Medium Bowl #7

This piece turned out very raw - the brush strokes held in the glaze more than I expected them too. I actually sort of like the finished product, though it's rough and unpolished (unlike most of my work):

It's a decent sized bowl, probably large enough for a serving of soup. When you take a look at the inside you really see the brush strokes in the glaze. I wasn't sure I'd like the black/white contrast, but there is something oddly appealing about it:

Ying Yang #13

Lucky (or unlucky) #13 turned out like this:

I still really like this series, but I'm starting to get bored of the form. I'll probably move on to something else, but in a pinch if I need to make wedding presents and such, this will be a fall-back. Actually, the glaze combo on this turned out really nice - the bright green is a great contrast to the cream, and although you can't see much of it in the pictures, there are black speckles throughout the glaze.

Tall Desk Bowl #1

This is a taller bowl about the size of the desk bowl sort of series -- not large enough to be a batter bowl, but similar in shape. I really like how the blue and purple meshed in the glaze runs on the side:

Here is a view from the inside which demonstrates the depth of color - browns and reds emerge from the inside firing ring:

New Year, Back from Hiatus

It's a new year, and I'm back from my temporary hiatus. Over the holidays, I didn't do much studio work, and haven't had much of a chance to kick things out at my normal rate over the past couple months given my increased work responsibilities. But, I'm back with a few new pieces - and hopefully they will continue to grow over the next few months as I head into summer!

Another setback was that I got a new computer - which means I've been trying to learn a whole new system and software. Thus, until I master IPhoto the way I had mastered Picassa, the colors might be a little wonky in some of the pictures for a while.

So, welcome back! I've cleaned out the archives so that only what I feel are the best representative pieces from 2007 are remaining. Here's to creativity and artistry in 2008!

Medium Bowl #6

Every once in a while, a piece comes out of the kiln that I fall in love with and I deem it one that has to be "kept in the family." This bowl is one of those pieces:

I wasn't too sure how the pinkish/green combo would sort out, and in all honesty, I wasn't originally too crazy about the form, so I decided to experiment with it.

The outcome was a highly intricate layering of the greens and pinks, a bowl just large enough to use as a serving bowl for a family meal, and one that will stick around in our family for some time.

Desk Bowl #6

This little desk bowl turned out quite well. The form is a little narrow at the bottom, but the glaze distribution of greens and blues more than makes up for it. Perfect size for holding all sorts of desk items:

Here's a closer look at the inside. Not only do the blues and greens match well together, you can see a bit of the reddish tone that emerged in the secondary ring toward the middle:

Partner's Favorite #2

Since partner liked the first abstract form so much, I thought I'd try another one. This one seemed to turn out well - the angles are interesting and the glaze colors were nice.

Here's the view from the top. I actually just gave this piece away to some students to auction off for cancer research. Apparently, they got quite a bit for it, so that makes me happy.

Temple Rest #3

The latest in the Temple Gate series:

I thought the piece looked sort of like a leaf, but when I went to glaze it, something about the form seemed like this combination fit better. One of my classmates said the piece reminds her of a bird in flight.

I like the contrast between the sea green and black, which you can see better in the shot of the basin:

Batter Bowl #2

I made this batter bowl for two of my friends who just recently were married. It's on the smaller side, but it's the perfect size to whip up a couple eggs or a small batch of pancake batter:

I'm really liking this glaze combination - it turns out great every time as long as you can control the running.

Spade Dish #3

Here is another of the spade dish series. This one is a nice size -- about enough for a small spoon rest. This combination of glaze was an experiment, but it's kind of fun I think:

I also made the small foot on this one instead of rounding out the bottom. You can see the contours of the lines a bit better from the side view:

Batter Bowl #1

I've been trying to work on bowls the last few weeks. I've found that I seem to enjoy two types - ones that have a fairly wide base and ones that have a fairly narrow base. The extremes of the bowl world I guess. Anyway, one of these forms takes this shape, which I call a batter bowl (although I don't put spouts on it for pouring):

This glaze combination was really successful I think. The tone of the inside has a lot of deep blue/green and black. Plus, I kind of like the feel of the piece that comes from being able to see some of the brush strokes:

Clover Trinket Dish #2

Another little one in the clover dish series...I think I like this one as much as the other one.

Of course, this glaze combination is always a winner as far as I'm concerned. The shape of this particular pattern is really growing on me too - I'm hoping to make more in the near future.

Medium Bowl #4

The theme for today's posts is going to be purple. I've been working on some bowl forms lately, and this one happened to turn out okay:

The runs accent the inside well. You can't tell much by the picture, but there is a bit of unevenness at the bottom of the bowl. I'll need to work on that as I make larger forms:

Flower Dish #5

Here is another from the flower series. I'm finally starting to get the hang of glazing these so they actually end up looking like flowers with a solid center:

I really like this deep purple/black combination. You can see a bit from the side too in the natural light:

Spade Dish #2

Here's another spade dish, this time in green and blue hues. The green color is sort of mossy, and the blue is light, like the sky:

Here's another view from the side showing some of the detailing in the run pattern:

Spade Dish #1

This is a new shape I've been experimenting with for small dishes. I like that the wider surface area on the bottom allows some interesting color combinations:

Here's a view from the side that shows a bit more of the brown/green undertones:

Ying Yang Platter #11

Today's theme is green -- for some reason I've had a lot of green pieces come out of the kiln lately. Perhaps it was the summer inspiring me, or some other muse who thinks there should be more green in the world. Anyway, here's the latest in the ying yang series. I made this specifically as a wedding present for a friend getting married next month:

I think the runs turned out fantastic on this piece. The form is also really great given the others in the series - very little warping, and an even tone overall. Here's a close up:

Bamboo Vase

This is a hand built piece in traditional celedon glaze -- I wasn't too excited about the section of the course on hand building and pinch pots, but I thought I'd experiment. This particular piece elicited a lot of odd looks from folks as they were saying "I'm not sure you're supposed to hit the clay so hard it indents..." The result though is quite nice:

The lines in the pot give it a bamboo texture, especially with the variation of color from the green glaze. From the top here you can see how I opened the pot.

Strawberry Platter

I'm not usually one for predetermined shapes or forms, but I got it into my head that I wanted some kind of strawberry serving platter when I saw a display of strawberry related stuff at a store earlier this summer. The idea inspired the following:

Here's another picture on a different background. I was really happy with how the colors turned out. I'm thinking about trying to make another one soon. It takes quite some time for the painting part, but in the end it might be worth it!

Desk Bowl #5

Here is another desk bowl. This one has a tan and blue combination that is pretty interesting:

Another view from the inside, and on a different background: