Porcelain

Serene and beautiful.

Soda Wood Fired Footed Pot

Wood Soda Kiln - Denmark 2003

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This sweet wood soda kiln was constructed from a gutted gas kiln. This was a very moody, fussy giant that needed to be coaxed and persuaded to every degree. It took a painstaking 28 hours to get this kiln to temperature, a cone 11 flat which is approximately 2400 degrees Fahrenheit. The results couldn't have been more beautiful and if you have ever fired wood soda you know what I mean. Rich orange flashing, juicy blobs of suspended dolomite glaze, luscious orange peely shinos. It was worth very moment.

Pink Dahlia Topiary

The photo is as much about this extraordinary arrangement of pink dahlias and green apples as it is about the porcelain vessel holding them. This organically shaped vessel was wheel thrown in three parts and assembled while it was still pliable. It was fired to cone 6 in oxidation and is glazed with a simple dolomite matte white glaze.

^6 Soda Fired Teapot

I made this interesting teapot while at NSCAD in the summer of 2002. I love it's asymmetrical quality. This pot's unique form was made while employing the cut and paste technique. I first threw a volumous, bumpy bottomless cylinder. By treating the thin clay walls of this thrown cylinder like fabric, I was able to use a darting technique to achieve it's unique and volumous form. I especially like the feet that I added . The shadow produced below by the pot lifts it up off the surface that it sits upon. The fired surface of the pot is a stony matte texture. It was sprayed with Helmar kaolin and fired in a juicy reduction environment up to ^6. I was pleasantly surprised by the silver grey carbon trapping and soft orange flashing. This teapot pours really well.

Fast Fire Wood Kiln

This is the fast fire wood kiln that I mentioned below. It was built without mortar, so it can me moved fairly easily. It is made entirely out of soft brick. It is a cross draught kiln with a single bourry box. The fast fire aspect of it is greatly enhanced by using a forced air firing method. I used a blower from an air condition unit in the bottom mouse holes. It produces a very single directional air flow and that was reflected in the ash deposits on the pots. The forced air turned this kiln into a little dragon and in 10 hours cone 12 was down flat. I love this little kiln.

Woodfired Single Bud Vases

These single bud vases were wheel thrown in white stoneware. The top has been capped with limoges porcelain. They were fired to cone 12 in a small fast firing wood kiln that I constructed while on an artist's residency in Denmark. The unique grey markings are carbon trapping and the warm peachy tones are a desired effect of woodfiring calling blushing. They are glazed with a shino glaze on the body and a celadon on the top. The green drippy blobs are also a much sought after effect of melted wood ash.