allison mcgowan hermans' handbuilt vases

Allison McGowan Hermans Handbuilt VasesWatercolor Maiolica TechniquesKeeping Large Thin Platters FlatGarlic Roasters

Your Resource for Ceramic Techniques

July/August 2014

PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2014 1

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PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 20142

for more information on Skutt Kilns or to find a distributor, visit us at www.skutt.com or call us directly at 503.774.6000

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On the Cover Allison McGowan Hermans Bottice Vase, 11 in. (28 cm) in length, handbuilt porcelain, impressed and stamped patterns, glazes, fired to cone 1011 in an electric kiln, 2014.

InsideJuly/August 2014 Volume 17 Number 4

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Features 14 Bringing Indigo Batik Patterns to Clay by Shana Angela Salaff

Looking for both the inspiration and tools needed to transfer printed fabric patterns to clay? Explore the world of batik for both ideas and beautiful stamps.

17 Blending the Lines by Kenyon HansenUse added relief lines and carved texture to visually enhance and creatively charge your lidded pitchers.

22 Handbuilt Vases with Natural Undulations by Allison McGowan Hermans

Add some great textures, flowing curves, and active rims to your slab-built vase forms.

29 Watercolor Maiolica Technique by Laurie CurtisAdapting watercolor methods, like working with washes and layering color, gives maiolica pieces a different look.

35 Celebrating Whiskey Bottles and Cups by Matt Schiemann

Its long been the tradition to store spirits in ceramic vessels. Try throwing your own tall, collared form for whatever you may be drinking this summer.

40 Making a Flat and Thin Platter by John W. ConradLearn a few building and drying tips for keeping large platters flat all the way through the firing.

In the Studio 6 Dark Clay Bodies by Deanna Ranlett

8 Math and Art Join Forces by Don Hickethier and David Scott Smith

12 Variations On a Theme by Greg Daly

Inspiration 44 In the Potters Kitchen DIY Garlic Roaster by Sumi von Dassow

48 Pottery Illustrated Drinking Vessels by Robin Ouellette

for more information on Skutt Kilns or to find a distributor, visit us at www.skutt.com or call us directly at 503.774.6000

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TM The Future of Firingskutt.com/kilnlink

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Volume 17 Number 4

Publisher Charles SpahrEditorial

Editor Holly GoringAssociate Editor Jessica KnappEditorial Support Jan MoloneyEditorial Support Linda [email protected]: (614) 895-4213Fax: (614) 891-8960

Print and Digital Design Melissa BuryProduction Associate Erin PfeiferMarketing Steve HeckerCirculation Manager Sandy MoeningCeramics Arts Daily

Managing Editor Jennifer Poellot HarnettyWebmaster Scott Freshour

AdvertisingAdvertising Manager Mona ThielAdvertising Services Marianna [email protected]: (614) 794-5826Fax: (614) 891-8960

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Opinions expressed are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent those of the editors or The American Ceramic Society.

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from the editor | Commentary

Celebrating a New SeasonHello. I have the best job in the world. I spend my days look-ing at ceramics and ceramic making techniques then decid-ing which projects to share with you. Working on each is-sue is like being in ceramics class everyday. I love thatnew ideas, new techniques, working with my hands in a differ-ent but equally effective way. As Ive learned working on the magazine for the past six years, creative processes (both in the studio and in the office) happen in many different ways. We start with an artists technique, the editors gather text and images (1), the design team creates a layout (2), all the articles

are gathered for the issue (3), and corrections are made (4). When all the articles are ready to go, we send it to the printer, and ultimately onto you to (hopefully) discover something new for your own practice. While I do spend more time talking about ceram-ics than making it these days, the end result is still very satisfying and my hands still feel as though theyve been making something for others to enjoy.

In this issue were celebrating a new season and making new forms for summer with Kenyon Hansens lidded pitcher (p. 17) and Matt Schiemanns bottles and cups (p. 35) for thirst-quenching libations, John Conrads large platters (p. 40) and Laurie Curtis watercolor-decorated bowls (p. 30) for entertaining, and Allison McGowan Hermans scalloped vases (p. 22) for fresh cut blooms.

So after youve had a chance to make your own pitchers and platters, and celebrate summer with handmade pottery, let me know what you think, get in touch, send me your ideas. I want to hear from you.

