Contemporary Pottery

7/31/2019 Contemporary Pottery

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contemporarypottery

functional and conceptual

considerations forhandmade pottery

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A Handmade Clay Coffee Thermosby Kenyon HansenThe idea or how to make a thermos out o clay came rom this potters use o a non-clay thermos, whichmade him think why not make one or himsel? Ater all, he used it every day, and it was part o hisregular pottery routine.

Sets of Squares

by Suze LindsayIntegration o the clay surace and orm has always been key to successul handmade pottery, andSuze Lindsays brushwork proves that she has careully and thoroughly considered her approach tothis concept. She walks you through not only her techniques or making square dishes, but how sheapproaches making sets and even selling pottery.

The Function of Pots in Storageby Gay SmithWhat does handmade pottery do when you are not using it? Gay Smith argues that it still has aunction, which is to be stored conveniently and efciently. She explains how to think about potterydesign rom the perspective o the end users and how they see handmade pottery ftting into theirlivesand their cupboards.

Studio Pet, Studio Potteryby Allen ChenIn this light-hearted anecdote, Chen actually outline a very important part o making handmadepottery, and that is inspiration and ideas. He will make you realize that seemingly unrelated thingscan come together in the orm o pottery that can set you o in a completely new direction oexploration and discovery.

Contemporary Pottery

Functional and Conceptual Considerations

for Handmade Pottery

Potters have been making pots or a long time, and they have been thinking about what it means to make pots or a longtime, but in Contemporary Pottery: Functional and Conceptual Considerations for Handmade Pottery, we have

asked several makers o contemporary pottery about specifc pottery orms they make and why. Pottery made by hand

requires conscious decision making about design, orm, surace integration, materials, and techniques at every step in the

processand or every single potso each combination can results in completely dierent results.

The handmade pottery discussed by these contemporary potters ranges rom sets o square dishes to double-walled

vessels or coee or tea. From orm to unction, rom concept to content, the potters included here discuss the qualities

necessary to make those pieces successul. Handmade pottery can mean dierent things to dierent people, and these

contemporary potters all bring something insightul to the table.

Here is what youll fnd in Contemporary Pottery: Functional and Conceptual Considerations for Handmade Pottery.



A Handmade ClayCoffee Thermos

by Kenyon Hansen

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

L

ast year, I worked in Matt Kelle-her and Shoko Teruyamas stu-dio in the mountains o westernNorth Carolina. During the winter

months, I was unable to drive to the studiobecause o the heavy snowall and steepwinding driveway, so I walked. Each morn-ing I would pack a lunch and ll a thermoswith coee or tea or the long studio dayahead. The long trek gave me time to thinkabout the pots I would make that day. Atera while, I recognized my own habit o carry-ing the thermos and I began thinking aboutthe challenges and possibilities it could holdas an object made o clay.

I enjoyed solving the problems o mak-ing double-walled vessels. The technicalchallenges made the process o inventionun. Brainstorming several possible waysto create a thermos, and the consequentialailures and learning curve kept me activelyinvolved in the process. In the end, though,with the technical problems resolved, I ammuch more interested in the aesthetic issuesand the roles such pots play in our lives.

Finely crated, thoughtully made potterycan contribute to a renaissance o traditionand habit. My hope is that the pots I makecan play a role and be a actor in a renewalo ritual. I strive to create pottery that is



I start o by throwing two cylinders. The rst is made with afange at the base. Ater I measure it with calipers, I throw thesecond cylinder about two inches taller, and make the interiorabout o an inch wider than the exterior o the rst. Oncethey have set up a bit, I slide the larger over the smaller oneand connect them at the base.

Next, I roll a coil and connect the two walls inside at the topo the inner wall.The pot then goes back to the wheel where I collar in the neckabove the double wall and nish the orming at the top.

I throw a ridge in the shoulder to t the lip o a mug, and Imeasure that beore I throw the mug to t the ridge.

Once everything ts, I add texture, line, and handles to boththe mug and thermos.

both considered and balanced, containing ahealthy dose o spirit and care.

Many o the orms Im interested in are builtaround the act o consuming and sharing liq-uids. I make coee pots, lidded pitchers, teapots,

and thermos sets. Part o my interest in theseorms revolves around how much I enjoy drink-ing coee and tea. I am very curious to explorehow these orms unction. I nd it challenging tobuild such complex pots, with so many dier-ent elements needing to harmonize, allowing itto unction both visually and physically. Clayallows me to play with the physical language othese orms. When I throw or handbuild, Imengaged in the conversation. Curiosity oten



pushes the dialog, while the desire to nd somethingnew guides me orward.

