiPYVwb.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/i0Mfmxb.jpg

here's some poorly filmed iphone video for you as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEJdPzcJrP8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-_MWmbtVU4

and this, which was a monster to do:

http://i.imgur.com/TAPW0xK.jpg

Plenty of other work too! I just reached a point where I'm just posting to insta moreso than anything else with this stuff.

Over the past year, I got a bit more serious about this and - for the past two months - started a three-day-a-week studio practice. I've also been doing a lot of collaborative work. Kinda feels like I've made some breakthroughs so I'm likely gonna start sharing here again.

This is a collaborative vase (me on carving and glaze, her on form) with my friend Joan H.
http://i.imgur.com/Zl4hMW2.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/YC1o1BF.png
bowl currently in progress

buddy of mine came by and took some pix of my stuff both old and new . here's a few.

http://imgur.com/syAnBej.jpg
http://imgur.com/B3OCYmY.jpg
http://imgur.com/nBamasw.jpg
http://imgur.com/LFSFfjF.jpg
http://imgur.com/iMzdS9l.jpg

some recent work; form by two different friends, decorative work by me.

Carving a kiln god into the vase. This one is going in for a glaze firing and will look much different when it's out of the fire, will repost later.
http://i.imgur.com/11G4n3d.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/i54yKjG.jpg

Coil-built double vase, still green. I have some ideas for glazing that are going to take some time.
http://i.imgur.com/dbUMelo.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/JxxvmUZ.jpg

I don't throw pots but worked in a pottery studio until covid. Most of my favorite pieces were slabs and pinch pots that the kids' classes frankensteined together.

Some very creative stuff itt

Ulysses, that first one is especially amazing. I would love a tokkuri that looked like that.

I’ve never really considered ceramics before, but my online sake nerd group has expanded beyond virtual visits to breweries to virtual visits to Japanese potters and it’s absolutely fascinating. I really want to go and see one of these immense wood fired tunnel kilns being fired.

a sake bottle spirit sounds like a fun project!
i don't hand build much so i like to work with people who do (that second piece) and with folks who get shapes and sizes that are harder for me to achieve (the first). i enjoy the creative conversation through work a lot.

re: immense tunnel kilns - there's an amazing example of an anagama kiln in this special... totally inspiring and worth a watch.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7nvcwu

deflator did you work for a school group or something? watching kids create with clay is endlessly fascinating.

It was a neighborhood pottery studio that offered classes both for kids and adults. It was mostly older and elderly women, especially during open studio hours. They've been slow to reopen for the obvious reasons.

As a generalization, the kids are very into the process and want to enjoy it but don't necessarily care about the outcome. The pieces they handbuilt were way more interesting than the ones they threw on the wheel usually. I loved watching them work so much that I came by on my days off just to hang out. I even tried to make stuff that looked like what they did a few times.

My parents live near this guy in Eastern PA who studied in Mashiko, Japan for a number of years. He built his own very large wood-fired kiln that is similar to what is in your link. He only fires a couple of times a year because has to stay up for like 3-4 days straight to keep the fire going. He also uses mostly local clays and materials for his glazes.

Xp I have photos of some favorite pieces but i'd have to really dig. I think my all time favorite was this rudiculous slab urn with enormous handles made by one of the oldest kids (12 or 13 yo) that looked like a trophy. It was a very rough piece and I took it for the work of a much younger child until one of my co-workers told me which kid was responsible.