2010 Art Exhibition
      Share a Pot and a Memory |
 Back side of giveaway mug. | This is an exclusive giveaway just for members in my email list. I will be picking the winner at random Monday, January 27th. So you can still join to be entered in the giveaway. You can also check out work on my online shop. |
Share a Pot and a Memory
#PotsandMemories
I’m sharing a story about my Sandy Lockwood mug that was gifted to me by Jeff Oestreich during grad school at University of North Dakota. Sandy Lockwood is an amazing potter in Balmoral, Australia making great Salt glazed wood fired pottery.
I would love to share a story from you about a pot in your pottery collection. Send me an email if you would like to participate.
To see other videos from this Share a Pot an a Memory click the button below.
To see other videos from this Share a Pot an a Memory click the button below.
Art Exhibition
Wisconsin Designers Crafts Counsel Biennial Members Exhibition
My Ceramic Basket will be a part of the exhibition. 8x9x8 inches.
Location:
Plymouth Art Center, 520 E Mill Street, Plymouth, WI
ARTISTS’ OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday, January 24, 2020 from 4:30-7:30 PM
Location:
Plymouth Art Center, 520 E Mill Street, Plymouth, WI
ARTISTS’ OPENING RECEPTION:
Friday, January 24, 2020 from 4:30-7:30 PM
Click the button below to see other upcoming events.
The Interview:
 | About Ron: "I’ve been making pots full time in Shelby, NC since 1997. I took my first pottery lesson at a night class in 1992. I studied mathematics in college but wanted to go to art school. I had hoped to become a sculptor or painter and live in a big city. Instead, I became a potter, making cups and bowls; living a nice, quite life in the country. When I’m not working in the pottery studio I enjoy reading, drawing, journaling, drinking tea, playing drums, and practicing yoga." |
 | When did you start Soda firing? "I started using soda in 2013 when I built a new kiln. I had been a salt glazer from 1997-2008. In 2008 I started working in earthenware fired in an electric kiln and I took a 5 year break from salt glazing. When I decided to go back in 2013 I took down my salt kiln. The fireboxes were in bad shape and it was time for a rebuild. After the new kiln was finished I decided I’d use only soda and no salt. I also decided to work with a lighter clay body. With my salt glaze work I had used a course stoneware. After testing a few different clay bodies I settled on Laguna B-Mix with grog for the soda fired pots." |
Why did you switch from low-fire graphic work to soda-fired ceramics?
"After making the low fire work for several years I began missing the salt glaze surface. I love the variety of surface and somewhat unpredictable results from sodium glazed pots. The earthenware taught me a lot. I had fun coming up with the animals and other motifs I used on the low fire pots. I also enjoyed working with color here and there. I had four different bodies of work in the earthenware over the whole time I was making low fire. The decoration was labor intensive. When making stoneware I had been used to the pot being practically finished when it came off the wheel. For the earthenware I’d make a batch of pots and then have to sit and decorate them all. I liked that the batch size was much smaller. I could fill my electric kiln very quickly and then just push a button to fire. With the propane kiln I had to make at least 150 pots and it took 16-20 hrs to fire.
Low fire glazes were a challenge as well. I wanted a clear glaze and an amber glaze that had the depth and beauty of pots I had seen from England that were covered in lead glazes. Of course I could not use lead. I had a few glazes I used but I was always a bit unhappy with them."
Tell me about the challenges and joys of switching from low fire to Cone 10 soda fired ceramics.
"It was pretty easy for me to go back to high fire since I had been doing it for so many years before I switched to earthenware. It was great to get back to some clay that I could really throw. My first soda firing went pretty well. I had some nice surfaces and soda glaze coverage. I was not drawing on the pots. I was doing some stamping, rope impressing, faceting, etc. All that looked great in soda, much as it had in salt. I liked the more directional aspect of soda. The pots had lots of variation from one side to the other."
