Blog

Studio Tour this weekend!

In the past week my father and I have crammed in more work than we can ever remember! Two wood firings, back to back, over just 6 days, and we hope we're ready for this weekends Norfolk Studio Tour! We'll be open all weekend and welcome everyone to come see the fruits of our labor, enjoy some snacks and also visit the many other wonderful artists in the Norfolk area :) We have a lot of new work and we will be opening the second firing on Saturday :) You can find all the information for the studio tour here, as well as see the other artists participating: http://www.norfolkstudiotour.com/

Click on the map for a larger image, we're number 4 :)

To show just how much we've done, here are some pictures of our pieces as we prepared for the firings :) Hope to see some of you this Saturday and Sunday!

Fresh out of the electric kiln and ready to be glazed

My father's bowls glazed with oxides and copper red

All the work drying in the sun

Getting all the work ready to be loaded into the kiln

My father applying some cobalt oxide

These are the pots we put into the bottom front row every firing

and finally, the kiln all loaded and ready to go! We'll be able to open this one up on Saturday!



How I make my faceted bowls

So these bowls are a labour of love for me. They're a little off, skewed and asymmetrical, but that's part of the joy and beauty in them. And they are a pleasure to make, since I surrender a lot of control and intention, and let the clay and the wheel take the lead. Sometimes if I cut too deep, they will rip and break, sometimes if I don't cut deep enough, they remain static and lifeless. But when I get it just right, the bowl has a very unique, dynamic flow and feel, and it just makes me happy. So, here in brief, is how I make them.

First, I start with a normal cylinder, as if I was making any other form, bowl, cup, etc. But I leave it thicker than normal, giving me room to cut off pieces with a piece of fishing line.

I'll continue cutting pieces off, not worrying too much if they're exactly the same, all around the piece. Having different thicknesses will cause the bowl to warp and 'move' later.

Now I begin to open the bowl gently with a metal rib. If I go too quickly or roughly, it will break the walls and ruin the piece. I want to push the clay outwards, forcing it to change. You can see how the lines warp and move because of this.

Now the bowl is fully opened. The hardest part is getting a nice smooth line on the inside. Because I have to make the cylinder so tall in the beginning, it's really pushing the clay far from the center, which can sometimes make a nice rounded bowl form difficult. This one wasn't too bad.

And finally, the finished form. Like I said, these aren't all that difficult technically, but I love them since they're something I discovered on my own, and they have a wonderful feel to them. I was reflecting on this while watching a video of Warren MacKenzie throwing, and he said that each pot should have something unique about it, so that every time you pick it up, you're learning something about it. So this is how I infuse a little of myself into my work, and make it fun for me to do. A good form, that's nice to use, and makes you smile when you use it, that's all a potter can ask for.

Work from our latest firing~

Getting started early this morning, we braved the elements and wonderful Canadian weather, and opened the wood kiln. With a lot of work hopefully destined for show applications, we were anxious to see how everything turned out. Much to our delight, the copper reds and oxides came out beautiful, without almost none of them oxidizing or washing out. To get these kinds of results, and keep them consistent, in a wood kiln is something of a nightmare. A lot of potters would wonder why even try to do gas firing-esq glazes in a wood kiln, but for us, it's a matter of necessity and love. We're simply not drawn to the heavier forms and glazes of a traditional wood firing and maybe we're too stubbornly routed in celadons and copper reds. It's a love hate relationship as the ash fluctuating in the kiln, the flashing, and the uneven temperatures that are bound to flare up, wreck havoc and ruin on some of our best pots. But sometimes, just maybe, the results can be magical. We've had some beautiful pieces in this firing, especially my fathers large jars and plates, which came out stunning. I wasn't over the moon with my brush work, but then again, I didn't have to throw half of it into the garbage either. And there were some fun pieces in there as well with some elephants for good measure. Here are some of the results :)

soupART on the way!

Every year my father participates in the Norfolk SoupART fundraiser, which combines local restaurants and the Norfolk Potters guild, to put on an amazing event where people can have all you can eat soup, right out of a handmade unique soup bowl they get to choose and take home. This year I will be donating 10 bowls, and here are some of them, decorated with oxides, and waiting to be sprayed. They're actually in the kiln right now, cooling down, and almost ready to serve up some delicious soup! For more info, check out the event here: Every year my father participates in the Norfolk SoupART fundraiser, which combines local restaurants and the Norfolk Potters guild, to put on an amazing event where people can have all you can eat soup, right out of a handmade unique soup bowl they get to choose and take home. This year I will be donating 10 bowls, and here are some of them, decorated with oxides, and waiting to be sprayed. They're actually in the kiln right now, cooling down, and almost ready to serve up some delicious soup! For more info, check out the event webpage: http://www.norfolkartscentre.ca/events.php

12821282133_d487b804d1_k.jpg

New Work, Ramen Bowls

Here are some bowls I've been working on, trying to make them a little heavier and deeper, hopefully perfect for eating large bowls of noodles and soup, like ramen or pho :) I've also tried making lips/side dishes to accompany each dish, allowing you to cover the soup while serving, they're definitely still a work in progress and I will have to do extensive product testing to see how they stack up ;) ~Peter

ramen bowls and lids