September 3rd

Off to the bisque for these platters, bowls and cups

The white slab with the thin gray material is a plaster slab with a thinly pulled sheet of colored clay. Though it appears grey, it will be lavender when fired. This sheet of color clay can be cut and applied to the surface of the work. Its been a long journey filled with technical failure, but I've figured it out and the process if finally working for me. 

 Paper stencil-ing: Cut the positive or negative of a shape out of printer paper, stick it to the surface of the clay with water, apply slip, peel away to reveal a crisp shape. 

Last Year of Grad School Has Begun

Hi Everyone! I haven't wrote in over a year. I just started my 2nd and last year as a grad student at Alfred University in NY. Going back to school has been such an incredible experience for me and I am at a place where I want to start sharing what I am working on.

Throughout the year, I hoping to share studio shots of works in progress or working environment - unveiling some of the hidden aspects of what I do.

Typically, artists show and send images of their completed works. I find that the studio environment and entire process of making - everything from mixing my own clays (brown, white, blue, gray, groggy, smooth, hi-temp, mid-range, low-fire), testing glazes, mixing up slips, using wax resist, paper stencils, latex, plaster molds, hand building, wheel throwing, firing all types of kilns (reductions, oxidation, salt, soda), etc. etc. - all of this research, experimentation, possibilities...is what keeps me in the studio.

The end result of all of this questioning is a ceramic object, which, in and of itself, gives purpose to this studio endeavor. The end result propels me back into the studio to begin the cycle again.

Paper Collage and Cup from the Spring