Blog Archives

Gifts of the Craftsmen, Art Exhibition

7/31/2019

Onion Jar, Wood-Fired with Yellow Salt Glaze

Over 20 of my ceramic pieces including this Onion Jar, Garlic Jar, and Mug will be a part of the art exhibition "Gifts of the Craftsman."

Location: Ohio Craft Museum
1665 W. 5th Ave.
Columbus, OH 43212

Dates: November 3- December 23, 2019

Mug, Wood-Fired, Wild Rutile Flashing Slip

Garlic Jar, Wood-Fired, with Flashing Slip and Shino Interior Glaze

To see more of my art work included in other exhibitions please

Click Here

Reasons to Buy Handmade Pottery: Peter W. Stevenson

7/17/2019

About Pete:
"I believe that art resonates with us in an infinite number of ways and at different space/times. How we choose to honor these gifts helps shape who we are, what we choose to do now, and how we choose to act in the future. I hope that my work resonates with people, sparks growth, and that it leads to mindful conversations."

Do you collect handmade pottery ?
"My collection has a great deal of meaning to me. The works are all by talented artists and good friends of mine. The work holds significance in the artistry and sentiment."

Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"I enjoy the nuance, artistry, and the sense of the artist’s hand visible in the work. Someone made this and they chose to share it with me."

How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
"The artworks I have that Lisa York created were both gifts and purchases."

Learn more about Pete and check out his art work on his website.
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Soda versus Salt Firing

7/17/2019

What color saturation do you like?

Soda = Brighter Colors

Salt = Muted Colors

Vessels, Heavy Soda/Reduction in a Gas Firing

Vessel, Wood Fired in a Salt Chamber

Orange Peel surface texture can happen in both soda and salt firings. If you desire to obtain orange peel surfaces select a clay body that contains a lot of silica sand, or add additional silica sand.

Soda Fired Mug with Yellow Salt Glaze on White Stoneware.

Soda Fired Creamer and Mug with Yellow Salt Glaze on White Stoneware.

I really enjoy opportunities to fire in both Soda and Salt kilns.
For the majority of my work I choose to fire in soda as I appreciate the brighter color palette. While some glazes cooperate in both soda and salt firing not all recipes are interchangeable in the success of how they come out of each unique kiln. So it's important to test your glazes and slips. Note which ones you like best in which firing atmosphere.

Read more articles to learn more about soda firing by clicking button below.

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Wood Fired Bud Vase in Salt Chamber

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Reasons to Buy Handmade Pottery: Tameria Martinez

7/12/2019

About Tameria:
"I am a potter and instructor living in Boonsboro MD where I create decorative and functional ware fired in wood burning kilns and I experiment with atmospheric effects in electric kilns."

Do you collect handmade pottery?
"I have collected handmade pottery for over 40 years resulting in an extensive collection of works from hundreds of my favorite potters."

How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
"I acquired an Onion Box from Lisa York at the NCECA Ash & Flash exhibition in Pittsburgh, PA where our work was displayed at Sweetwater Center for the Arts"

Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"My love of handmade pottery is driven by the knowledge of the 'making process.' I understand how much thought, design, labor, and especially heart and soul goes into creating a work in clay. The feeling of the spirit of the creator is in every piece that I own. Some pieces that I have collected are used daily, others are used for inspiration and observed for superior craftsmanship that I can strive for in my own work. Still other pieces surround me in every room of my home to fill those spaces with the spirit of the Makers. It seems to me that these pots have breath of their own and fill me with the joy of seeing beautiful handmade work every day."

Learn more about Tameria on her website and her page on instagram.

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Ceramic Studio Update

7/12/2019

I have a home/studio!

After many months of looking...we finally have a home to call our own in Milwaukee, WI. It's going to take a few more months to water proof my new basement studio, and to install tile flooring.
So, I am making the best of it, and turning my creative energy over to wood working. Finally using these maple boards and black walnut slab that were wedding gifts. I'm looking forward to sharing before and after photos.

Check out other Behind the Scenes Stories:

Reasons to Buy Handmade Pottery: Anna Jacobson

7/8/2019

About Anna:
Printmaker, Painter, Artist

Do you collect handmade pottery?
"Yes, as much as I possibly can."

Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"Art comes in many forms. Some art hangs on the wall, some art is seen and heard, and some art is held in your hands. Life it too short to not be able to enjoy art everyday, so why not buy and use handmade pottery?! As an artist I want to support my fellow artist. Buying handmade pottery helps me to minimize the existence of “stuff” in my life. Each piece has it story, purpose, and brings me joy in some way (ie. the color/pattern, texture, how fits in my hand, or the potter who create it).
For me using my handmade pottery everyday is a form of storytelling. What character created it? How far did travel? What kinds of adventures accompanied this plate, bowl, mug, etc? I love holding the bowl that its perfectly in my hand while eating breakfast and thinking back on who made it, how many different apt cupboards it has occupied, and the miracle it doesn’t have a chipped lip."

How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
"Lisa and I meet in Graduate School. In the tradition of artists: we bartered. I got ceramics and she got a print. Since then I have added to my Lisa York collection. Lisa has a great eye for pattern and shape."

Learn more about Anna on her website: www.annakjacobson.com

To read other stories like this one click the button below.

Interview: Kristen Kieffer

7/1/2019

Artists Who Used to Soda Fire

Left: Soda Fired Jar 2005 Right: Electric Fired Jar 2007

Soda Fired Flower Brick 2005

Top: Soda Fired Mugs 2005 Bottom: Electric Fired Mugs 2007

About Kristen: Full-time studio potter since 2003.

What attracted you to soda firing?
"I began soda-firing when I worked with studio potter John Glick at his studio in MI in 1996-97. As a ‘precise potter,’ I liked the variation in surface it provided, and the beautiful depth."

What led you to leaving soda firing?
"Buying a house in 2005, and not being able to afford to build a kiln, nor having one in proximity. If I hadn’t have HAD to abandon soda, I probably would have plugged on, but it was the best thing that could happen to me and my work. I love color, and cone 10 soda reduction is automatically going to result in duller, bleached-out color. Switching to cone 7 oxidation gave me COLOR!"

What aspects do you miss and not miss about soda firing?
"I miss some of the colors available from soda (flashing oranges, for example), but that’s about it.
I don’t miss wadding; filling and loading a larger kiln; the duty (time & attention) required in firing a gas kiln; wearing eye protection and respirator to spray soda; problems with the sprayer; bricking up the door; problems with the kiln; anxiety of firing with gas; drummeling glaze drips and wadding; crap falling into work during the firing and being glazed in place; scraping and washing shelves; bad results; limitation on forms; and lastly, customers not understanding the variation. So apparently I don’t miss it much."

What aspects of soda firing do you reference in your current work?
"I’m not sure." Read post on use of layers by clicking here.

Images above are examples of Kristen's current work, check out her more of her work on her website.

Read more articles to learn more about soda firing by clicking button on right.

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