LISA YORK ARTS
  • Shop
  • About
  • Ceramics + Wood
  • Connect
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • About
  • Ceramics + Wood
  • Connect
  • Blog
Search

Reasons to Buy Handmade Pottery: Interview Brett Thomas

9/30/2019

 
Picture
Picture

​About Brett:  
"I’m am artist who studied Ceramics.  I love making hand made vessels to serve and entertain.  Currently, I uses the historic term “Trencher” in a contemporary approach to server my dinners."
 
Do you collect handmade pottery?
"I travel a lot due to my business.  In doing so, I meet quite A few artist.  If  I’m drawn to a piece that catches my eye, I will buy it!"
 
Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"I enjoy buying handmade potter due to the fact, that the piece is a memory of the artist.  When, I choose to use their pottery with my meal,  It reminds me of the maker and our relationship."
 
How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
"I had admired Lisa’s pottery before we meet.  Then, I had the opportunity to curate a show “Essential Earth” Lisa was one of the artist I had invited to take part within the exhibition.  I was planning to buy one of her pieces but, it sold before I had the chance to buy it!
So, when she was conducting a workshop at CAC Community Arts Center in Wallingford, PA  I was able to purchase her beautiful pottery."
Learn more about Brett's work on his website.
​
Read stories about why other people collect and buy handmade pottery by clicking the button below.
Art Collector's Stories

#NationalCoffeeDay

9/30/2019

 

I hope you celebrated National Coffee Day September 29th!

Picture
I celebrated by bringing my handmade mugs over to Stone Creek Coffee for National Coffee Day, September 29th!
Stone Creek Coffee makes my favorite coffee bean...Creme City. I now have my beans to make delicious coffee at home with a discount on National Coffee Day. Bonus of a free latte that came with each bag of beans.
Keep on drinking that yummy coffee and enjoy the small moments in life!

Reasons to Buy Handmade Pottery: Rachel Brask

9/23/2019

 
Picture
Picture

About Rachel:
"I am a Rhode Island abstract painter creating contemporary oil paintings of my impressions rainy days."
 
Do you collect handmade pottery?
​"I used to think that I only had a few pieces of handmade pottery, purchased from here and there. Then I actually collected all of them in one place and found that I now have to admit I have a habit: I collect handmade pottery."
Picture
Picture
Picture

Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"I’ve always had a compulsion to buy mugs, I love mugs. Back in college when I first knew artists that could make these beautiful ceramic mugs, I was always excited to make art trades with them for mugs, or buy direct from them to support them. Amongst my collection I have pottery by Lisa York, Paul Christiansen, and Cameo Lussier-Lawrence. I enjoy  buying handmade pottery for a few reasons. I appreciate how handcrafted mugs usually have more detail into the mold of how a person more comfortably holds the handle.  There’s something about certain ceramic mug that will spark something in me to want to take it home:  a color, texture, or the way it’s shaped.
​
I also love to purchase pottery directly from the artist because then I get to know their story, and the story of the mug or bowl they create. Then when I drink my tea or coffee from these vessels, they remind me of a fellow artist, a friend, and I’ll wonder how they are now and what they’re up to today.  Since I am a visual artist, my painting sessions in the studio always start with a cup of black tea in one of my artisanal mugs, because I feel like the creativity that went into the making of that mug then sparks my own creativity in my next painting."
 

How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
​"I met Lisa in college where we were both art majors and we became friends. I think I obtained some of my first few Lisa York originals through some small art trades, and in later years through her online shop or social media. It has been wonderful to keep in touch and to see where her beautiful handcrafted ceramic artistry is going, as well as to keep an eye on what else I want to buy of hers in the future.
I often like to start my fall mornings on the porch with a cup of tea in a Lisa York ceramic mug."
Learn more about Rachel check out her:
website, instagram, and facebook page. 

​To read other stories like this one click the button below.
Other Pottery Collectors

The Perfect Fall Bouquet

9/18/2019

 

Fill a wood fired vase with Mums!