Marketing my work is still very new to me. Ive beenmaking pots or about seven years and continue to bemy own worst critic. Perhaps my own insecurity, or the

belie that the next ring will be better, has prevented merom applying to more shows and other opportunities.Ive participated in a ew small art airs, and have soldwork out o a couple o art centers. I approached myrst two galleries very recently, so thats still new to me.This years Strictly Functional Pottery National wasthe second proessional opportunity to which Id everapplieda residency at Archie Bray Foundation or theCeramic Arts being the rst. I was accepted into both. Somaybe Ive simply been waiting or my work to evolveinto something more personal, in its own slow time.

Kenyon Hansen is a resident at the Archie Bray Founda-tion for the Ceramic Arts in Helena, Montana. His workwas included in Strictly Functional Pottery National 2010(www.strictlyfunctionalpottery.net) and also can be seen at the Signa-ture Shop (www.thesignatureshop.com) in Atlanta, Georgia, and atCrimson Laurel Gallery (www.crimsonlaurelgallery.com) in Bakers-ville, North Carolina.

Three lidded pitchers, to 15 in. (38 cm) in height, stoneware, anagama red or 6 days to cone11, 12-hour reduction cooling.

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



Sets of Squaresby Suze Lindsay

An integral part o my work is using surace dec-oration to enhance orm. Ater throwing andaltering or orming rom a slab, my problem-solving concerns the patterning and the painting

o slips and glazes that emphasize specic areas o the pots.I have studied various cultures and inspiring historic ce-ramics that infuence the way I organize spacing and place

motis.

Function FirstFirst there is the unctionality. The plates need to be thickenough that they dont warp in the ring, yet light enoughto be able to stack or storage. When working with slabs,it is always important to consider all the edges and howthey are treated, so those edges are dened and renedin some manner, both to nish them and to compressthem and provide strength. Another consideration is thedecision and application o the oot. I a thrown oot ring

is added, does it stay round or is it altered to refect theorm? I am continually asking questions like this.

Building a SetMy interest resides in creating a amily o pots whenworking in sets like this. A place setting would include acup, salad plate, dinner plate, and bowl. Beyond that, it

is up to me to decide how I create a dialog between thesepots. Working with the square, I can approach the uniy-ing set by the orm alone, or use the same palette o slipsand glazes to decorate each piece so they are recognizableas a set.

A Square MealWhen I rst started making square plates, they werethrown on the wheel, with a diameter large enough thatthe plate would still be 9 inches to an edge when the rimswere cut square. The construction o this kind o plate led

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



to a sot square, and when I looked at it critically,I realized I wanted the square to be more articu-lated, so I went to the handbuilt slab orm with athrown oot ring. Technically, one needs to be surethe added oot is properly centered rom the rim,and that edges remain thick enough so that they donot slump in the ring.

Selling SetsI think about people who like the tradition o achina pattern or their new home, and then howI might guide their interest rom a traditional seto bone china to handmade pottery or their table.Accepting a larger order o place settings requirestime or the potter, and patience on the customersend. Clear communication between the two par-ties is essential.

In our gallery, we try to create areas that suggesthow we live with pots. From mantles, to cupboardsand particularly a kitchen table or place settings,

these areas help the customer imagine how pots mayeel in their own home.

Suze Lindsay makes pots with her husband Kent McLaughlinat Fork Mountain Pottery (www.forkmountainpottery.net) inBakersville, North Carolina. Works by Lindsay were included inthe Table Manners exhibition, on view at Lark & Key gallery(www.larkandkey.com) in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Right: A thick slab isroughly cut and placed in

a bisque-red mold andis then pressed down into

the mold using a bag lledwith sand, grog, or rice.

The slab is stretched into

the mold until it nearlyreaches the bottom. A tall

oot ring is then added.Below: A slab is cut using

a cardboard templateand is draped over a dry,

plaster hump mold tocreate a curve. The edgesare smoothed in order tocompress and strengthenthem, and a squared-o

oot ring is added ater ithas set up, which does not

take long on the porous

plaster mold.



Im always trying to pull my pots back towardunction. My inatuation with tactile appeal,edges, drawing the thrown line between ootand rim, and altering usually tends to trump

unctional concerns. What interests me unction-ally, particularly with these bowls, is their ability tostack. Their size must be appealing or morning ce-reals or special desserts, like homemade ice cream,

and its important that they be sturdy enough towithstand daily handling: going in and out o thesink and dish rack or dishwasher, stacking easilywithout chipping eet or rims.

The Function of StorageThe desire to create pots that could stack wasinspired by my need as an avid pottery collectorto nd space or new pots. They stack up tall andcompactly, requiring minimal horizontal space inyour cabinet. The bowls are squared or structurebecause this gives the stack greater stability.

The main unctional concern with making potsto stack is that the diameter o the oot will slipeasily into the diameter o the rim o the piece be-low it, and that the oot will not rest on the inte-rior foor o the piece below it. Rims are measuredwith calipers as I throw them so that when theyresquared, 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 structuralconsideration in how they stack, as well as animportant visual decision. The stack is a series oindividual pots piled one on top o the other, butjust as importantly, the stack is a unit, one piece, akind o interactive sculpture.

Through use, bowls will layer dierently everytime they are put away in a stack. Dependingupon the conguration, color and pattern can beeither intentionally or randomly reordered. The

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

The Function of Potsin Storage

by Gay Smith



Wooden textile-printing blocks are wetted to prevent them rom sticking tothe clay. They are pressed into the surace while the orm, thrown slightlythicker than normal so it can stand up to the stamping, is supported romthe inside.

Ater the bowl orm has dried to sotleather hard, the rim is marked inequal sections and darts are cut atthose points.

The darts are brought together inorder to change the shape o the ormrom round to square (which tends tobe the most ecient shape in terms ocupboard space).

Ater the darted joints are reinorced with a coil o clay on the inside, the potsare covered and allowed to dry slowly until they are sti leather hard. They arethen dipped in slip and/or glaze and dried completely beore being red in asoda kiln.



squared hip or belly o the bowl has morevisual impact or presenting a fat ace inthe sense that the stack might be read as a twodimensional image. Thus the stack is less ableto be directly interpreted as round. I imaginethe ace o the stack as a constantly changingpainting made by the user. Each bowl is inten-tionally dierent rom its neighbor. The userwill perhaps develop avorites, or choose touse one over the other depending upon mood.I imagine bringing a sense o un and celebra-tion into the use o these bowls.

Surface TextureI texture the suraces by rhythmically impress-ing carved wooden blocks into the clay as I

throw each bowl. The blocks were acquiredrom a ellow Penland teacher in 2005. I wastold they were rom India and were used toprint abric by hand. Their carving is ex-tremely intricate. So, the surace texture is acollaboration with unknown, highly skilledcratsmen. The beauty o the patterns theycreate is a git rom these unsung artisans. Iam grateul to them.

The exterior surace o the bowl is lightlyribbed to provide a smooth canvas or themarks, and the blocks are dipped in waterprior to each impression, which actuallyprevents their sticking to the pot wall. Thepot wall must not be too thin or impressing,an advantage when stacking as it means rimswill not chip. I am looking to create an inter-esting tactile surace with a repeating visualand tactile pattern around the exterior hip orbelly o the bowl. The texture nds its wayto the interior o the bowl with sot ngermarks rom resisting the exterior pressure othe pattern-making.

The textured surace means the pieces areeasier to handle when hot or cold, keep-

ing ngers dancing about with somethingto grip. But Im actually more interested inthe textured patterning to provide engag-ing, tactile pleasure or experience. And theindentations provide me with places to inlayglazes or slips. Ater darting and trimming, Iraw glaze the pieces by dipping the texturedportion o each bowl in a glaze or slip. Theliquid settles in the indentations and I use a

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



sot rubber rib to wipe away excess whileit is still wet. Then another glaze (or not)is layered over this when the pot has setup enough to take the next dip. This lay-ering gives the rich colors to the suracesthat I am seeking, and emphasizes theshapes and patterns in the textures. They

are abstracted and impressionistic.

FormWhen the rim o the bowl is still fexiblebut the overall consistency is a sot leatherhard, I mark the rim into our even sec-tions. Then, I take our triangular dartsout to alter the rim o the bowl rom acircle into a sot square. Ater reinorc-ing each seam with a coil, the bowls dryslowly under plastic until they are ready

or trimming. A round pedestal oot istrimmed under each pot. I make surethat the oot is not too high so that theoot does not touch the foor o the bowlunder it when stacked.

MarketingI hope the ability o these bowls to bestacked increases their marketability; per-haps the minimal space requirement gives acollector a means to justiy a purchase. O-ten, because they are squared, olks who arenot amiliar with altered or handmade potswill ask what they are or, or theyll ask ithey are vases. I always answer yes! to thelatter question. Any vessel can be used as avase, and a positive response to any inquiryis much more likely to spark a good conver-sation. I can then suggest that they mightalso be used or dessert and that they cango into the dishwasher and microwave too.One o my jobs is to educate as many peopleas possible about using pots every day.

Gay Smith makes pots in Bakersville,North Carolina. See more of Gays work atwww.gertrudegrahamsmith.com. Her printedbowls were included in Table Manners at Lark& Key gallery, (www.larkandkey.com) in Charlotte,North Carolina.

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



D

uring graduate school at the Universityo Notre Dame, I had a requent studiovisitora chipmunk. The chipmunk hada seemingly insatiable appetite or the

various cereals and oatmeal that I had stored in mystudio, as well as an unortunate habit o leaving hisdroppings all over my clothes, my slop bucket, andmy work. I called the pest control center and they toldme that I had to use a live trap because its illegal tokill chipmunks. But its just a squirrel, I emphati-cally protested. No, its a chipmunk, the extermi-nator corrected me sternly, as i to say that I had no

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

idea there was a dierence between the twowhichI dont. I tried everything but I couldnt catch it; itwas too smart. I had hoped that it would hibernateduring the harsh winters o northern Indiana, but ac-

cording to my extensive research on Wikipedia, theyonly partially hibernate, and apparently this particu-lar chipmunks hibernating schedule did nothing toslow down its bowel movements. Was he trying to tellme something? I was thinking about this chipmunkso much that I became obsessed. The image o himraising his tail while dropping hard little black pel-lets on my teapots and cups haunted my dreams. Why

Studio Pet,Studio Pottery

by Allen Chen

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



was this chipmunk deecating on my pots? Was thisa critique o my work? Why didnt the droppingsstink like the critiques that I was getting rom someo my proessors? And why is it that I take every-thing so personally?

One day I was having coee in the design studiowhen I suddenly noticed a elegant stainless steel co-

ee pot with a graceul, swooping handle that cameup rom the base and over its top. I had ound myanswer. I needed to make a pitcher that celebratedthe critiques that the chipmunk had been leavingin my shoes and my glaze buckets. A statue o thechipmunk in its nest moment with its tail winginghigh above and orming the handle o a pitcher. AndI called it, Squirrel Quad Pitcher. This will alwaysbe a reminder to the chipmunk that even though it issmart and mean and has great taste, in the end it isjust a squirrel, and it will never make it to the pagesoCeramics Monthly.

The main challenges in making this pitcher standproudthe contents must pour well and the handlemust be ergonomically smartwas a series o trial

Ater pulling a coil, Chen orms thehandles shape using his palm on aplaster bat.

The primary shape is urther denedby trimming the sides o excess bulk.

The handle is cleaned and smoothedwith a damp sponge to urther renethe orm.

Clay is carved rom the handle to re-duce the weight and avoid slumpingin the kiln.

The nished, hollowed handle is setaside to stien until it is leather hard.

The handle is attached to the chip-munk-inspired pitcher at the base othe orm.

and (painul) errors. I nd that hollowing out thehandle does wonders in decreasing the weight whilealso adding the strength it needs to last through aweek-long anagama kiln ring.

I have noticed a particular demographic purchas-ing this work rom meparticular in that there areso ew o them. I have traded or given away most

o my avorite pieces to riends and amily whoare kind enough to show appreciation or them. Ipersonally eel that because we pour an enormousamount o our minds, body, and soul into ourwork, the story behind it really becomes the meat othe work. And the people who are sensitive to thestory, the ones who care enough or it, are the trueconsumer demographics.

Allen Chen makes pots in Red Lodge, Montana. For fur-ther information and to see more images of his work, goto www.allenchenart.com, www.Redlodgeclaycenter.com,

or www.facebook.com/aaachen. His Squirrel Quad Pitch-er was included in Strictly Functional Pottery National2010. For further information on the exhibition, visitwww.strictlyfunctionalpotterynational.net.


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