Seriously Playful: The Pottery of Matt Jones
Today’s post highlights the pottery of Matt Jones, Using local materials and decorative traditions, Matt’s work pays homage to the time when pottery played an important role in survival. Even the tools he uses exemplify this reverence for “our collective pottery past” as he puts it. Take, for instance “The Crusher,” Matt’s super low tech and incredibly brilliant homemade device for crushing old bottles into powder for his glazes. Matt explains how it works, and we have a video of it in action! So cool! He also shares a couple of glaze recipes.
Addition and Subtraction: Slip Trailing and Carving for Raised and Recessed Surface Decoration
To fully integrate the glazes with the form and surface, Emily Reason adds texture through both additive and subtractive methods. Today I am presenting an explanation of her slip trailing and carving techniques. We’ll also show you the homemade tool she uses to create the “pleats” on her pots.
GraphicPower: Terry Gess Makes His Mark
Over the past thirty years, Terry Gess has developed a
personal logic that allows him to engage fully with the world around him. The
short version of the story is this: Whole life, whole potter. The long version
has to do with learning how to see, touch, and hear the nuances of daily life,
then intuit a light-handed, rich response through clay.
Kenneth Baskin: 20th Century Artifacts
Developing techniques he still uses today, Baskin fired some pieces up to five times to achieve a certain effect. The first, and highest, firing is always in an atmospheric kiln for a spontaneous, natural looking surface. Adding silicon carbide to slips, Baskin accomplishes a gritty, textured surface. Additional layers of glazes and a black wash fired at lower temperatures complete the design
Daniel Johnston Dreams Big
Daniel Johnston does not blush about his humble beginnings, nor will he turn his back on the historical influences that shaped who he is today. In fact, by way of introduction, he insists on announcing his genealogy in clay. “I have been trained in the Leach, Cardew and Hewitt school of making pots,” his artist statement and our interview begin. Bernard Leach is widely recognized as the grandfather of studio pottery in the United States and Michael Cardew was Leach’s student. From 1997 to 2001, Johnston apprenticed with Mark Hewitt, a student of Cardew’s. As Johnston began to navigate from
these influences toward a voice of his own, an additional triumvirate of geographical influences came together: England, Thailand, and North Carolina.
