Wed
01
Sep
2010
Big Pots for a Big Kiln
Photo by JD Jorgenson
For the past week and a half, I've been working on big pots for a firing at JD Jorgenson Pottery in his 3-chamber wood burning kiln. This picture was taken 4 years ago just before the first firing of the kiln, as Mary Wagner and I loaded up the back stack. This is the first chamber, which allows for 5 ft. x 6 ft. x 16 ft. of stacking space. We plan to fire all 3 chambers for the first time EVER so I'm hoping my large jars will help fill up the kiln!
This is my first series of pots for the firing. 6 were made by throwing separate sections then stacking and attaching them together.
The larger, bulbous pots were made by throwing the bottom 1/3 on an electric wheel with a 25 lb. block of clay. Then, I rolled out thick coils and smoothed them together for the uppper 2/3 of the pot.
After applying texture, I covered the pots will a variety of clay slips that will hopefully make for some nice colors in the wood kiln. Some of these clay slips were dug straight from the ground- one from JD's home in Bismark and another from my friend Niall Garin's farm in Southeast Iowa.
Mon
23
Aug
2010
Glaze Layering
Spoon Rest by Tama Smith
The pottery from my second glaze firing was largely inspired by a visit to Prairie Fire Pottery, while on my way to Glacier Park, Montana for a week vacation.
Tama Smith filled the majority of the Prairie Fire gallery with her functional stoneware and porcelain pottery. She used multiple layers of glazes to create intricate, fluid surfaces with really vibrant colors, like this spoon rest.
These mugs were a few of my first experiments with glaze layering. Visit the Gallery for more work from my second reduction glaze firing.
Fri
23
Jul
2010
181 Soup Cups and 113 Dinner Plates
These past 3 weeks have been very productive, with over 300 pots made while squeezing in a trip to Iowa for the sale at Camp Euforia. I'm on my way to the 1,500 finished pots by the Christmas season!
Below are some pictures of the soup cups I made this week. 3 full days yeilded 194 pots total, 181 of them soup cups. I made 2 designs...which one do you like better?
I then stacked the pots on my shelving and wareboards, and gently covered them with plastic to slow the drying process. Normally I would do this in my damp box, but it had to be disassembeled for Camp Euforia last week and Sunset Stages next week. The damp box is great for large scale pottery production, but takes half a day to assemble.
Here is a quick glimpse of the dinner plates I made 2 weeks ago. I also shot some video of throwing and trimming the plates, I'll post it when I finish editing!
Fri
23
Jul
2010
Camp Euforia Music Festival
Camp Euforia was a 2 day music and camping festival on a farm in Lone Tree, Iowa, just outside of Iowa City. My booth was right next to painter Jaredt Runions, who was next to the main stage. We were lucky to get these prime spots so we could perform demonstrations right next to the crowd, and rock out to awesome music all weekend!
Check out these sweet photos on the Daily Iowan:
http://www.dailyiowan.com/slideshow/719camp/
Here are more photos of my booth setup and the main stage:
Tue
13
Jul
2010
Copper Red and Cloudy Clear Ash Glaze Firing
This firing included 167 pieces, heated to a peak temperature of 2200 Degrees F over 2 days. I fired in a reduced atmosphere, attempting to achieve bright red hues and varied colors in the glaze surface. The bottle below is a great example of the type of red I'm aiming for.
This vase was made from brown Stoneware with John Britt Red
glaze and Red Iron Oxide Stain, which appears as dark drips down the side of the vase. It was at the bottom of the kiln, where red hues were most vibrant and intense.
I strategically placed pieces like this incense burner around any red glazed pots. The red pieces fume color throughout the firing, and the close proximity of the pieces allows the grey ash glaze to trap some of the red fuming.
Wed
30
Jun
2010
My First month as the CSB/SJU Post-Bac. Resident Artist
On June 2nd I began working as a full time artist and production potter. I don't have a job, so I can spend at least 40 hours/week in the studio. No job also means no income, so I'll be living off of some savings and a bank loan to start my business centered around pottery production.
I'm attending a couple sales this summer, but I'll mostly just be making new pottery. My goal is 1,500 pots by late November, so I can come out strong for the Christmas season and hopefully have a shot at making a living from this pottery gig...
Here are some process shots of my newest series of work. 430 unfired pots might seem like a lot but believe theres a ton more work to do:
Weeks 1 and 2: June 2nd - 18th
Weeks 3 and 4: June 21st - 30th
I spent last Friday attaching handles to coffee mugs. Some potters prefer to attach clay to each mug before pulling the handle shape with water, but I always create the handles before attaching. The clay stiffens and I can then attach the handle without smoothing the pieces together, letting the handle seem like it was welded on the mug.
Notice my buddy Staz is in the background doing some serious work. He broke his coffee jug (for the second time) so he helped out by mixing up some clay in exchange for a new jug.
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