Seen at Milan Furniture Fair

It was fun to see a few nice pieces at the Milan Furniture Show. These pieces were made from a very thin white clay body.

Making of the Cups

I threw 10 cup forms yesterday. Drying over night and a little help from a fan this morning they were leather hard and ready to add handles to. I have a very high tech method of making handles. I try to make my own dies to use in an extruder and then drape these extruded lengths usually about 7" over a round shovel or similar wooden tool handle. This gives me usually a nice rounded form and I leave them to become leather hard on the handle form. I then trim them to length and add them to the cups. I will cover them so that the handles have a chance to dry slowly as they adhere to the cups.

Cups and Saucers

Over the winter I developed this mug form which I have been please with. I have also added a delicate saucer to compliment it. I have given several of these away and have gotten very positive feedback. They are stoneware and fired to Cone 6, wheel thrown, 4.5" in height with custom glazes. I plan to make a small production run of these so watch for them on my Etsy store.

Pendant Idea

A customer from my Etsy store gave me the idea of creating pendants. I created these three 1" square pendants using a stamp. They are less than .125" thick. These are by far some of the smallest objects I have tried to make. Finishing these is going to be a challenge. I would like to finish both sides but having them stick to the kiln shelves will be a real possibility. I could hang them using my bead rack but I thought I would add small amounts of glass to the face which I think will run when in the vertical. Stay tuned in to see what I decide to do and how they turn out.

Damask Mug Study

The Damask graphic has ben of interest to me for some time. It is a strong classic look that has come back in modern and contemporary design. I think it is very relevant for today and I felt it would translate into pottery well. I have been hand building mugs using stamped Damask patterns. The picture shows a few drying on the shelf awaiting the bisque firing. They range from about 4.5"-5.25" in height. Stoneware. They will be fired to Cone 6.

Etsy On Line Store

I recently set up an on-line store to sell my work on Etsy. You can visit my store at http://NorthStarPottery.etsy.com

Handbuilt Damask Bowl Study

Over the past couple of weeks I have been experimenting with adding complex textures to the inside of bowls using stamps. These bowls are hand built using a process of rolling out a slab, stamping the texture and then draping the slap over a plaster mold. Once draped, I trim to desired height and then move the entire shaped slab still on the mold to my wheel. Once on the wheel I clean up the exterior of the bowl as best I can, add a coil of clay to the bottom and shape a foot ring. I currently have 8 of these bowls drying. They are 12" in Diameter and approximately 5-6" high. Each has a different texture.