ceramic arts dail y.

org

contemporary pottery

functional and conceptual considerations for handmade pottery

This special report is brought to you with the support of Mud Bucket Pottery
www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery | i

Contemporary Pottery Functional and Conceptual Considerations for Handmade Pottery

Potters have been making pots for a long time, and they have been thinking about what it means to make pots for a long time, but in Contemporary Pottery: Functional and Conceptual Considerations for Handmade Pottery, we have asked several makers of contemporary pottery about specic pottery forms they make and why. Pottery made by hand requires conscious decision making about design, form, surface integration, materials, and techniques at every step in the processand for every single potso each combination can results in completely different results. The handmade pottery discussed by these contemporary potters ranges from sets of square dishes to double-walled vessels for coffee or tea. From form to function, from concept to content, the potters included here discuss the qualities necessary to make those pieces successful. Handmade pottery can mean different things to different people, and these contemporary potters all bring something insightful to the table. Here is what youll nd in Contemporary Pottery: Functional and Conceptual Considerations for Handmade Pottery.

A Handmade Clay Coffee Thermos

by Kenyon Hansen
The idea for how to make a thermos out of clay came from this potters use of a non-clay thermos, which made him think why not make one for himself? After all, he used it every day, and it was part of his regular pottery routine.

Sets of Squares
by Suze Lindsay
Integration of the clay surface and form has always been key to successful handmade pottery, and Suze Lindsays brushwork proves that she has carefully and thoroughly considered her approach to this concept. She walks you through not only her techniques for making square dishes, but how she approaches making sets and even selling pottery.

The Function of Pots in Storage

by Gay Smith
What does handmade pottery do when you are not using it? Gay Smith argues that it still has a function, which is to be stored conveniently and efciently. She explains how to think about pottery design from the perspective of the end users and how they see handmade pottery tting into their livesand their cupboards.

Studio Pet, Studio Pottery

by Allen Chen
In this light-hearted anecdote, Chen actually outline a very important part of making handmade pottery, and that is inspiration and ideas. He will make you realize that seemingly unrelated things can come together in the form of pottery that can set you off in a completely new direction of exploration and discovery.

www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery |

A Handmade Clay Coffee Thermos

by Kenyon Hansen

Thermos set, 8 in. (20 cm) in height, stoneware with glaze, wood red.

ast year, I worked in Matt Kelleher and Shoko Teruyamas studio in the mountains of western North Carolina. During the winter months, I was unable to drive to the studio because of the heavy snowfall and steep winding driveway, so I walked. Each morning I would pack a lunch and ll a thermos with coffee or tea for the long studio day ahead. The long trek gave me time to think about the pots I would make that day. After a while, I recognized my own habit of carrying the thermos and I began thinking about the challenges and possibilities it could hold as an object made of clay.

I enjoyed solving the problems of making double-walled vessels. The technical challenges made the process of invention fun. Brainstorming several possible ways to create a thermos, and the consequential failures and learning curve kept me actively involved in the process. In the end, though, with the technical problems resolved, I am much more interested in the aesthetic issues and the roles such pots play in our lives. Finely crafted, thoughtfully made pottery can contribute to a renaissance of tradition and habit. My hope is that the pots I make can play a role and be a factor in a renewal of ritual. I strive to create pottery that is
2

www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery |

I start off by throwing two cylinders. The rst is made with a ange at the base. After I measure it with calipers, I throw the second cylinder about two inches taller, and make the interior about of an inch wider than the exterior of the rst. Once they have set up a bit, I slide the larger over the smaller one and connect them at the base. Next, I roll a coil and connect the two walls inside at the top of the inner wall. The pot then goes back to the wheel where I collar in the neck above the double wall and nish the forming at the top. I throw a ridge in the shoulder to t the lip of a mug, and I measure that before I throw the mug to t the ridge. Once everything ts, I add texture, line, and handles to both the mug and thermos.

both considered and balanced, containing a healthy dose of spirit and care. Many of the forms Im interested in are built around the act of consuming and sharing liquids. I make coffee pots, lidded pitchers, teapots, and thermos sets. Part of my interest in these forms revolves around how much I enjoy drinking coffee and tea. I am very curious to explore how these forms function. I nd it challenging to build such complex pots, with so many different elements needing to harmonize, allowing it to function both visually and physically. Clay allows me to play with the physical language of these forms. When I throw or handbuild, Im engaged in the conversation. Curiosity often

www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery |

Three lidded pitchers, to 15 in. (38 cm) in height, stoneware, anagama red for 6 days to cone 11, 12-hour reduction cooling.

