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

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.

that singleton guy's work is pretty nice! I respect anyone who gets into the process in such a way that they make their own glazes, source their own clay, build their own kiln... that shit is ridiculously impressive and difficult! I am less motivated by specific colors and harmonious forms and more into the manic/obsessive decorative process. Mostly, i feel like i'm making easels to draw on.

making "interesting" wheel built pieces takes such a long time. Centering and lifting the clay and trimming is time-consuming and requires practice and even then you're limited by the symmetry and your willingness to alter afterward. For kids, i find wheel work is generally more about them discovering if they can maintain the focus and patience necessary to get the basic chops. either way it's super fun to watch them connect with the medium.

Yeah, I love the decorative patterning on your pieces - it's distinctive. Also, it is really amazing to see the progression in your work from the start of the thread until now. I hope you are very proud!

I'm curious how that first piece in this revive is going to change in the kiln.

Thanks for the kind words! I'm excited that i have a medium to work with that allows me to be creative and present a vision that feels very much like it's mine.

Will start posting work in here more often. I have no job! Might as well focus on clay for a few months until i know that it's time to look for a new life.

I'm always impressed by your stuff, forks. I got to do some making/glazing with my mum last year (including a raku firing, yesssss) - I very much did not inherit any talent for it, but it was still fun.

boy i'd like to try raku sometime. share pix of your stuff? i'm curious.

I love Raku stuff, I think I can trace back my (fairly new) interest in ceramic art to a trip a couple of years ago to the Sagawa Art museum near Kyoto. They have a pretty extensive collection of tea bowls by the fifteenth Raku presented in this really atmospheric underground vault, underneath a tea room the he also designed. I recently saw something in an auctions catalogue by the 10th Raku which was even more breathtaking. However its only recently I've been starting to appreciate the art form more and there is some truly amazing stuff in this thread.

I'm getting really excited by the wood firing and ash glazing stuff I've been seeing recently. Its; such an interesting way of working, there's so much that is a mixture of experience and chance.

Super excited to see how your kiln god turns out.

Thanks! Here's a few other pieces I've done relatively recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQIkhKDaLHU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-ic1hsuUVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfuiR1E5Z5A

The first two are completely finished. The head jug was just fooling around and promptly discarded but it made for a fun afternoon of play.

and here's a few views of a piece i made as part of a set in collaboration with a friend who was making replicas of ancient pigeon figurines that I dressed up in different suits. Lemme know if you're curious about the other five or so i did with her?
http://i.imgur.com/dPRq02v.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/qKjbeZO.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ZJGtNvi.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Va26hkF.jpg

anyways i have plenty more pieces i could put up here but i guess one more will do for now.
This was very intentionally Haring inspired and done in collaboration with the same guy who did the coil built double vase above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7x834dCjsk

share pix of your stuff? i'm curious.

Oh lord no, I only did a few sessions and they were all just the basics of different practices (pinch pot, wheel and glazing), so my results were very much of an embarrassing first-timer. I used my mum's pots to glaze for the raku firing and I was kind of pleased with some of the expressionist daubing I did, but even that still wasn't great!

i love seeing first time results! and if you scroll to the top of this thread, you'll see piles of mine! It's useful to share and keep; that's how ideas get around.