POTTERY PETE
Pete's Process
There are many ways I turn my imagination into reality yet regardless of the method I always get excited seeing the glow of the kiln with the pots coming to life- admittedly the kilning process can be an apprehensive time but with the risk of breakages but I consider myself either pretty lucky or pretty skilled with very few accidents in my kiln- But I'll let you decide if that's skill or luck!
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Have a brief look into my favourite methods and how my pieces are produced below!
Raku & Horse Hair
Some years ago I built my own Raku Kiln and just love a day 'RAKUing with friends'.
My old 'Oil Drum' kiln has seen better days and heavy to move about. As a result I have recently redesigned it and built myself a 'Flat Pack' Raku kiln 😊.
Currently I like the concept of the Raku and Naked Raku processes, and decorating the vessels with a Glaze / Horse Hair / Feathers or by 'Fuming'.
When Glazing, the opening of a Raku kiln is always an exciting time.
The heat from the kiln, first sight of the glowing pots, the lifting of the fired pots, the placing of them in prepared materials be it grass cutting, wood shavings, shredded paper or one of the many combustible materials to produce the carbon to - 'decorate the pot'.
Mochaware
Mochaware has been a new addition to my portfolio by dripping a coloured acidic solution onto the wet alkaline slip on a pot body, the colour will instantly ramify into dendritic, random 'tree like' markings.
This is done at the leather hard stage and requires a certain amount of 'process planning'
Acrylic Pour
Another method I have experimented with in both clay and traditional 2D art is acrylic pour as in 'mixed media'. A relatively simple process in comparison to the rest and a method that doesn't require a kiln once the initial sculpture is fired. The result is a very colourful piece that is hard to achieve with traditional glaze.
(And a great way to decorate a pot over a 'failed glaze' 😲).
This sail is made from a blend of clay and a cellulose fibre of which paper being the most common and therefore referred to as 'paper clay'. The sail measures 50cm x 40cm and I completed it while studying on a C&G 7900 course. Most clay bodies can be made into paper clay. The more fibre added to the clay body, the stronger the unfired dry paper clay, but the weaker the fired body. The less fibre added to the clay body, the weaker the unfired dry paper clay, but the stronger the fired body.
A multi-group project for the Himalayan Gardens and Sculpture Park near Ripon. Approximately 1200 'Meconopsis' Blue Poppies were made. We made over 64 poppies towards this project - and a few extras now reside in my own garden.
Many of my pieces I keep in my own personal collection be that in or out they find a place in my home.
Well- out of...