pushes the dialog, while the desire to nd something new guides me forward. Marketing my work is still very new to me. Ive been making pots for about seven years and continue to be my own worst critic. Perhaps my own insecurity, or the belief that the next ring will be better, has prevented me from applying to more shows and other opportunities. Ive participated in a few small art fairs, and have sold work out of a couple of art centers. I approached my rst two galleries very recently, so thats still new to me. This years Strictly Functional Pottery National was the second professional opportunity to which Id ever applieda residency at Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts being the rst. I was accepted into both. So maybe Ive simply been waiting for my work to evolve into something more personal, in its own slow time.
Kenyon Hansen is a resident at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in Helena, Montana. His work was included in Strictly Functional Pottery National 2010 (www.strictlyfunctionalpottery.net) and also can be seen at the Signature Shop (www.thesignatureshop.com) in Atlanta, Georgia, and at Crimson Laurel Gallery (www.crimsonlaurelgallery.com) in Bakersville, North Carolina.

Thermos set, approximately 9 in. (23 cm) in height when stacked, stoneware with glaze, wood red.

www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery |

Sets of Squares
by Suze Lindsay

Square place setting, dinner plate 10 in. (25 cm) square, stoneware, slips and glazes, salt red to cone 10, 2010.

n integral part of my work is using surface decoration to enhance form. After throwing and altering or forming from a slab, my problemsolving concerns the patterning and the painting of slips and glazes that emphasize specic areas of the pots. I have studied various cultures and inspiring historic ceramics that inuence the way I organize spacing and place motifs.

is added, does it stay round or is it altered to reect the form? I am continually asking questions like this.

Building a Set

Function First

First there is the functionality. The plates need to be thick enough that they dont warp in the ring, yet light enough to be able to stack for storage. When working with slabs, it is always important to consider all the edges and how they are treated, so those edges are dened and rened in some manner, both to nish them and to compress them and provide strength. Another consideration is the decision and application of the foot. If a thrown foot ring

My interest resides in creating a family of pots when working in sets like this. A place setting would include a cup, salad plate, dinner plate, and bowl. Beyond that, it is up to me to decide how I create a dialog between these pots. Working with the square, I can approach the unifying set by the form alone, or use the same palette of slips and glazes to decorate each piece so they are recognizable as a set.

A Square Meal

When I rst started making square plates, they were thrown on the wheel, with a diameter large enough that the plate would still be 9 inches to an edge when the rims were cut square. The construction of this kind of plate led

www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery |

Right: A thick slab is roughly cut and placed in a bisque-red mold and is then pressed down into the mold using a bag lled with sand, grog, or rice. The slab is stretched into the mold until it nearly reaches the bottom. A tall foot ring is then added. Below: A slab is cut using a cardboard template and is draped over a dry, plaster hump mold to create a curve. The edges are smoothed in order to compress and strengthen them, and a squared-off foot ring is added after it has set up, which does not take long on the porous plaster mold.

to a soft square, and when I looked at it critically, I realized I wanted the square to be more articulated, so I went to the handbuilt slab form with a thrown foot ring. Technically, one needs to be sure the added foot is properly centered from the rim, and that edges remain thick enough so that they do not slump in the ring.

Selling Sets

I think about people who like the tradition of a china pattern for their new home, and then how I might guide their interest from a traditional set of bone china to handmade pottery for their table. Accepting a larger order of place settings requires time for the potter, and patience on the customers end. Clear communication between the two parties is essential. In our gallery, we try to create areas that suggest how we live with pots. From mantles, to cupboards and particularly a kitchen table for place settings, these areas help the customer imagine how pots may feel in their own home.
Suze Lindsay makes pots with her husband Kent McLaughlin at Fork Mountain Pottery (www.forkmountainpottery.net) in Bakersville, North Carolina. Works by Lindsay were included in the Table Manners exhibition, on view at Lark & Key gallery (www.larkandkey.com) in Charlotte, North Carolina.

www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery |

The Function of Pots in Storage

by Gay Smith

Print bowls, 4 in. (11 cm) in width, thrown porcelain with stamped decoration, darted, raw glazed, red to cone 10 in a soda kiln.

m always trying to pull my pots back toward function. My infatuation with tactile appeal, edges, drawing the thrown line between foot and rim, and altering usually tends to trump functional concerns. What interests me functionally, particularly with these bowls, is their ability to stack. Their size must be appealing for morning cereals or special desserts, like homemade ice cream, and its important that they be sturdy enough to withstand daily handling: going in and out of the sink and dish rack or dishwasher, stacking easily without chipping feet or rims.

