They Say Magicians Never Reveal Their Secrets..

First successful plate firing @ The Meadows Pottery

      However, I'm no magician.. Although I would love to say otherwise, "slippin" my plates came about because I could not throw good plates to begin with. Always plagued by interior ridges between the foot to wall transition, I yearned for ways to hide these marks. As an avid fan of both Matt Long and Chris Staley, I immediately fell in love with the use of throwing slip as a way to create gestural lines throughout my work.  From the start, I looked for ways to make the slip "my own" in order to avoid looking derivative of those who came before me. Coating the plates in slip both hid the ridges and created an interactive surface for the wood kiln.

First successful plate firing @ UofL

        After wood firing a few rounds of these plates I knew the slip was here to stay. I also knew I HAD to get better at throwing plates. Rather than letting the slip act as a crutch for the lacking formal element, I wanted both the slip and the plate form to develop individual strengths as well as communal strengths that made them inseparable. Those who know me know that when I find something I like, I tend to like it a bit too much. The gears were turning in my head, and my studio space became "slipped plate city". 

        From the start, one of my core interests with the plates was the potential for differing surface development. In my opinion, most wood fired plates need a little something extra to make the surface worth focusing on. Rather than turning to glazing, I wanted to use the natural kiln environment to "paint" my work. In a sense, the slip ridges and cups stacked (the 3 dots you see on the plates are from cups wadded and stacked on top of the plates during the wood firing) on top of the plates act as miniature roadblocks for the flame and ash. Instead of allowing the fire to pass right by, these small additions force the flame to take an alternate path, leaving beautiful flashing marks on the surface. In the same way, ash is encouraged to settle around the cup or on low points in the ridges, leaving behind beautiful ash pools.

       

Look at that flashing!

         Would you believe that all of these plates are fired without the use of glazes or flashing slips? Unfortunately, nobody believes me unless they see the plates going in as bare clay during the loading. While I wouldn't say I have ZERO interest in glazing, my interest is minimal. So is my attention span. Rather, I am far more fascinated with the color, texture, and variety created by the firing process. While there is an exact science that explains all the organic minerals in wood and their effect when burned at a high temperature, there is still something magical about opening up each kiln and seeing all the variety in color and texture. Even identical pieces fired side by side can have completely different results. Whats not to be "fired" up about?

      Back to the whole two plates a day topic. "Office Space" is one of my favorite movies, and I am proud to say that yesterday I debunked the "case of the Mondays" theory. I finished up the day with 10 new plates, and with my tabletop full, I look forward to getting them trimmed up and throwing more.  If you could sit behind the scenes and watch me struggle to fill the pages, you would see that I have far too many images to go with as few words as I can come up with on a daily basis. Luckily, I see this blog as a chance to strengthen my ability to speak coherently about my work. However, for now I'll just stick to posting too many photos to go along with the words.

10 on a Monday

Random of the day...Angry Bird wood kiln!