New pottery foibles

Time in the studio has been kind of precious. I've made some new twists to some old forms, am trying new glazing approaches (argh) and just doing some basic skill building. I really learned the lessons of clay bodies this time around. I had some white stoneware to use up, but most of these pieces were made from a coarse brown sculptural clay. I remembered the lesson of dyeing brown eggs instead of white, and wondered if some of those sumptuous intense colors might also reveal themselves on brown clay.

Perhaps oddly, the white speckled mug at the right turned out to be my favorite. It is hand built. It has some flaws. . .it is a little too small for my mug taste. But the Very Sturdy brown clay held its shape beautifully, took texture well, and all of those speckles are from the clay, not the glaze. The glaze is just a flat white glaze called Klaus Hard White.

No mug collection is complete without me trying more variations on the Lily mug. The left mug is also small for a mug. . . almost more of an espresso size (but not quite), but the larger of these two is pretty much perfect. I think I can stop working on this particular set of variations! I do love it, though. They are mostly for right handed people, though I can drink using my left hand as well from these. . . the appliques don't interfere with lip contact!

Last of the mugs in this batch is the larger brown mug to the right. John claimed this for his own as soon as he saw it. It is also thrown, and the inside glaze is white, with the outside being a flat macha cacao. Again, all of those speckles are compliments of the clay body. It also takes texture well, as evidenced by the little bit on the handle.

The big experiment of this group was the hand-built pitcher to the left. It's relatively large (maybe 14" tall?) and was inspired by this pitcher we saw at a restaurant in Freeport. 

I don't know what possessed me to make the handle more Asian looking. . .maybe inspired by the texture I applied? Anyway, inspiration is everywhere. One just needs to see.

Finally, a couple of bowls and a new tumbler. The tumbler had the same lesson is clay sturdiness. Previous tumblers have gotten at least a little misshapen in the firing process. This clay body, though the same thickness as some stoneware and porcelain tumblers I've made, refuses to let the heat alter her. Let us all be so sturdy.