The Function of Storage

The desire to create pots that could stack was inspired by my need as an avid pottery collector to nd space for new pots. They stack up tall and compactly, requiring minimal horizontal space in your cabinet. The bowls are squared for structure because this gives the stack greater stability.

The main functional concern with making pots to stack is that the diameter of the foot will slip easily into the diameter of the rim of the piece below it, and that the foot will not rest on the interior oor of the piece below it. Rims are measured with calipers as I throw them so that when theyre squared, I know that hip will meet lip. This way, when making a stack, each pot will rest upon the one beneath it without rocking or keeling over. How and where each pot touches the one above and below it is both an important structural consideration in how they stack, as well as an important visual decision. The stack is a series of individual pots piled one on top of the other, but just as importantly, the stack is a unit, one piece, a kind of interactive sculpture. Through use, bowls will layer differently every time they are put away in a stack. Depending upon the conguration, color and pattern can be either intentionally or randomly reordered. The
7

www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery |

Wooden textile-printing blocks are wetted to prevent them from sticking to the clay. They are pressed into the surface while the form, thrown slightly thicker than normal so it can stand up to the stamping, is supported from the inside.

After the bowl form has dried to soft leather hard, the rim is marked in equal sections and darts are cut at those points.

The darts are brought together in order to change the shape of the form from round to square (which tends to be the most efcient shape in terms of cupboard space).

After the darted joints are reinforced with a coil of clay on the inside, the pots are covered and allowed to dry slowly until they are stiff leather hard. They are then dipped in slip and/or glaze and dried completely before being red in a soda kiln.

www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery |

Teapot, 6 in. (15 cm) in height, thrown porcelain with stamped decoration, raw glazed, red to cone 10 in a soda kiln.

squared hip or belly of the bowl has more visual impact for presenting a at face in the sense that the stack might be read as a two dimensional image. Thus the stack is less able to be directly interpreted as round. I imagine the face of the stack as a constantly changing painting made by the user. Each bowl is intentionally different from its neighbor. The user will perhaps develop favorites, or choose to use one over the other depending upon mood. I imagine bringing a sense of fun and celebration into the use of these bowls.

The exterior surface of the bowl is lightly ribbed to provide a smooth canvas for the marks, and the blocks are dipped in water prior to each impression, which actually prevents their sticking to the pot wall. The pot wall must not be too thin for impressing, an advantage when stacking as it means rims will not chip. I am looking to create an interesting tactile surface with a repeating visual and tactile pattern around the exterior hip or belly of the bowl. The texture nds its way to the interior of the bowl with soft nger marks from resisting the exterior pressure of the pattern-making. I texture the surfaces by rhythmically impressThe textured surface means the pieces are ing carved wooden blocks into the clay as I easier to handle when hot or cold, keepthrow each bowl. The blocks were acquired ing ngers dancing about with something from a fellow Penland teacher in 2005. I was to grip. But Im actually more interested in told they were from India and were used to the textured patterning to provide engagprint fabric by hand. Their carving is exing, tactile pleasure or experience. And the tremely intricate. So, the surface texture is a indentations provide me with places to inlay collaboration with unknown, highly skilled glazes or slips. After darting and trimming, I craftsmen. The beauty of the patterns they raw glaze the pieces by dipping the textured create is a gift from these unsung artisans. I portion of each bowl in a glaze or slip. The am grateful to them. liquid settles in the indentations and I use a

Surface Texture

www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery |

Tumblers, each 5 in. (13 cm) in height, thrown porcelain with stamped decoration, raw glazed, red to cone 10 in a soda kiln.

soft rubber rib to wipe away excess while it is still wet. Then another glaze (or not) is layered over this when the pot has set up enough to take the next dip. This layering gives the rich colors to the surfaces that I am seeking, and emphasizes the shapes and patterns in the textures. They are abstracted and impressionistic.

Marketing

Form
When the rim of the bowl is still exible but the overall consistency is a soft leather hard, I mark the rim into four even sections. Then, I take four triangular darts out to alter the rim of the bowl from a circle into a soft square. After reinforcing each seam with a coil, the bowls dry slowly under plastic until they are ready for trimming. A round pedestal foot is trimmed under each pot. I make sure that the foot is not too high so that the foot does not touch the oor of the bowl under it when stacked.

