Here is my latest figurative sculpture! She’s been a long time in the making and has met many obstacles along the way, but she made it and I love her.
The wonderful part about figurative sculpture is that I feel that I can make a “statement” and that the sculpture can “speak” – such a wonderful thing.
As I create a sculpture, I have an idea in my head of what I want her to be, but through the creation process, the clay and the sculpture will tell you who/what they want to say. This was especially true of this sculpture.
Embattled Earth Angel is composed of clay and metal. She has been twice fired, ultimately raku fired.
Embattled Earth Angel is making an environmental statement on the condition of our planet. She has been sent to protect Earth, but she finds herself besieged by enemies, both natural and human. In the war to save Earth, she is attacked relentlessly and reflects the damage – leaving her scarred and eroded. Although she faces many difficulties, she guards and protects with a majestic and regal manner, determinedly intent on averting further damage from mistreatment and neglect.
I’ve never aspired to be a production potter, each of my pieces are one-offs and works of art. However, sculpture has taken me to a different place in my ceramic work.
My sculpture fell apart several times during construction. I gave her a massive mastectomy and then reconstruction on three occasions. She blew up in the kiln and became even more interesting.
Here is a video that shows the process of her creation.
It’s so frustrating! I had the copper red thing figured out! and then….nada! All I could get was a pinkish, peach bloom, flambe colour…which I didn’t love.
So I went back to the drawing board and tried to fix anything that I could think of. Here is what I did:
Fired the bisque in the electric kiln to Cone 06, versus using the gas kiln which fired much quicker and was perhaps not exactly cone 06.
Moved the burners up into the kiln opening a bit more – leaving a gap of only about 3/4 of an inch. For some reason, they must have slipped or moved down to about 2-3 inches from the opening.
I added new fiber to the kiln door and made sure there were no leaks.
I reduced at the primary air and at the flue.
And, presto! Copper Reds are back!
Copper Red and Chun Glaze, Cone 10 Gas ReductionCopper Red and Chun Glaze, Cone 10 Gas Reduction
Last weekend I led a Raku Firing Workshop for Ceramic Arts Queensland in Brisbane. I entitled the workshop – U 2 Can Raku!
I did this because I think that anyone can raku and it is a very accessible, inexpensive and fun way to fire non-functional pieces.
I took my 2 kilns as I know how to fire them well – (1 fibre and 1 wood-fired – and now my car stinks like smoke LIKE CRAZY two weeks out!) CAQ also had two lovely kilns – so altogether we had 4 raku kilns to fire.
One participant brought his pieces unbisqued, so I set him to firing the wood raku kiln – very slowly. Amazingly, he only lost 1 or 5 tea bowls and they fired to bisque in about 2 hours. Then he continued to fire them and glaze them and generally we all had a good play experimenting with his lovely handbuilt tea bowls.
We had great glazes to play with and great weather, so all in all I think that it was a great day! Amazing team work by all and the results were truly fantastic! Wish I had photos of each piece!
I was very busy and had little time for photos, so thanks to Emma for these lovely photos!
The Participants at the Raku Firing Workshop at Ceramic Arts Queensland, Brisbane.Marian Williams describing the building and workings of her homemade fibre raku kiln.Marian explaining my trash bin woodfired raku kiln.Lovely Ceramic Arts Queensland Raku KilnsA variety of sizes of reduction tins makes all the difference in getting good results!Raku- Copper Lustre by Marian WiliamsRaku totem by Marian WilliamsRaku bottle by Marian WilliamsHandbuilt textured form by Marian Williams.Close up of textured raku piece.Lidded Raku Piece by Marian WilliamsHorsehair/feathe raku by Marian Williams.
Good luck to you all in your raku efforts! Let me know if I can be of any assistance.
I have a homemade wood firing Raku kiln that I made in Stefan Jakob’s Workshop– previous blog post here. It’s great, but it’s pretty work-intensive, so Ronnie and I built a fiber Raku kiln that is gas fired. It is such a great kiln- hog wire, ceramic buttons that I made, and one inch fiber- all put together with high temperature wire. It’s base it an old kiln lid and it’s on a wooden base with wheels for easy moving. It’s fired with a weed burner and propane. I use a pyrometer to make sure I’m getting to temperature, but I also watch the color to determine when to pull the pots.
