using bisque molds 4.7.2022

As a ceramic handbuilder, it's nice to have molds on hand. I can use a mold to make several matching pieces, or to quickly create a form to build off of. Molds are typically made from plaster, but I don't want plaster in my home studio because 1) it takes more equipment that I don't …

self portrait in clay 5.30.2019

This spring, in the hand-building and sculpture class I took at the local community college, I made a bust. I tried to shape the face to look like me, and don't think I was very successful, but I still love how she turned out! Here are pics of the process and final sculpture. This is …

female head planter 11.1.2018

I'm in the process of creating a large garden planter in the shape of a female head. I've seen several created by other makers, and thought one of these would look great in my garden! I started off by throwing two cylinder shapes on the wheel. The taller pot on the left has no bottom …

new vase design 8.23.2018

I'm testing out a new vase design, and when I test, I always make more than one test;) First I threw three cylinders on the pottery wheel. Then I threw ten spouts,  even though I needed only three. It's a good idea to make more than I need, just to be sure I have the …

glaze test 6.7.2018

I bought a few new containers of Amaco Potters Choice glazes, and decided I'd like to try and combine the glazes to see what happens when they're layered. Ceramists often experiment with these "glaze tests." The plate is one I made from a rolled-out slab of clay. After the bisque firing, I layered 6 glazes, …

bone-dry clay repair 9.21.2017

I made another coil-built vessel out of porcelain clay (you can view a similar pot I made earlier this year here.) After the latest piece was bone-dry, which means all moisture has evaporated from the clay and it's ready to be bisque fired, I picked it up to dust off any teeny bits of clay …

unicorn cup – wip 8.3.2017

My latest work in progress, or WIP, is a two-handled unicorn cup. I threw the cup on the potters wheel, and attached rolled-out coils of clay for the handles. Once the clay was hardened up enough to carve - but not too dry - I started the unicorn decoration. Here's a cup ready to work …

story of the stuck lid 5.11.2017

A couple months ago I enrolled in a one-night session of a handbuilding class at Midwest Clay Project. The guest teacher was Rachelle Miller from Hands In Clay (who is a great teacher, by the way!) She focused the class on lids, and that night I made this beautiful piece. The glaze is Coyote Opal, …