I hope the ability of these bowls to be stacked increases their marketability; perhaps the minimal space requirement gives a collector a means to justify a purchase. Often, because they are squared, folks who are not familiar with altered or handmade pots will ask what they are for, or theyll ask if they are vases. I always answer yes! to the latter question. Any vessel can be used as a vase, and a positive response to any inquiry is much more likely to spark a good conversation. I can then suggest that they might also be used for dessert and that they can go into the dishwasher and microwave too. One of my jobs is to educate as many people as possible about using pots every day.
Gay Smith makes pots in Bakersville, North Carolina. See more of Gays work at www.gertrudegrahamsmith.com. Her printed bowls were included in Table Manners at Lark & Key gallery, (www.larkandkey.com) in Charlotte, North Carolina.

www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery |

10

Studio Pet, Studio Pottery

by Allen Chen

Double Squirrel Parody, 8 in. (20 cm) in height, stoneware, anagama red to cone 13.

Squirrel Quad Pitcher, 8 in. (20 cm) in height, stoneware, anagama red to cone 13.

uring graduate school at the University of Notre Dame, I had a frequent studio visitora chipmunk. The chipmunk had a seemingly insatiable appetite for the various cereals and oatmeal that I had stored in my studio, as well as an unfortunate habit of leaving his droppings all over my clothes, my slop bucket, and my work. I called the pest control center and they told me that I had to use a live trap because its illegal to kill chipmunks. But its just a squirrel, I emphatically protested. No, its a chipmunk, the exterminator corrected me sternly, as if to say that I had no

idea there was a difference between the twowhich I dont. I tried everything but I couldnt catch it; it was too smart. I had hoped that it would hibernate during the harsh winters of northern Indiana, but according to my extensive research on Wikipedia, they only partially hibernate, and apparently this particular chipmunks hibernating schedule did nothing to slow down its bowel movements. Was he trying to tell me something? I was thinking about this chipmunk so much that I became obsessed. The image of him raising his tail while dropping hard little black pellets on my teapots and cups haunted my dreams. Why

www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery |

11

was this chipmunk defecating on my pots? Was this a critique of my work? Why didnt the droppings stink like the critiques that I was getting from some of my professors? And why is it that I take everything so personally? One day I was having coffee in the design studio when I suddenly noticed a elegant stainless steel coffee pot with a graceful, swooping handle that came up from the base and over its top. I had found my answer. I needed to make a pitcher that celebrated the critiques that the chipmunk had been leaving in my shoes and my glaze buckets. A statue of the chipmunk in its nest moment with its tail winging high above and forming the handle of a pitcher. And I called it, Squirrel Quad Pitcher. This will always be a reminder to the chipmunk that even though it is smart and mean and has great taste, in the end it is just a squirrel, and it will never make it to the pages of Ceramics Monthly. The main challenges in making this pitcher stand proudthe contents must pour well and the handle must be ergonomically smartwas a series of trial

and (painful) errors. I nd that hollowing out the handle does wonders in decreasing the weight while also adding the strength it needs to last through a week-long anagama kiln ring. I have noticed a particular demographic purchasing this work from meparticular in that there are so few of them. I have traded or given away most of my favorite pieces to friends and family who are kind enough to show appreciation for them. I personally feel that because we pour an enormous amount of our minds, body, and soul into our work, the story behind it really becomes the meat of the work. And the people who are sensitive to the story, the ones who care enough for it, are the true consumer demographics.
Allen Chen makes pots in Red Lodge, Montana. For further information and to see more images of his work, go to www.allenchenart.com, www.Redlodgeclaycenter.com, or www.facebook.com/aaachen. His Squirrel Quad Pitcher was included in Strictly Functional Pottery National 2010. For further information on the exhibition, visit www.strictlyfunctionalpotterynational.net.

After pulling a coil, Chen forms the handles shape using his palm on a plaster bat.

The primary shape is further dened by trimming the sides of excess bulk.

The handle is cleaned and smoothed with a damp sponge to further rene the form.

Clay is carved from the handle to reduce the weight and avoid slumping in the kiln.

The nished, hollowed handle is set aside to stiffen until it is leather hard.

The handle is attached to the chipmunk-inspired pitcher at the base of the form.

www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery |

12

www.ceramicartsdaily.org | Copyright 2011, Ceramic Publications Company | Contemporary Pottery |

13