Sunday, December 20, 2009

Photo was clipped from the Heard Museum (Arizona) website.

Click on the vessel, after you have navigated from the Sonoron Desert area, a video will start and describe the origins and construction about this beautiful, indigenous vessel done by Mary Juan. It looks disarmingly simple to make, but, in fact, its body thinness and handle arch had very skillful artisan hands in crafting.

http://heardeducation.org/home/

Saturday, December 19, 2009

More Great Works In Ceramics


Products on this site have varied and innovative use of ceramics. Beautifully, simple things one can lust for. Watch the "Edith on Martha Stewart Video" and you will get a picture of Heath Ceramics' history and mission.




Heath Ceramics is chock full of lovely things that we just can't get enough of. Heath is one of the few remaining mid-century American potteries still in existence today, and they remain a small, local manufacturer employing 40 skilled craftsman who work out of their Sausalito, CA factory.

Friday, December 18, 2009

Final Project - Ceramics


In the Korean Vessel Gallery at Academy of Arts there are stoneware pots from the 5th - 6th century that are simple, yet finely constructed, with clean ridges and thin walls. With all the tools and access to techniques that students have, it seemed a reasonable challenge to replicate.

The above pot looks nothing like the vessel on display at the Academy, except for the 3 lugs. My replica is thick walled; the top does not have the graceful expanse in the base, then narrowing and then flare with two rims leading to a final double narrowing. I tried to make the moves in clay, but lacked the ability that was prominent many centuries ago. Mine turned out to look more like a Hawaiian gourd, which is another historical vessel. This class has altered my awareness and appreciation of working with clay.



Glazing. This is the tour de force of potting; it's the frosting on the cake, and the step that takes the most study and experimentation in the process. Glazes, their mixture and application can impart very different results that requires planning through applications that look nothing like the final patina, as photos show.