Holly [email protected]

Where else can you find Pottery Making Illustrated? Check out:Facebook www.facebook.com/potterymakingillustratedPinterest www.pinterest.com/PMImagazineInstagram potterymakingillustratedTwitter https://twitter.com/PMImagazine or @PMImagazine

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in the studio | Clay and Glaze

Working with a smooth dark clay body is fascinating. Its like working in chocolatesilky and seductive. It throws well, takes attachments easily, and is generally pretty forgiving in a variety of construction methods. It can, however, be tricky to glaze and fire a dark-colored body.

Choosing or Mixing Dark Clay BodiesFor a dark commercial body, I recommend 335 Onyx Krunch Stoneware (cone 6) (figure 1), from Stone Mountain clay and Standards 266 Dark Brown Clay (cone 46) (figure 2).

You can also make your own dark clay by mixing a stain or a designated body stain into your existing clay body or light-col-ored commercial clay body. Try mixing Spectrums 2004 High-Temperature Black stain with dry scraps of your clay body and water to form a smooth slip, pour it out onto a dry plaster slab, wait until it firms up, then wedge it fully. Note: The clay may stain your hands so wear gloves and always wear a dust mask when mixing and cleaning up. Wet mixing from scrap mini-mizes speckling from stainswedging also helps. You can also wedge stain directly into clay but its more work, the dust can be hazardous, and the resulting clay body often retains some speckling. To make darker colors, youll need at least 10% stain (I measure by dry weight). Red Rock Stoneware from Highwa-ter Clays mixed with black stain makes a lovely chocolate-hued body (figure 3) and Helios Porcelain from Highwater Clays mixed with black stain makes a beautiful gray color (figure 4). Try testing incremental amounts in small batches.

Some slip recipes use up to 25% stain to get saturated color and the same is true with mixing a clay body. Clay bodies are balanced recipes and when youre adding a variable such as stain, youre changing the formulaadding new and different fluxes, colorants, refractory materials, etc. Clay behaves differently when youre adding a lot of stain to it because of the change to the formula. You will reach a point where the body becomes difficult to work with. You may notice the clay body losing plasticity and becoming short (cracking easily on rims and edges while work-ing with it.) Stick to 1015% stain for fewer behavior changes.

Glazing Dark Clay BodiesI had amazing results with white glazes on darker bodies. The Charlie Cummings Base has good coverage while allowing the dark clay body to show through when applied over texture areas (figure 5). The Chun White glaze becomes purple, blue, or laven-der from the manganese or high-iron content in the clay bodies (figure 67). White glazes with added colorants such as commer-cial stains also look great (figure 89). Its also advisable to ask manufacturers of darker bodies what glazes they recommend.

Firing Dark Clay BodiesPinholing and bloating can occur from off-gassing and from high-iron and/or manganese content in dark bodies. Firing with a soak at the end (or down-firing with a soak) often mini-mizes the fault. Bisque fire slowly to cone 04 or 03 to allow all of the organic material to burn off and gasses to escape. Test all dark clay bodies before producing any finished forms.

Dark Clay Bodiesby Deanna Ranlett

8 Charlie Cummings Base with #6242 Bermuda Mason stain. 9 With one coat white underglaze fired to cone 2.

1 Onyx Krunch Stoneware. 2 Standard 266. Both fired to cone 6 in oxidation.

5 Charlie Cummings Base glaze with Zircopax and tin, fired to cone 2.

3 Red Rock + 10% black stain. 4 Helios porcelain + 10% black stain.

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8

10 Standard 266 turns metal-lic when fired to cone 6 in reduction. 11 Standard 266 fired in an electric kin.

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6 Onyx Krunch Stoneware. 7 Standard 266. Both with Chun White glaze, fired to 6.

6 7

10 11


Charlie Cummings BaseCone 2

Ferro Frit 3134 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 %6 Tile Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 100 %Add: Tin Oxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 % Zircopax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 % For Green Add: Bermuda Mason stain #6242 . . 6 %

Glaze firings need to be taken slowly. I program my electric-kiln glaze firing to reach 2175F with a 15-minute hold, in-stead of going up to 2232F, which is com-mon for most pre-progammed cone 6 firings. Be aware that glaze combinations can also aggravate bloating and pinholing.

I fire my dark clay bodies in a gas kiln with a reduction atmosphere. Be aware that greater amounts of iron and other ox-ides such as manganese dioxide can change the look of clay bodies in atmospheric fir-ings. For example, Standards 266 can turn metallic in a gas kiln (figure 1011). I rec-ommend testing when using dark bodies in any gas or atmospheric firing. Again, manufacturers of dark bodies will be able to provide firing recommendations.