Picture
Time to bring out the earth tones and warm colors for fall!

The warm shades of brown to yellow to red of my wood fire vases pair beautifully with a reddish earth-toned flowers for a fall bouquet. No flowers says fall better than mums. They are such a beautiful hardy flower that bloom in the fall.
To complete the look of the bouquet and I added diversity to the texture and color with mini carnations and one statement flower...a Dahlia of course.
Now make a hot cup of tea and enjoy the change of colors outdoors from green to warm colors.

2. Neutral to Oxidation Atmospheric Soda Firing

9/17/2019

 

Interview: Jason Bohnert

Cone 10 Oxidation Soda Fire Glazes:

Picture
Cone 10 Willie Helux Glaze
(high luxury remix of Helix Glaze)
 
Nepheline Syenite      39.68g
EPK                             11.11g
Silica                           30.16g
Whiting                        19.05g
​
​Add:
Copper Carbonate     1.2g
Black Copper Oxide  5g
Bentonite                    2g
Picture
Cone 10 Turquoise Oribe Glaze

            

Bone Ash 1.94g                                
Strontium Carbonate 9.36g
Talc 3.98g
Whiting 17.87g
Custer Feldspar 28.53g
EPK 3.23g
Flint 35.09g
​
​Add:

Copper Carbonate 6.67g
Bentonite 2g

Information about his firing techniques:

Why did you choose oxidation soda firing over reduction soda firings?
"My work in the soda kiln relies on contrasts between the warm tones of raw clay and flashing slips with yellow, orange, and red hues and vivid cool colors of copper glazes.
Using varying glaze recipes and proportions of Copper Carbonate and Copper oxide, along with some Red iron oxide and cobalt, I am able to achieve a range of greens, blues, and purples in a neutral/oxidized atmosphere, once past body reduction. If I continue to reduce the kiln beyond body reduction, especially a heavy reduction, some of these glazes would turn mauve, pink, and red hues, with some blistering, elephant skin, and/or pinholing."
 
How does the color in oxidation soda firing differ from reduction soda firing?
"The copper saturate glazes (intended to go green to blue) use between 2-6 or even 8% copper, compared to a Copper Red Glaze, which may only use between ¼-2% Copper Carbonate. Such glazes, in reduction, will not blister or pinhole, and turn a clear to vivid deep bright to blood red hue when fired and applied properly. The Copper Saturate Glazes are not meant to go red, and need a cleaner, neutral to oxidized firing atmosphere to achieve the greens and blues. With the addition of soda in the kiln, the green and blue glazes often appear brighter and have more of a range of colors from the added flux."
 
What Kilns or burners are the easiest to do oxidation soda firings?
"I have used both venturi style and forced air, although forced air gives you the most potential for control of air to gas ratios. Wood kilns can easily achieve the ideal neutral atmosphere for these copper saturate glazes as well, but care must be taken not too over reduce during glaze temps. The wood-fire practice of reduction cooling is NOT kind to these Copper Saturate glazes and will almost guarantee extreme blistering, pinholing, and unattractive mauve hues. Avoid these glazes if the goal of the wood firing is reduction. I fired in a cross-draft catenary arch style wood kiln with these glazes and achieved beautiful results."
 
How do you even out a kiln without going into reduction?
"The active damper is your friend to achieve even pressure inside the kiln. Using the riostat (blower fan speed adjustments) and air flaps (air volume regulators) along with gas lever (gas volume control), one can balance gas to air ratios, maintaining a neutral/oxidized atmosphere (or whatever atmosphere is desired). I mostly fire in cross draft style kilns, so, in general, pushing the damper in moves the heat to the top; whereas, pulling it out encourages heat to rush across the floor and out exit flues, heating the bottom. Using the damper and reading flames out the bottom spy is a standard gauge for even pressure inside kiln. I like to have a tiny lick of flame out the bottom spy to ensure I have enough for even temps, but not too much, which could stall the climb in temperature or create unwanted reduction."
 
