Process
Wheel thrown
Made on a pottery wheel.
Handbuilt
Created primarily by hand without the use of a potter’s wheel or machinery.
Coil/Slab building
Are techniques of either shaping clay into snakes to be joined or constructing sheets of clay into tiles or forms.
Vinculum Series
The word vinculum means "unifying bond". This work has been designed with a technique I developed using texture to create form. I delicately shape small fragments of clay together while intricately meshing it into a cohesive unit. Tenuous in the creation process, the forms are as likely to fall apart as hold together. Constricted under fire, each piece is a unique functional and sculptural work of art which exposes strength and resilience born under stress.
Electric Fired
The method of firing clay in a kiln heated by electricity, an electric kiln is a reliable method of firing. “The kiln is wrapped in fire brick with channels grooved into its walls holding coils made from a special alloy. Heat is produced by forcing electric current through the tightly wound metal loops.”
Gas Fired
The method of firing clay in a kiln heated by natural gas or propane. The fuel burning atmosphere inside the kiln is in reduction meaning the kiln doesn’t allow oxygen in during firing. Gas kilns are capricious and the results can be unpredictable producing distinctive surface effects.
Raku Fired
Raku Is a method of quickly firing clay, in a can outside. In Japan, Raku pottery vessels were used for the tea ceremony or Sake. The process itself is volatile with a high rate of breakage. By today’s standards the work is considered decorative and not food safe due to the low firing temperature.
Wood Fired
A very labor intensive process of firing clay in a large outdoor kiln. The process involves hand stoking wood for 24 hours to 7 days. This method of firing creates dramatic, earth tone one of a kind pieces.