Archive of Decorative Wares

Pitcher of Paradise / Blue

This stoneware pitcher measures 10" x 7.25" x 5". It is part of a series of pitchers that is inspired by birds of paradise. I hope the color blocking and gesture are representative enough. During the throwing process on this piece, I began to collar in the clay, towards the top, after having pushed the body out. I then cut were it was necked in along a line and set the top aside. The bottom was then pulled up more and then closed in entirely. Once the pieces dried some, I cut the top at an angle, so that there would be "movement" in the pitcher and then traced the outline on the bottom half and cut the excess away to be able to join the parts together again. The handle and rim were pulled by hand. The color blocking was tricky, using masking tape, wax resist, latex and a spraybooth. Click on each for a larger image.

Bowl with Blue Glazes

This pottery bowl with two different blue glazes, measures 11 7/8" in diameter at the rim and is 4 7/8" in height. It was handmade on the potter's wheel with stoneware clay. It would make for a great table centerpiece. The exterior glaze is a medium blue of matte texture and the interior glaze is a wood ash base with a rivulet texture. It is a very dark blue that borders on black. Click on each for a larger image.

Bird Bath / Punch Bowl of Green and Yellow

This decorative bird bath/ punch bowl is made into 2 pieces for ease-of-use. The green glaze is a wood ash glaze that develops rivulets throughout it. The bright yellow is of a dry matted quality. The bowl is separate from the base but cradles nicely in it. Together they measure 13.75" x 15.75" x 10.5". These should not be kept outside during wintertime because the pieces could crack from freezing water. If you would rather, this setup could be used instead as an eye-catching punch bowl. Ladle not included. This piece was thrown on a potter's wheel and altered by hand and a wooden tool. It was fired to almost 2400 degrees. Click on each for a larger image.

Rustic Jar With Scroll Handles and Lid

This jar is made of stoneware clay and was thrown on the potter's wheel. The scroll handles were hand-pulled and rolled. The knob on the lid is hollow to keep the weight of the piece down. It was glazed in a Japanese khaki glaze that normally yields a shiny finish but I instead sandblasted it for an eggshell finish. Mineral oil was applied to produce its sheen. It measures 11 1/4" x 5 1/2" x 3 1/2. This pot was fired to almost 2400 degrees Fahrenheit. Click on each for a larger image.

Bottle with Patchwork Glazing Effect

This classic bottle shape was made on the potter's wheel. It measures 9" by 6.5". It has 20 different glazes used in its decoration. 17 are high fire glazes while the other 3 are low fire glazes. They were painstakingly put on in a spray booth, one color at a time. So it was, stir a glaze until ready, spray it on the bottle in various places, clean air brush and then stir the next glaze until ready, etc. This took quite some time. After about a dozen glazes had been applied, it was getting hard to tell the glazed from the unglazed areas. When I got to my magic number of 17, the bottle was high fired and I was fairly pleased with the results. I decided to go back in with low fire glazes and fill in some of the bare spots. The effect is a patchwork look. Click on each for a larger image.

Tiny Jar with Bright Yellow and Blood Red Glazes

This porcelain jar would make for a great ring holder and jewelery container as the lid has a deep enough well for a ring to rest in and the interior is ample enough to fit a few other items. It measures 4" x 2.25". It has a barium yellow glaze of a brighter hue than what normally comes out on a high-fired piece. Many yellows burn out when they reach the maturation temperature. The barium carbonate helps the yellow retain its brightness and having a pure white body sans the iron found in stoneware aids too. The red is a copper glaze that relies on the atmoshpere in the kiln to be starved of oxygen for it to achieve this blood red color. If the firing was not done properly, the copper glaze would look more like the interior glaze of the jar but less green. Click on each for a larger image.

Tiny Jar with Blue on Blue Glazes

This porcelain jar was wheel thrown and measures a demure 2 7/8" x 3". It features two different blue glazes that are separated by a drip-line that was actually drawn on by me. Below the line, latex was brushed on to mask it from the medium mat blue that the jar was dipped into. The latex was then peeled away to reveal the porcelain beneath. The darker blue glaze was then sprayed over the bottom half. Both glazes only contain 1% cobalt carbonate but it's interesting to see how each glaze renders that blue. Click on each for a larger image.

Midnight Blue and Yellow Bowl with Spiral

This stoneware bowl was wheel-thrown and fired to almost 2400 degrees. The spiral was added while the wheel was turning slow with two rib shaped tools, that moved up the profile in a quick motion. The interior glaze is a wood ash type that mottles and the exterior is a dry yellow glaze. It is 5.5" tall, 13.5" in diameter at the rim and 3.75" across at its base. It is food and dishwasher safe and is also microwaveable. Click on each for a larger image.

Tiny Jar with Blue and Yellow Glazes

This porcelain jar makes for a nice jewelry box. The lid has a deep enough well for a ring to set inside of and of course there's the inside available for storage too. It was wheel-thrown and measures 2 1/8" x 2 1/8". It combines wood ash and barium yellow glazes. Just enough of the shiny dark blue mottled ash glaze has overlapped what is normally a bright yellow, to tone it down out of the bright range but still keep its mat finish. Click on each for a larger image.

Orange /Rutile and Red Bowl With Spiral

This stoneware bowl was wheel-thrown and high-fired to almost 2400 degrees. The spiral was added while the wheel was moving slow with two ribs that moved up the profile in a quick motion. The interior glaze is a saturated rutile type and the exterior is of the copper red variety. It measures 5.5" tall and is13" across at the rim. The base is 3.5" in diameter. It is food and dishwasher safe. It is also microwaveable. Click on each for a larger image.

Pitcher of Paradise / Green

This stoneware pitcher measures 10" x 7.75" x 5.5". It is part of the series of pitchers that is inspired by birds of paradise. During the throwing process on this piece, I began to collar in the clay, towards the top, after having pushed the body out. I then cut were it was tapering in, along a line and set the top aside. The bottom was then pulled up more and then closed in entirely. Once the pieces dried some, I cut the top at an angle, so that there would be "movement" in the pitcher and then traced the outline on the bottom half and cut the excess away to be able to join the parts together again. The handle and rim were pulled by hand. The color blocking was tricky, using masking tape, wax resist, latex and a spray booth Click on each for a larger image.

Blue to Blue-Green Pitcher

This stoneware pitcher was made on the potter's wheel. It measures 9 3/4" x 7" x 3 7/8". It was brushed in porcelain slip to help make the blue glazes brighter than they would have been had there been no slip applied. The interior is done in a copper reduction red. The exterior has two shades and finishes of blue. One is a dark shiny blue and the other is a lighter more matte greenish- blue. The pitcher form is very versatile. It can be used for its function of pouring or it can be used to house various arrangements. Click on each for a larger image.

Pineapple Express Vase with Thorns

This stoneware vase is just over 29" in height and is a smidge over 8" across in diameter. It has a sepia color tone to it. It was thrown in 3 parts, with the top part being glaze glued to the body. The thorns were applied one at a time as cone shapes and then pulled to a nice Sharp point. The panels on the body were free handed and the vertical lines are put on with a black underglaze pencil. Within the panels is a volcanic ash glaze of a clear green quality. This is guaranteed to add a tropical feel to your surroundings. The thorns are SHARP. Handle with care. Click on each for a larger image.

Extra Large Shino Bowl with Green Ash Glaze

This stoneware bowl was wheel thrown and measures 20" x 7.75". It is prime to be a center piece for a large open area. It has a Japanese based shino glaze with two different ash glazes sprayed over it for contrast. The green mottled glaze around the rim is of wood ash and the base ash underneath that is a faux ash of blonde color. This bowl was fired to almost 2400 degrees Fahrenheit in a gas reduction kiln. Click on each for a larger image.

Lidded Jar With Ripple Design

This stoneware jar was made on the potter's wheel. It measures 14" x 10 3/4" x 6 1/8". While still freshly thrown, porcelain slip was applied with a paint brush on the jar and lid as they turned slowly on the wheel. My hand move up and down to create a wavy texture with the slip that can be seen through the glazes. The light green glaze is made of 60% volcanic ash and the light blue glaze is a heavily saturated rutile glaze. The design was influenced from a ripple effect that can be seen when throwing rocks into the water. I started the initial ripple and then began drawing progressive rings until they "passed through" the piece. I masked alternate rings with latex and applied the first glaze. Wax resist was then applied and the latex pulled up after the resist dried some. This exposed the next areas to be glazed. This jar was fired to almost 2400 degrees Fahrenheit in a soda kiln. Click on each for a larger image.

Wide Low Profile Black and Yellow Flower Shaped Bowl

This stoneware and wheel-thrown bowl measures in a 4.75" tall x 21 1/8" wide at the rim x 5.75" in diameter at the base. It is glazed in a black ash glaze that has a rivulet texture. A dry yellow glaze was added as a highlight to the center and the rim for accent. The rim was altered to resemble plant life and appear organic. Although this bowl would take a lot of real estate on a table, it could also be hung as a wall piece. A very dramatic bowl that will capture attention. Click on each for a larger image.