What kind of glazes are best in oxidation soda firings?
"I use a lot of shino, amber celadons, blue celadons, temmoku (iron saturate) and copper saturate glazes. When using Copper Saturate glazes in a soda kiln, I typically avoid using them as liner glazes, due to inevitable crazing and the potential for leaching with acidic foods/beverages. Especially when using barium or strontium to brighten copper blue glazes, I keep them on exteriors for color pop, and leave safer glazes on interiors."
        
What’s a typical firing schedule for you, including when do you add soda?
"I typically load and light day 1.
I will light one burner for several hours, before lighting the other, and then do a turn up or two before bed, allowing a steady preheat.
About 5 am I begin hourly turnups until body reduction, which I begin at cone 012/010. I do increase gas and push damper in further and continue body reduction until cone 08 is down. Now I begin increasing the air, using riostat and flaps, to clean up atmosphere to neutral and use damper to create desired pressure (tiny flame out bottom spy). This continues through heating, adjusting air and damper while monitoring evenness top to bottom, until cone 9 begins to fall.
At this point I prepare soda to introduce, dry first, then sprayed, until desired amount is used up. The dry soda ash or baking soda is mixed equal parts with soda, whiting, and wood chips/sawdust, and mixed into a thick paste using minimal water, then smeared onto bark or small wood slabs. These are stoked into kiln every 15-20 minutes until gone. I wait until cone 10 is down and sometimes spray some soda ash in water at end, then shut down kiln."
About Jason:
"I was born in Louisville, KY, did graduate studies at West Virginia University and in Jingdezhen, China, and now reside in Flagstaff, AZ. I’m a Senior Lecturer in the School of Art at Northern Arizona University, where I teach design, drawing, and ceramics. I make pottery at my home studio, which I designed and built myself between fall 2017-present. My work explores organic forms and the architectural details of the vessel. Hues and textures I experience in the natural world are evident in my ceramic surfaces, created from atmospheric firing in wood and soda kilns. I am interested in the shared moments handmade pots can create through daily use, during communal wood firings, shared meals, and rituals of coffee and tea. All wood and soda-fired work is fired to 2400 degrees and is very durable and food safe. Studio visits are welcomed by appointment - Message or email me to schedule."

Learn More about Jason's work on:                           
Instagram
Etsy
Sign up to continue to be a part of this Soda Fire Educational Series!
Join Soda Fire Educational Series

Reasons to Buy Handmade Pottery:  Cissy Padgham

9/16/2019

 
Picture
About Cissy:
"I’m a retired commercial interior designer.  After discovering the local community art center in 2002, making pottery has been a huge part of my life, artistically and socially." 
 
Do you collect handmade pottery?
"My home is filled with a mix of my own pottery, and pieces I’ve bought over the past 20 years."
 
Why do you buy handmade pottery?
"I love that it’s functional art and I get to enjoy it and use it every day."
 
How did you acquire a Lisa York piece of pottery?
"In August 2019 Lisa York held a soda workshop at the Community Art Center in Wallingford, PA, where I purchased three of her bud vases." 
 
What’s your favorite part about the Lisa York piece of pottery you own?
"They’re not round!  She changes symmetrical pots into ones that are lively, and full of movement by her altering/carving, and glazing techniques."  

​Click button to read more...
Stories on why to buy handmade
    Picture
    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.

    GET INSPIRATION AND SPECIAL DEALS DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

      Join Now

    Subscribe

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Art Exhibition
    Behind The Scenes
    Coffee + Tea
    Collect Art
    Customer Reviews
    Events
    Flowers + Plants
    Food
    Home Decor
    Inspiration
    Mug Adventures
    New Art Work
    #PotsandMemories
    Pots In Use
    Press
    Seasons + Holidays
    Soda Firing
    Travel + Art
    + Wood
    Wood Firing
    Workshops

    Archives

    October 2021
    September 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    February 2018
    September 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    March 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015

  • Shop
  • About
  • Ceramics + Wood
  • Connect
  • Blog