"It was pretty easy for me to go back to high fire since I had been doing it for so many years before I switched to earthenware. It was great to get back to some clay that I could really throw. My first soda firing went pretty well. I had some nice surfaces and soda glaze coverage. I was not drawing on the pots. I was doing some stamping, rope impressing, faceting, etc. All that looked great in soda, much as it had in salt. I liked the more directional aspect of soda. The pots had lots of variation from one side to the other."
What inspired you to start adding drawings of animals onto your soda fired work?
"I had really loved putting the animals on the earthenware. I had tried several times over the years to decorate the sodium fired pots in a way that worked for me and looked okay. I never felt like I was good with a brush. I probably just gave up too soon. With the earthenware I had used sgraffito and that was great. The contrast of white slip on red clay was so bold. I liked the sharp line and detail I could get. But it was hard on my body, all that scratching away of clay. So I didn’t want to go back to that. Throughout the time making soda glaze I would every now and again try a pot with some imagery on it. Nothing ever appealed to me until I started using the wax resist method. This was a technique I had seen Michael Simon use very early on in my pottery life. I knew a few folks who used wax and I had dabbled in it a bit. In early 2019 I took the plunge and decorated about 20 pots and fired them alongside the other pots in the kiln. That’s how I’m currently decorating, using wax in the negative spaces and brushing on an underglaze slip for the imagery. I am back to very labor-intensive work again! I love the results but I am wishing I had a smaller kiln. I’d like to make 50-60 pots and then fire."
 | Are you firing your soda kiln differently with this newer work? "Before I started decorating I was putting 3 ½ lbs of soda ash in the kiln. That was great for the textured pots and all the surface action I wanted. With the new pots I’ve backed off to 2 lbs. I also am firing a little cooler. Instead of cone 10 flat I’m now firing to cone 9. I’m experimenting with some slips that look nice if they are a bit cooler and drier. It’s funny, I was all into shiny and more soda for a few years, now I’m going the other way." |
What is a typical firing schedule/ soda introduction for you?
"My firings are about 16 hrs long.
I fire in a medium reduction. I’m looking for flashed surfaces and some soda build up. I don’t want a lot of gray carbon trapping. I mix soda ash in a 1 lb per 1 gallon of hot water ratio. I start spraying at cone 8. I’ll go around the kiln spraying in 5 sec bursts in each of the 14 ports. I also have 10 ports in the door that I will sometimes use. After each cycle of spraying I wait 15 minutes and repeat. I pull draw rings to gauge the amount of soda build up. Spraying takes about 1 ½ hrs.
After I’ve used as much soda as I want I’ll oxidize the kiln for 30 minutes and make sure I’ve reached the cone I’m going for (9 for the decorated work, 10 flat for the undecorated) before shutting off the gas. I then pull some of the soda ports and open the damper to crash cool down to about 2025 deg F. I think this fast cooling promotes brighter slip colors."
"My firings are about 16 hrs long.
I fire in a medium reduction. I’m looking for flashed surfaces and some soda build up. I don’t want a lot of gray carbon trapping. I mix soda ash in a 1 lb per 1 gallon of hot water ratio. I start spraying at cone 8. I’ll go around the kiln spraying in 5 sec bursts in each of the 14 ports. I also have 10 ports in the door that I will sometimes use. After each cycle of spraying I wait 15 minutes and repeat. I pull draw rings to gauge the amount of soda build up. Spraying takes about 1 ½ hrs.
After I’ve used as much soda as I want I’ll oxidize the kiln for 30 minutes and make sure I’ve reached the cone I’m going for (9 for the decorated work, 10 flat for the undecorated) before shutting off the gas. I then pull some of the soda ports and open the damper to crash cool down to about 2025 deg F. I think this fast cooling promotes brighter slip colors."
Where do you see your work going from here?
"I am enjoying the more decorated work that I’ve been making this year. I will continue to work on that, coming up with new imagery and forms. I would like to have a try at cone 2 soda firing. I have a custom clay body that I like and I think would work well at that temperature. I may also build a smaller kiln."
"I am enjoying the more decorated work that I’ve been making this year. I will continue to work on that, coming up with new imagery and forms. I would like to have a try at cone 2 soda firing. I have a custom clay body that I like and I think would work well at that temperature. I may also build a smaller kiln."
