Wood Fired Cups

I know it has been some time since I've posted anything...almost a year, so I thought I would try to keep up with what's going on in the studio on a regular basis.
I have been creating new sculptural work and have also taken some time to explore functional ware.
I have also been working on reorganizing/rearranging the studio to make it a little more efficient with what I am working on currently.

Below is a picture of a finished wood fired porcelain cup that I have been exploring surfaces with.  I designed the cup from hand and then created a three piece mold for the basic form of the cup.  The handle was created using another mold.  I had issues with the handle and slip casting it, so I had to use the two piece mold as a press mold and then created the handle using the two parts.  By doing this it helped to give more stability to the handle as well as a nice balance of the weight, in regards to the weight of the cup form.

I will be posting other glaze experiments over this form until I find a combination that I will explore in producing further down the road. Enjoy.

This is one of two cups:

This is cup #2:

More Ceramic Cups?

I have been working on some ceramic cups for an upcoming exhibition, as well as for some gifts for the holidays.  The cups are all thrown on the wheel, using stoneware clay, and will be fired to cone 6, in an electric kiln.  I have been working on some new glazes, since the work I am creating needs to be functional, and have had some interesting results with some of the glazes.  I am still doing more tests and hopefully will have some results to post shortly of the finished work.  

Below are some images of the cups in progress.

Raku Cup

In my Ceramics for Non-Majors Class, I fired the Raku Kiln three times last Saturday with student work and one piece of my own.  Pictured below is a Stoneware, wheel thrown cup that I glazed with a copper sand and white crackle Raku glazes.  The process of pulling out work when it is extremely hot, never gets boring and always has some sense of magic in the end results.  The class was really excited about the results and some not so nice results, but the experience was still amazing!  The really dark black areas were created by not applying any glaze to the clay body and using the reduction process in the combustion barrel to create the effect.

teapots! 9th Invitational at Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery

I was invited to be a part of a teapot exhibition at the Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  The exhibit runs from April 10-June 13, 2015.
I was honored to be asked to participate in the exhibit and those who know me, know I don't usually create pottery, or much functional work.  So, I had to sit down and create a teapot for the show.

It took me some time to figure out what type of form and then how the surface would later be developed.  I wanted it to be functional, although that was not necessary.

If you are in the area (Pittsburgh), you should stop by the Gallery to check out the show.  Here is the website for the gallery:  Morgan Glass Gallery

Below are some images of the teapot that I sent to the gallery.

Pottery?

I know it's been some time since I've posted anything.  I've been working on glaze development and forms for some pottery…yes, pottery.  I know it's not something I do all the time, but with teaching, I find it necessary to become well rounded in another spectrum of the ceramic medium.  I haven't stopped creating sculptural work, but have taken some time to revisit an old acquaintance…the pottery wheel.

I'm always looking at ways to mimic natural materials in life and came across an article by Steven Hill, a master potter, who creates glazes to mimic effects of high fire glazes (reduction), in an electric kiln.  I find this really interesting, since I myself don't own a high fire kiln.  I have been looking into glazes specifically for pottery and continue doing tests, until I can come up with a color palette and form I like.  I know this is all subjective, but it's nice to explore new areas that cause me to think differently about the work being created.  I can understand better the difficulties one encounters when creating pottery, which in turn is better for my teaching.

The images below are of some recent work and glazes that I created recently.  The pieces were all wheel thrown, and multiple glazes were used (3 glazes on each cup).  I fired the work in an electric kiln (oxidation), and fired it to cone 6.