SafetyI would be remiss not to mention that many dark and speckled clay bodies con-tain manganese. Manganese is toxic. The basic concerns are that powdered man-ganese dioxide and granular manganese dioxide are used in some commercial dark and speckled bodies. If you are cre-ating dust, which I know you are, then you are exposing yourself to manganese. You can minimize your exposure when working with dark clay bodies by follow-ing some already known rules:

DO wear a well-fitting dust mask. DO wear gloves when mixing, wedg-

ing, and building DO test for food safety. DO utilize wet clean-up methods. DO wash your hands often and thor-

oughly with soap and water. DO NOT dry sand greenware

or bisque. DO NOT eat in your studio!

The fumes created by manganese are a known hazard during firing. Make sure your kilns are adequately vented and youre not in the immediate area while fir-ing. When the firing is complete, wear a respirator and mop around the kiln then cut off the power to the kiln and vacuum it.

Many authors have written about the health concerns related to dark clay bod-ies and manganese, check out:

Tony Hansen at Digitalfire: http://digitalfire.com

Artist Beware by Michael McCann Ron Roy and John Hesselberth at

www.masteringglazes.com. Read up and stay safe!

Deanna Ranlett has worked in clay for 14 years and currently owns Atlanta Clay in Atlanta, Georgia (www.atlantaclay.com) and MudFire in Decatur, Georgia (www.mudfire.com).

Chun White Cone 6 Oxidation

Dolomite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 %Whiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Zinc Oxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Ferro Frit 3134 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17F-4 Feldspar (sub . Minspar 200) . . . . 34Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 100 %Add: Bentonite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 %

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My Paragonkiln practically

fires itself,giving me moretime to makepots David

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ancient when David and KarenHendley bought it in 1995. Sincethen David has fired about 20,000pieces of bisque in his electricParagon.

For the last 20 years I havebeen glaze-firing all my work in awood-fired kiln, said David. Ienjoy the excitement of the firings,and my friends and customers likethe random fire flashings and ashdeposits.

What they dont know is thatevery piece is first fired in my Par-agon electric kiln. While acciden-tal and chance effects can enhancea wood firing, consistency is thekey to successful bisque firings.

For those firings, my Paragonhas delivered reliable and consis-tent results year after year. It prac-tically fires itself, giving me moretime to make more pots.

The Paragons of today areeven better than the early ones.The digital 12-sided TnF-27-3shown at right is only 22 deepfor easier loading. Lift the lid ef-fortlessly with the spring coun-ter-balance. Enjoy the accuracy

David and Karen Hendley with their ancient ParagonA-28B. It has fired about 20,000 pieces of bisque. TheHendleys run Old Farmhouse Pottery in Maydelle, Texas.

and convenience of theOrton controller.

To learn more, call usor visit our website for afree catalog and thename of the Paragondealer near you. Sign upfor the Kiln Pointersnewsletter.

Constantly finding betterways to make kilns.

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In the fall of 2010 mathematics instructor Donald Hickethier, PhD and I joined forces to offer a combined Art/Math class at Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC) in Kalispell, Mon-tana. The challenge in planning the class was to find a way to in-corporate the two disciplines in a manner that was both relevant and showed how they were related. Ironically, if one traces the application of art and mathematics back far enough in human history, they were often intertwined. Examples can be found in both ancient Egyptian sculptures and Mayan temples. It wasnt until relatively modern history (the last several hundred years) that the two disciplines diverged into autonomous fields of study.

For the mathematics portion of the class, Don chose to focus on geometry. I included topics in drawing and design, in addition to working with clay. We also wanted to finish the semester with a large collaborative project and the focus of discussion often re-volved around the mechanics of translating a hand-drawn design into a finished ceramic installation.

Learning Basic SkillsFor the first few weeks of the semester I taught basic drawing and two-dimensional design techniques, while Don covered both rigid and non-rigid geometrical transformations. The class explored creating geometric pencil-and-compass constructions and designs based on the Golden Ratio. These skills evolved into a drawing as-signment that began with a basic theme of non-representational lines that extended throughout the page with rotations, reflections, translations, and rescaling along a Golden Spiral. Each transforma-tion also had to demonstrate a different drawing technique.

Applying Math to DesignOne of the math topics covered involved tessellationsinfinitely repeating patterns (think M.C. Escher)which the students found very interesting. The class eventually decided that they would de-sign and construct a tessellating tile mural, to be permanently in-stalled on the FVCC campus.

First, each student created a tessellating design. A tessellation is created by starting with a triangle, quadrilateral, or hexagon, then removing part of the original object and rotating it to a new loca-tion. To create a six-fold symmetry for this mural, each students tessellating design started from a triangle.

