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!
