Art to Go

It was exciting to see the pinch pots and other unique things you made out of the clay I gave you in this Art to Go project!

The first round of work has been bisque fired (to around 1700 degrees F) which makes it strong but not completely vitrified (when it is completely vitrified it should hold water). Just as I was getting ready to do the bisque firing my kiln malfunctioned so I asked the very generous potter Bob Chaundy if he could fire the work for me. I also had some work of my own to fire for a wood firing a couple of days later. Bob saved the day!

Your work is ready for the next step! I can offer you two options. 1) you can take it home and paint it with regular paints 2) I can give you some color options, apply the glaze, and fire it for you again in my electric kiln. If these were not unusual times I would have you glaze your own work (since you are the artist!) but given the way things are I think it would be best if I did this. You might know already that glazing is a bit unpredictable - it does not always match the idea you have in your head but sometimes it does, and there are some nice surprises too! It will take me a while to have enough work to fill my kiln and fire it. Send me an email at msepots@gmail.com and let me know what you would like to do with your work. Thanks!

Art to Go

I am a ceramic artist and feel lucky to be able to continue working with clay at home in my studio during this uncertain time. I would like to share a simple pinch pot project that I love to do. I’m calling it “Art to Go”. Sign up by leaving me a message on my website and I will leave a brown bag for you at the end of my driveway with some clay in it. If you need them I will leave some instructions but they are also included in this blog post. If you return your work I can fire it for you in my electric kiln when I have enough work for a full load. I hope you enjoy this project!

Making a Pinch Pot

First, Some things about clay:

What is Clay?

Clay is formed over the years from the decomposition of rock by the physical and chemical actions of wind, rain, erosion, and gasses.  Clay is unique in that, combined with water, it is plastic; It holds its shape when formed.  It is made of aluminum oxide, two silicon dioxides, and two water molecules. Its chemical formula is:

Al2O3-2SI02-2H2O

Clay changes as it dries and as it is fired.

Wet: can be formed into many shapes

Leather Hard: keeps its shape, attachments can be made carefully (slip and score), can be carved

Bone Dry: cannot be shaped anymore and is very fragile

Bisque Fired fired in a kiln to about 1800 degrees F, becomes strong and hard, still somewhat porous.

Glaze Fired: Glaze applied and fired in a kiln to about 2000 degrees F. The glaze materials melt forming a layer of glass on the clay which itself partially melts (vitrification). Very strong and non-porous (when fired to the correct temperature).

Some things to keep in mind when working with clay

Too much added water makes the clay weak, mushy, and hard to work with.  Try to add as little water as possible.

Keep the edges of your piece smooth and thick. Clay shrinks as it goes through drying and firing, sometimes as much as 15%, which can make a sharp edge much sharper. 

Compression is good! Try to pinch edges and smooth surfaces with pressure to compress the clay.  This helps to reduce cracking

Making a Pinch Pot

One Way to do it is:

Use a small amount of clay (the size of a small fist) and make a ball.

Press it into your elbow or your knee until you get an opening in your ball of clay. Or you can use your thumb to press in the clay and open it up.   

Start on the bottom and pinch a little at a time, all the way around, to thin out the clay.

Work your way up the pot.  Go slowly at first - be patient and think of it as a meditation :)  

Keep the rim thicker until the very end to prevent it from getting too thin and cracking.

Experiment with shapes – I like to keep the clay in one hand the whole time, pinching between my fingers so that I get a pot shaped like my hand.

 I was inspired by the clay artist Paulus Berensohn who made pots with this method as well as others.   See a photo of him below with a pot that he made and some instructions I got from his book, Finding One’s Way With Clay.  In the directions he uses his thumb to open the pinch pot but for fun try using your elbow or your knee.

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The above image and the instructions are from the book, Finding One’s Way With Clay by Paulus Berensohn

MWSU: Twin Cups here we come!

I am so honored to get these cups from the last wood firing at Kevin Lehman Pottery into the MWSU: Twin Cups exhibit. That’s Missouri Western State University Clay Guild - Twin Cups National Ceramics Exhibition. I can’t wait to see all the different cups! The exhibit opens February 21st.

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Cups

I am thinking about these cups from the last wood firing as I get ready for the next one. The image on the left is taken in the green ware state (before being bisque fired) and the image on the right is taken after being wood fired. I never get tired of pouring, splashing, and scratching through different colors of slip on the slabs of clay. I like the dynamic surface that this creates on the pots. There is beauty in each ephemeral stage of the process as the light plays on the surface. I have not had a drink from them yet, which will be the ultimate test!

Inspiration

I recently visited Shenk’s Ferry Wildflower Preserve. Trilliums are one of my favorite flowers.

Twin Cups Exhibition

I am so excited to be sending these cups to Missouri Western State University (MWSU) for the Clay Guild’s show, Twin Cups: National Ceramics Exhibition 2019. It will be on display from February 22 - March 22.

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October bike ride collection in pinch pot.

We have had some really warm weather this fall and a lot of rain. Finally the leaves are starting to turn and it is getting colder. The corn harvest leaves behind fields that are filled with stubble, some old dried out stalks, and ears of corn. There are bright purple asters here and there and some flowers with little white blossoms. I always like the way the dried out grasses blow in the wind. This time of year is refreshing in its coolness but also brings a tinge of sadness as the days get shorter and winter approaches.

