Original work marked with the “rh”

At the start of 1998, Kimberly and I took a basic ceramics class at the Northern Clay Center. Our instructor was Teena Janay Roberson. In that class we learned basic techniques for constructing pottery. These included hand building, pinch pots, coils, and, of course, throwing.

Throwing

The primary focus of many potters is throwing. This process involves placing a piece of clay in the center of a wheel. The potter spins the wheel and forms the pot with the hands. Clay is lifted upward while the wheel is turning. Gradually, a cylinder is created and from there the potter can do just about anything. By pulling the top edge outward a bowl is formed. By pushing out from the inside you get a bulbous shape. When satisfied with the form of the vessel, the pot is removed from the wheel and set aside to dry.

After the pot has dried a bit, it reaches a point that is not wet, nor totally dry. This state is referred to as leather hard due to its similarity to stiff leather. At this point, pots are typically placed back on the wheel upside-down and the base is trimmed and often sculpted into a ring-shaped foot. Once trimmed, handles, knobs or spouts could be attached and other decorations can be added. A potter may also inscribe a signature or stamp their pot for identification. Finally, the pot is left to dry and harden.

Once an object is bone dry, whether thrown, coiled, or hand-built by some other technique, this greenware is placed in a kiln and is fired. After this initial firing, the pot is called bisque. Bisqueware, though fired, is extremely porous. At this stage, a pot is painted or dipped into glazes. Depending on the types of glazes used and the technique by which they are applied, an amazing variety of colors and textures can be achieved after a second firing.

High-fire Stoneware

The clay I have used is high-fire stoneware. This type of clay is a mixture of fine and coarse elements designed to withstand extremely high temperatures. Because of its thicker texture, this clay is easier to work with than porcelain, which contains very little grog, or coarse particles. There are other kinds of clay, and some require lower temperatures when firing after glazing. These low-fire ceramics would melt under high temperature firing. There are numerous firing techniques for ceramics. At the Northern Clay Center where I took the classes, my pottery was fired at the higher cone-10 temperature in a gas-powered kiln using a technique called reduction firing. During this process, the kiln is gradually brought up to temperature where glazes and the clay itself undergoes a transformation into glass, or vitrification. The reduction part of the process is simply a deprivation of oxygen. Because the kiln is so hot and the fire so potent, it literally pulls the oxygen it needs right from the pots themselves. Depending on the glazes or combinations of glazes used, the reduction process can create some exciting results. The trapped elements that remain on the pots and in the glazes, will determine the nature and color of the finished piece. This high-temperature process produces glaze effects with a natural look often characterized by a depth that is difficult to attain any other way.

My Pottery

The images on this page are all pictures of my pottery. These are a diverse collection of form and function. During the course of the classes, I felt it more important to experiment with a variety of forms and techniques in order to improve my abilities. I spent much of my time making teapots, and although I only made a few, I found that the discipline of throwing combined with the addition of hand-built parts, spouts, lids and knobs all uniquely combine to make a functional object. What better subject to practice all of these techniques! I did make other pieces too, but many of these I gave as gifts to friends.

For some time, I had been obsessed with creating the best Rock Bottom mug of all time. As a Mug Club member, I was allowed to bring in a mug of my own and have it filled for less than the price of a pint. I have had several designs; some were successful, others were failures. The most notable mug was the Square Giant pictured here. This mug broke the one liter rule and held a whopping six pints! I drank from it only twice at Rock Bottom before bringing it home. The first time I could not finish. I poured out the unfinished portion and found that it filled a pint glass. Lucky for me, it was a low-alcohol brew. The second time was a farewell drink after replacing it. I had a final pull of beer amounting to only a few sips. I had no intention of ever filling this thing again! I settled on a pot that holds just over one pint. After a pint, I want a different beer anyway! I will leave the tag intact to commemorate this one’s life as a real Rock Bottom mug.

In addition to bowls and mugs, I have tried to expose myself to many shapes. I have created closed shapes and lids, spouts for teapots, slab-constructed bowls and plates, teacups and pitchers. I have a lot more to learn, but I feel comfortable with the entire process now and I have thought about buying a wheel. I was fortunate enough to have a great instructor whose praise and criticism brought me to appreciate what I make and to improve my technique. I think this will be something I love doing for a long time, although it’s been a while since I last made anything.

The Present

I used to be a customer of Fired Up, a studio in Northeast Minneapolis where I rented studio space and had access to wheels, glazes, kilns and a wealth of knowledge and experience from others. Fired Up is a neat place that my former instructor, Teena introduced me to. My motivation to rent space there was surpassed the changes in my life (getting married) and the time commitments to other activities. Although I miss the space and the time I set aside to work with clay, I was able to produce some interesting work while it lasted. Teena invited me to display my work in the Northern Clay Center's 1999 Student Faculty Exhibition. This was quite an honor for me to be selected from her many students. We had hoped to have a nice little teapot to display, but it proved to be a failure. The glaze ran and the pot cracked and the spout and handle turned and a few other things went wrong. I decided to call it my 5-Failure Teapot and now consider it a prototype for the remake.

For the show, I displayed the redesigned version, and this one turned out great! This is the teapot pictured here as it was displayed at the show. You can also take a look at Teena's piece, the Rinocerous Beetle Teapot which also appeared in the show. As for the 5-Failure Teapot, it is now smashed to pieces and is comfortably nestled into a landfill somewhere.

The Future

I hope to someday have my own wheel. That is obvious now. This means that I will either need private studio space or a space at home for studio work. I can imagine dedicating a room or basement area to studio work. This would include a pottery wheel, a wedging table, some shelves both sealed and open to the air, and some decent wash tubs. Someday perhaps a kiln would be nice, but at this point there are better kilns that I can use. I could fire my work at Fired Up or explore alternatives. Either way, I hope to get back into throwing pottery in the future. I think my best work is yet to come.