His Flashing Slip Recipes
 |  |
| Bauer Flashing Slip EPK 42 OM4 Ball Clay 42 Zircopax 10.5 Borax 5.5 | Tile 6 Slip Tile 6 Kaolin 14 Grolleg Kaolin 3 Neph. Sy. 2 Silica 1 |
Do you have any final words of encouragement for an artist in transition?
"I feel like I’ve followed my interests and done what I wanted. It’s no good chasing what you think you might sell or what others will like. Do what you want. If you love it that will show in the work and people will be drawn to it. I have switched ways of working many times now. It’s all been fun and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve had folks stick with me through it all and I’ve lost some customers too. But I only do what I love to do and that gets me in the studio day after day."
Check out more of Rons work!
Website https://www.ronphilbeckpottery.com/
Etsy Shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/RonPhilbeckPottery
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ronphilbeck/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ronphilbeckpottery/
Etsy Shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/RonPhilbeckPottery
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ronphilbeck/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ronphilbeckpottery/
Thanks Ron for being so generous with the information you have shared in this interview! If you would like to see future soda fire artists interviews like this, and to learn more about soda firing from me join my soda fire community by clicking the button below. I am also open to requests for topics you would like to learn about.
Share a Pot and a Memory
#PotsandMemories
 | My friend Andrew Linderman shares a memory behind his S. C. Rolf cup. "I can remember at least one story that accompanies each of the handmade pots that we own. Whether it’s a story about the artist, what I was doing when I got the piece, or a memory of a time that I’ve used the piece. These fond memories slowly add layers of sentiment and attachment to the pots. As a craftsperson and artist, I hope that my work is also used on a regular basis, so it too can become a thread woven into the tapestry of its user’s life." -Andrew Linderman |
I would love to share a story from you about a pot in your pottery collection. Send me an email if you would like to participate.
A Juried Exhibition at Washington Street Studios
Here are three of my pieces that were included in the exhibition:
 | Lisa York Fruit Bowl, 2019, 8x8x5 |
 | Lisa York Mug, 2019, 4x3x4 |
 | Lisa York Colander, 2019, 10x7x6 |
Juror's Statement- Christ Landers
"potluck
/pätˈlək/
noun
A communal gathering where each guest or group contributes a different, often homemade
dish of food to be shared.
I would like to thank Jenna Gianni, without her this exhibition would not have been
possible.
As an artist, one of the reasons I am drawn to this medium is for the community who often
gather to share their ideas, support, and nourishment. To represent these attributes of the
ceramic family I have named the exhibition “Potluck”. I would like to thank all of the
invited artists for setting the overall tone for this exhibition. Each of the submissions to this
call had merit and showed great ability making these decisions difficult. Though the
decisions were not easy, I think it is the juror’s responsibility to curate a cohesive exhibition
to the best of their ability. I hope you enjoy the work of all of these wonderful artists as one
cohesive Potluck."
"potluck
/pätˈlək/
noun
A communal gathering where each guest or group contributes a different, often homemade
dish of food to be shared.
I would like to thank Jenna Gianni, without her this exhibition would not have been
possible.
As an artist, one of the reasons I am drawn to this medium is for the community who often
gather to share their ideas, support, and nourishment. To represent these attributes of the
ceramic family I have named the exhibition “Potluck”. I would like to thank all of the
invited artists for setting the overall tone for this exhibition. Each of the submissions to this
call had merit and showed great ability making these decisions difficult. Though the
decisions were not easy, I think it is the juror’s responsibility to curate a cohesive exhibition
to the best of their ability. I hope you enjoy the work of all of these wonderful artists as one
cohesive Potluck."
You can still find my pieces along with other work made by me and other artists at their Front Porch Gallery.
Check out other recent and upcoming events by clicking the button below.
Hi, I'm Lisa the artist and creator of this content.
Here on my blog I share behind the scenes, events, and activities related to my art.
Here on my blog I share behind the scenes, events, and activities related to my art.
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