Something Old, Something New...

A production potter has mastered the art of recreating the same piece consistently on a large scale, often using a potter’s wheel. One of the reasons I create a pattern for a finished pot I like is so I can make it again (and again) using clay hand-building techniques.  As much as I value the routine and comfort of making a familiar shape over and over in the studio, I also enjoy a good creative challenge.

I really like the process of figuring out how to make something I’ve never created before. It usually starts with an idea and a picture in my head. I know ahead of time what I want the finished piece to look like. Sometimes I’ll sketch it out (mostly so I don’t forget).

One of the challenges of this piece happens when it dries. I've learned to support the length of the tray during the early drying process with a piece of styrofoam so it doesn't bow in the middle. 

Trial and error is part of the process. I allow myself time to fail because this will happen. I assess the shapes that need to be pieced together to make a final whole. Lots of times, I just start cutting apart clay and shaping. As I close in on success, I take note of the shapes, tools, and process I used to achieve the final result.  I make a pattern with cut-up manila folders. 

Once I've created a pattern and a sample of the finished piece has made it successfully through all the stages of the kiln-firing process, I know I can recreate it when I want to. It's how I achieve quality control and the ability to produce multiples of the same shape over and over again. 

Here's another new project in the works. I'm in the homestretch of completing a series of tiled totem posts for a local school. Each young child in the school (and several teachers and parents) decorated a pre-made tile with underglaze. I will apply a clear glaze over their artwork and fire them in my kiln this week. Once the tiles are ready, I'll adhere them to the posts we erected at the front entry of the school. This has been a fantastic project. It's one more example of working on a new and different project!

When a new shape I make is one my customers like to purchase, it then becomes 'something old.' And luckily for me, there always seems to be 'something new' to create waiting in the wings! Got an idea for me? Click here to tell me about it!

Taking the Good With the Bad

Working in the clay medium can garner a roller coaster of emotions. The highs of success can quickly crumble in to the lows of disappointment. What I’ve learned on the journey through this particular art medium is to embrace the joys and to try to learn from the mistakes (after a few choice words are thrown about)!

This is the latest generation of a berry bowl and drip tray I create. I've worked out the design over a couple of months by tweaking the shape of the split bowl and the size of the drip tray. The design has improved each time I make a new one based on what I've learned from previous tries. 

When clay is the artistic material of choice, there are many (many) times or stages throughout the creative process which can impede a successful outcome. Cracking, warping or breaking can threaten a piece even before its first of two firings. Glaze choice and proper kiln firing is also a key to positive results.  Experience, time and practiced skills have helped increase my success rate with all of these hurdles over the years. But failure is still a possibility. Even when success is reached after all the creative stages are accomplished, breakage can occur through mishandling or shipping.

Luckily, experience has taught me to roll with the punches. When I broke a piece of a finished totem this week as I was rushing and rearranging the stack for a photo, I went right back to the studio, remade the piece and tweaked the design to make it even better. Yes, I lost the time, effort and materials of the broken clay – but it is one of the consequences of the type of art I make. I’d be back in the studio making something anyway, so I learn and move forward.

The very same day, I received a fantastic email from a customer. Her daughter has been inspired by some of my pieces in her own clay creations. That was just the news I needed to head back to the top of the roller coaster!