New Shelves

As a ceramic artist almost nothing makes me happier than another set of shelves! I rearranged my studio when the old wood stove left which made room for these. My husband, John, patiently designed what I wanted (a set that looks somewhat like Steven Hill’s from Ceramics Monthly years ago) and helped me build them. I made another set earlier that are perfect for the slabs of clay that I make. This set will be for holding work that has been bisqued and needs to be glazed or glazed work that has feet that need to be sanded smooth. Of course some other things will find their way on to the shelves such as work that I made in workshops on the very top shelf. They are really good working shelves.

Visit to the Keramik-Museum Berlin (KMB)

We made a trip to Berlin in July to visit our son who was doing an internship there for two months.  The highlight of my trip was a visit to the Keramik Museum in Berlin.  I am not a savvy traveler by any means so I was really proud to get us there.  I downloaded a transportation app to my phone which allowed us to buy and download a ticket and gave us directions for the U-Bahn.  Before the museum opened, we spent some time at the Berggruen Museum a couple of blocks down the street.   We saw 120 works of Picasso's there as well as work by Klee, Matisse, and Giacometti.  At the Keramik Museum we met some very nice people and saw a wide variety of interesting ceramic work.  I love small, intimate museums where it is possible to really see all the work, let it soak in, and enjoy it.  This museum was just perfect.  There was even a small garden with ceramic creatures tucked in here and there.   I hope you enjoy a glimpse of the work that was there in the slide show below.  

Tony Clennell Workshop "Your Work is a Gift" March 9 -11, 2018 at Kevin Lehman's Pottery, Lancaster, PA

Thanks everyone for a terrific workshop!  It was inspiring to see so much great work being made.  Enjoy the slide show!  Margaret

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Making cups with undulating rims

Making baskets and casseroles with their attachments.

Making a Jug from thrown parts - a cylinder, neck, and false bottom. Then pulling a spout and adding a pulled handle.

Tony's work that he made in the workshop and fired work that he brought from North Carolina.  

What do you think?

These plates and round bottom cups just seemed to go together.   I had not planned it that way but when I was photographing my work it seemed like a natural pairing.  Some new customers bought some plates and bowls together which gave me a new way of seeing my work.  

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ICAN ( International Ceramic Artists Network) Calendar

I am really proud to have my work in the 2018 ICAN calendar Pots With Flowers Collection.  Some friends and I made pinch pots after reading Paulus Berensohn's book, Finding One's Way With Clay and watching a video about his life.  This pinch pot is in his memory.  

To see the other calendars in the collection visit ceramicartsnetwork.org/shop/

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New snowflake ornaments!

The inspiration for these ornaments comes from photographic images made by Snowflake Bentley (Wilson Bentley, born in 1865 in Jericho, Vermont).   Each photograph is so beautiful it is hard to choose which ones to create a stencil from.  This year I made three new stencils making a total of eight designs that I use directly or in reverse (showing up either as blue or white).  You can find them at the Gallery at La Cigale in Mt. Gretna, at The Lebanon Picture Frame and Fine Art Gallery, in Lebanon, at the PA Guild Store in Lancaster, or by contacting me through my web site.  

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A little beauty along the way......

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A nice warm day for bike riding is getting more rare as are the flowers blooming along the road.  There are still some hardy asters, purple and white, as well as some beautiful grasses that have turned red.  In a world with much sadness I am grateful for friends to pinch pots with, friends to fire with, and friends who invite me over for coffee :)       

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I am excited to have work at the PA Guild in Lancaster as part of the Lancaster Chapter Showcase. Some of my new work includes a set of dogwood plates, a large platter, and two bottles. Come visit!

Join us at the Guild for the opening reception of the Lancaster Designer Chapter Showcase this Friday, October 6, from 6-9 pm!

Demonstrators will include woodworker Ted Rasmussen, ceramicist Dianne Fox, and coppersmith and clockmaker Glen Detwiler.

Demonstrations will continue through the weekend for the Lancaster ArtWalk, featuring jeweler Wendy Edsall-Kerwin and weaver Linda Beiler on Saturday from 10 - 4 pm.

The exhibition by Lancaster Designer Craftsmen will be on view through the end of October and feature the work of Kevin Lehman, Linda Beiler, Alex Chuck, John Fugelso, Angelo Iafrate, Irinia Iakomi, Holly Kingman, Michael Michalechan, Greg Pencheff, Margaret Seidenberg, Jan Uzwiak, Amy Burk, Jessica Keemer, Brian Cunfer, Lisa Gallagher, Christine Spangler, and Ted Rassmussen.

Gift from the kiln and the garden.

I was so happy to discover this dish when I visited the  Lancaster Creative Factory that Kevin Lehman had fired for me.  It did not fit in the wood firing we did in the spring.  It is made from a slab of porcelain clay that is decorated with multiple slips and then formed over a hump mold.  It has three feet.  This dish is glazed only on the bottom surface and then fired up side down with a ball of wadding and a brick holding it off the kiln shelf.  I love the gentle curve that places it somewhere between a bowl and a plate and perfect for holding a stray flower or a scrumptious desert.