The students brought their designs to class and voted on their favorites. The class was divided into four teams, each with the ob-jective to create a larger mural design based on the chosen tessella-tions. This became a competition for a final design. The class chose to combine two teams designs into a final design.

The design consisted of two different tessellations that roughly followed two opposing Golden Spirals, where the tiles shrank in size and began to separate as they spun toward the center.

in the studio | Instruction

Math and Art Join Forcesby Don Hickethier and David Scott Smith

1 Finished mural design combining two different tesselation patterns. 2 The FVCC Scholars Program Art/Math class with fin-ished tiles. 3 Students installing the outdoor, large-scale mural. 4 The finished installation took several semesters to build, fire, and install.

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The class presented this final design to FVCC administrators who approved it and selected a concrete wall over 60 feet long and 12 feet high near the Arts and Technology building for the installation.

Now the students needed to scale the de-sign to fit the site, and determine the tech-nical details before beginning production of the tiles. Based on the dimensions of the wall, they concluded that the final design would consist of over 200 tiles ranging from six inches to over two feet in length. Each tessellation in the design would be constructed in five different, yet perfectly re-scaled tile sizes. This meant creating at least ten different plaster molds that would be used to press-mold the clay tiles.

Ceramic ApplicationThe tiles were specifically sculpted so that each form had its own unique surface characteristics. In addition to the outside contours of the tile, relief designs on the surface were considered; once again the students were challenged to create designs (this time by sculpting an actual model in clay) and the class voted on the results.

One tesselation would contain soft lines and a deep positive relief, in order to catch the light and project shadows as the sun moved across the sky. The second tessela-tion was designed to contain straight lines and a negative relief pattern of spirals, which visually connected each tile, com-plimenting the tessellating pattern.

The students used a durable, mid-range clay body that could withstand an extreme freeze/thaw climate. The tiles were stained with varying percentages of red iron oxide and yellow ochre (up to 5%) to create a va-riety of earth-toned hues and shades.

Students spent hundreds of hours mix-ing clay, press-molding tiles, loading kilns, staining bisque tiles, and re-loading kilns for the final firings. More than once we heard students grumbling, I thought art was supposed to be easy! But as the proj-ect neared completion and dozens of neat-ly-stacked tiles accumulated, a sense of ex-citement and pride began to grow and the mural started to become a reality.

The tiles were installed in increments, starting from the bottom of the wall and working our way up. Throughout the in-stallation and positioning of the tiles we were extra careful to double-check our measurements and follow the design ex-actly as the students had planned.

Due to good student design, a perfectly scaled drawing, and quality tile making,

the FVCC Math/Art Scholars Mural is a permanent representation of the wonder-ful marriage of art and mathematics. For students who feel that math is hard and art is easy, consider: the initial design took several days of planning, but the mural construction took several semesters of hard labor!

Donald Hickethier, PhD, is associate professor of mathematics at Flathead Valley Community College and chairperson of the Math Division.

David Scott Smith is an assistant professor of Ceramics at the University of Little Rock, Arkansas. To learn more about him, check out http://davidscottsmithceramics.com.

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in the studio | Glaze Application

Variations on a Themeby Greg Daly

is rust brown and when thick, is black.) Using a small number of glazes, applying them using a range of techniques and mix-ing them to differing consistencies multiplies the variables, giv-ing many different surface effects and colors. This is sometimes overlooked by potters trying to achieve a particular glaze surface.

In figure 1, two glazes have been used, and applied in four dif-ferent ways (clockwise from top left): poured, dipped, brushed, and sprayed. Note the variation of colors with the overlap from thickness variation.

In figure 2, (from top to bottom) five glazes were respectively sprayed, brushed, and poured, creating different surface finishes. All five were applied in the same order: a tenmoku, a high-feld-spar glaze (white), then a rutile oatmeal glaze, followed by a rutile blue glaze, and finally a copper red. Just by changing the order in which the glazes are applied, you would have a possible 125 combinations, and with the three different applications shown, that makes 375 in all. If you take into account varying thickness of application, and all other variables (clay body, materials, kiln, firing), the possibilities are endless.

Excerpted from Developing Glazes, by Greg Daly, 2013. Co-published by The American Ceramic Society, Westerville, Ohio, http://ceramicartsdaily.org/bookstore and Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

Whether youre working with homemade glazes or commercial ones, how a glaze gets onto a pot determines how it emerges from the kiln. Different glaze applications include dipping, pouring, spraying, and brushing.