Using reduction bins filled with sawdust and newspaper and sized to snugly fit each pot, helps to ensure success!
Samatha Scout really doesn’t enjoy Raku days- I’m way too busy to play!
It’s exhausting work, but I love it! Getting ready for a raku workshop at Ceramic Arts Queensland and for my own sculpture and work. U 2 Can Raku!
Well, I’ve made the decision to participate in the Australian Ceramics Open Studios! It’s coming up August 20 & 21, so I’ve got to get cracking and get the studio looking shmick! I’ve got an amazing studio and this will be a great time to come by and visit me. Mark your calendar and plan on dropping by. More later!
Handmade brushes can be quite expensive. I saw them at a booth at NCECA and they ranged in price from $22.00-$80.00. So I reckon that I can make some myself for much less!
Handmade Bamboo Brushes For Sale At NCECA
While in Texas I took advantage of the vast quantity of roadkill along the roads, and gathered some nice fur to make brushes for use on my pottery.
I keep a MURDER KIT in my car (very CSI) for just such occassions.
I’m not alone. Here is a really (funny)/(horrible) video called CSI: Roadkill. It’s a thing. Don’t be mad at me!
In the MURDER KIT, I have disposable gloves, heavy duty scissors, tape, and ziploc bags.
Murder Kit Items
Fortunately, I had my MURDER TEAM with me: Ronnie, my husband, was the driver (pulling off the road quickly when I screamed at him) and Liz (my daughter) who accompanied me to the MURDER sites and did the Photography to document the event.
As you can see, Ronnie pulled off the road a ways down from the roadkill that I spotted. Liz, my daughter, took these great photos!
I was really lucky and got wild boar hair, fox (the whole tail!), and racoon. Here are some pics of that harrowing process! Dodging cars, facing creepy dead animals, and the ridicule of one’s family and friends are all part of the risks you take when you take on this challenge.
Shot from the car - me, walking to the wild boar that had been hit by a car - the car was at the side of the road on the other side, badly damaged and undrivable. It was a very big boar!
I was a bit nervous coming up to him! What if he wasn't totally dead! But I cut off his tail.
I also cut off some of his ear hairs.
Here I am proudly showing the boar's tail...ahem, yes, I know...I'm crazy!
The fox had been hit by a car in the exact middle of the highway and on a bridge.
Here's an action shot of me after chopping off the fox's tail and heading off the road as cars were coming.
I got the entire fox tail!
I first learned how to make my own brushes from a video by Lisa LaPella – she is the ultimate pottery teacher by the way! Here is a link to that video and a link to my previous blog post on that effort.
I brought bamboo (dried) from Australia as we have heaps of it on our property. Dried bamboo worked great, but as Lisa LaPella says in her how-to video, if the bamboo is green, then as it dries, it will shrink and the fit will become even tighter.
The equipment required to make these brushes is bamboo (or wood which has a drilled hole), scissors, dental floss, glue (I used super glue) and fur or hair.
Items required to make the brushes.
Here is a step-by-step visual tutorial on making the brushes:
When making a brush and using bamboo, make sure that at least a 1 inch joint is available to put the bristles into.
Make a loop with the dental floss.
Place the loop over a section of the fur that you want to use for the brush.
Pull the dental floss down close to the skin or bone.
Pull the dental floss loop tight over the fur and tie a knot.
Wind the dental floss around the base of the brush.
Trim excess fur from the base of the brush.
You will now have a brush bristle ready to be inserted into the bamboo.
Find a bamboo that fits your bristles tightly.
Apply glue to the base of the bristles.
Push the brush into the bamboo and let dry.
Your brush is now complete!
Here is my most recent video on how to make these brushes.
Here is an example of a bowl that I recently made using a handmade brush.
It is quite easy, fun and the results are awesome! So get out there, be brave, clip some roadkill fur and make some brushes. OR….you can get some hair from your kids ponytail…just sayin’!
