Month: March 2017

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I have this odd dichotomy where I love very simple things like a berry bowl with clear glaze allowing the beauty of the natural speckled clay to shine through and hold its own as a design element. Then there is the other part, where I love over the top, intricate detailed work. 

I started making sprig mold a few months back. A spring mold is when you take an object and push it into a slab of clay and fire it, just one time…a bisque fire. This leaves it porus. When you want to add a design to your pots, you fill the indent with clay, and then pop it out and attach the molded piece to your work. I learned about this while geeking out and watching an historical clip from Wedgwood Potteries. Here is the link if you are oddly curious. 

This looked like fun so, I started creating different sprig molds and playing a little bit. Hey if it works for Wedgwood it’s good enough for me. I started with a thrown vase. I loved the results so I then rescued a birdhouse that was bound for the reclaim bin, again I saw real possibilities. This is very time consuming, and will need to be priced accordingly, but oh so much fun. I will be laying out designs some times, but other times just playing with a vessel to see what happens. Am I changing my whole ascetic, no, but I am adding some real detailed work to my production schedule. I am still finding my “voice” as a potter so this too will evolve, but what a wonderful branch off so far.

Finished product!

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The calendar says March, but the snow last night and the frigid temperature says January. None the less, Spring is actually on her way. In preparation I’ve been producing flower pots and planters. I’ve been approached by a few people about designing pots for them. Here are a few of the pots I’ve been creating. I’ve been trying to come up with a “signature” flower pot. I think this tapered pot with the fluted rim may be what I am looking for. I like the overall design. I like that it takes the basic pot and with just a few adjustments creates a completely unique pot.  I have a feeling I will be throwing this fluted pot for many years to come.

I am always looking for ways to increase visibility. I love watching potters throw and follow many on Periscope and You Tube. I prefer the more interactive “live” feeds that then can be viewed later. I did a short Periscope at a support Planned Parenthood event, but then decided to bite the bullet and do a live pottery throw on Periscope. I get it all set up and then I have technical problems. Here I am, clay all wedged and tools out, ready to take the plunge and throw myself off the cliff and see how well I land and I can’t go live. I don’t want to waste this moment so I decide to throw live on Face Book. At first I started on my personal page, but soon realized (just a few minutes in) that it made more sense to do it from the Yellow Door Page. I quickly pop over and turn it on. I have to say I loved it for many reasons. It was fun, interactive, it allowed me to talk about my work and process, something artisans don’t get a chance to do often. Because FB live is still very new, it surprised people when I acknowledged them as a viewer. My sister, shared the live event and others started to follow. When I was done, I realized you could then post it on your page…great, let’s see what happens. So it’s not just live, but you can also preserve it so others can see it later. Amazing.

The next day, I do it again, but this time I announce it on my personal FB page and invite people to watch it on Yellow Door. Even more live viewers this time and people I never would have guessed would be remotely interested. The feeds take a life of their own on. People viewed and shared and soon I have a couple of hundred viewers for each live feed I do, most of them after the fact, on play back, but viewers none the less, who can spread the word.

I don’t do anything special, I just decide ahead what I am working on that day and turn on the feed and talk…or not sometimes…and do my thing. I have been doing this about a week, and not everyday as I still have that pesky full time job, but the total viewership of my 5 videos is over one thousand hits. 

People are fascinated by something they think they can’t do and most like to watch other people work. I like to talk and I love to talk about pottery, it’s a perfect blend. There is still so much to explore in this area, but so far I would rate this new adventure a huge success.

I’ll drop a link to one of my first so you can get an idea. My technique, both throwing and as a video presenter is far from flawless, but it is just me with all my bumps and warts. The added bonus, which I didn’t expect, is I can watch it back later and critique my throwing technique.

Best…Teri