I’ve been sick as a dog since returning from NCECA- a major chest cold! I think the flying from Australia- the getting to Kansas City- and the fury of trying to see everything/do everything in two days took its toll! I thought I could get there on Thursday early, but as the airlines can rule your life- I only got to Kansas City about 4pm- not enough of the day- but we made the most of it- and Friday was crazy- so much fun! Saturday- not much going on except final speeches- I’m ADD and can’t sit through that- as a former academic I’m sort of done with all the theoretical shit- I’m down to basics- that’s why the exhibit hall was my cup of tea!!! Solutions to problems!!! New tools!!
Thoughts-
*so many potters in the USA!!! Lots of diverse work- I think in Australia the “type” of pottery that is seen as good or in style narrows too much.
*nothing you want to make is wrong- it’s all good and ok!
*potters are a great group of people!
Here’s a photo tour of my NCECA:
Don’t miss it next year in Portland- start planning now!!!
Redstar Studios in Kansas City is the most state-of-the-art studio I’ve EVER seen!
Chris Guston’s work is phenomenal!
Lisa Clague’s sculpture, Honey Bee, was the best!
Loved seeing a Justin Rothshank cup in person.
The demos!
Candone Wharton and her phenomenal, intricate work!
Eric Stearns demoing.
Janet DeBoos and Choo representing Australia National University
Tissue Transfers!
Handmade Bamboo Brushes!
Me- going crazy!
Elaine Coleman’s beautiful work.
Can’t believe I saw this lovely lady from Alaska, Doris Alcorn.
Judith Wagenseller at the K-12 exhibit.
Seeing Trisha Kyner was great!
So good being there with my buddies! Liz Williams, Hattie Wagenseller, Me, and Judith Wagenseller.
If you have read my previous post about Bill Powell being The Rock Star of Crystalline Glazes, you won’t be surprised to find out that he is also the Rock Star of Throwing Big Pots!
After attending a recent Bill Powell workshop offered by Ceramic Arts Queensland at the Brisbane Institute of Art location, I can honestly say that he is an amazing, talented thrower of Big Pots!!
He is a great potter, teacher and also a great entertainer! His use of the flame on his pots to dry them out in order to keep stretching, pushing the limits – dazzled us and added to the drama of his throwing.
Here he is “stretching” a vessel:
It all starts with a big lump of clay.
A tall form is thrown.
Bill carefully throws the inside and the outside of the piece before stretching.
Stretching has commenced.
Flaming the outside of the pot dries it out enough to continue the stretching without losing the pot.
Stretching continues.
Bill works 2-3 days a week at Beechmountain Pottery, throwing 45-60 vessels per day – working from 9-1 pm before heading home to work on his own pots and his beloved crystalline glazes.
Bill Powell’s Crystalline Glazed pottery
Be sure to check out the video of him throwing on this page.
Bill also has several videos on Youtube – here is an example of one, but check out this link for more: Bill Powell on Youtube
Bill gave us a glimpse into the life of a production potter as he threw several examples of Kombucha pots and Water Filter Systems.
The second part of the workshop allowed us to watch Bill throw a huge platter and large vessels made in two pieces then joined – amazing!
Click on the pictures below to get a larger picture.
Throwing the first part of the large vessel.
Exact measuring is the trick.
These are some seriously big callipers!
Using flaming torch to dry the pot out enough to join the second piece.
Flipping the second piece onto first piece
Joining the two pots.
Adding a lip/flange to the huge pot.
Happily joined!
Don’t miss the opportunity to see Bill Powell in action if there is another workshop around. You’ll learn heaps – and he is such a Rock Star!
Thanks to Ceramic Arts Queensland for putting on such a great workshop!
One of the first potters that I met at the Murwillumbah Potters Group was Jim Hall. He is in his 80’s now, but loves pottery and the processes still. In speaking with him, it became apparent that he had a wonderful story to tell. He was gracious enough to allow me to video tape him talking about his life as a potter and showing me some of his work. I think it is important to keep visual/audio records of people that have been involved in the artistic history of a country – they are our legacy.
I love making these mugs/cups! They fit the hand so nicely. They can also be placed in the freezer and then will make your bevie extra cold when you pour it!
If you have read my previous post about 