Mixing water with a glaze and brushing it onto a pot without using a brushing medium like CMC gum may result in an un-even surface and varying thicknesses of glaze. With some glazes this can be a bonus, giving a variety of colors and surface effects, while with others, the surface will be patchy and unpleasing.

Similar variations can be observed when spraying glaze. Ap-plication with a spray gun can result in an uneven surface and desired thickness in glaze. With reduced air pressure, the spray gun will splatter, creating an uneven glaze application, which with some glazes may create interesting finishes.

When you dip a pot into a glaze, a controlled thickness and cov-ering of glaze can be obtained. To vary the surface, as you lift the pot out of the glaze, try running your fingers over the still wet sur-face to create a pattern. Even when dipping in the same glaze, dif-ferent thicknesses of glaze will result in different surface qualities.

Glaze application variables include the porosity of the bisqued work and firing bisque ware to varying temperatures, or using a number of clay bodies with different porosities. If a group of pot-ters are given a glaze recipe and asked to mix it with water, they would each add a differ-ent amount, a variation that could affect the fin-ished thickness of glaze and ultimately the fin-ished surface color.

There is no set rule as to how much water to add to your glaze, but a glaze with a high clay content will require more water than one with a small amount. A high-clay glaze will take longer to dry on the pot. Some glazes, when mixed up, have the consistency of wa-ter and must be applied thinly to obtain the best results, while others need to be thick like cream and applied thickly. Sometimes some glaze recipes can be made at varying consis-tencies, giving a palette of colors. One such example is tenmoku (an iron stoneware glaze that when thin

1 Two glazes ap-plied in four differ-ent ways. Clockwise from top left: poured, dipped, brushed, and sprayed. 2 Five glazes applied by spraying, painting, and pouring (from top to bottom).

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EXTROHRDINARYSUMMERCELEBRATIONbeginning July 12, 2014

Experience the first of architect Frank Gehrys iconic pods the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino Gallery Pod, during the

386 Beach Boulevard, Biloxi, Mississippi www.georgeohr.org

TWO AMERICAN MASTERS COME TOGETHER

The Ohr-OKeefe Museum of Artdesigned byFrank Gehry, architect of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbaopays homage to the exuberant avant-garde vision of George E. Ohr, Americas first art potter. OOMAs stainless steel pods and adjacent galleries stand as tribute to the creative spirit of two American masters. The Beau Rivage Resort & Casino Gallery Pod is part of the George Ohr Gallery Pavilion, sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

A POD NESTLED AMONG THE OAKS

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In the summer of 2012, I travelled to Bali, Indonesia, for a residency at the Gaya Ceramic Art Center (CAC) (www.gayaceramic.com), which is located in Ubud, one of the cultural hubs of the province. Alongside my ceramic studio work, I was given many opportu-nities to participate in ceremonies and events. To my eyes, these seemed extraordinary and exotic, while to local Balinese they were commonplace. In fact, for the Balinese, who are Hindu, religion is completely integrated into daily life. Each day begins with the Ibu (woman) of the household offering blessings to the household sun shrine, and extending that blessing to the dwelling, work areas, and important tools in these areas. Our kilns were blessed daily, and larger ceremonies blessing all the tools were held every six months.

The Gaya CAC studio was a blend of Balinese and Western sen-sibilities. In the general workspace, I found a number of texture molds and stamps available for use. One of these was a beautifully

made 10-inch-square stamp with a raised pattern and wooden strap handle on the back. When I asked where it had come from, Hillary Kane, the CAC director and a ceramic artist with a textile background, explained that students from a recent Gaya workshop exploring ceramics and textiles had visited a local batik shop that used traditional batik and indigo dying techniques. The proprietor, Tjok Agung, had sold some of his handmade stamps to the students and this one was left behind for future students to use (figure 1).

Batik is a process where a pattern is painted (or stamped) onto fabric using melted wax, and the fabric is then dyed. The wax acts as a resist, so when the wax is removed with heat, the original fabric color shows in these areas (similar to the process of wax-resist glaz-ing). This process can be repeated with layers of dye, starting with lighter colors and ending with darker ones.

I made good friends with the batik stamp at Gaya CAC, and joked that it was going to end up in my suitcase when I went home. I used it on slabs of clay that became the bottoms of trays for the cruets I was making. I visited Agungs workshop in Pejeng, near Ubud, as soon as I could, and I found it to be an overwhelming experience; one that inspired me throughout my stay. The fabrics I purchased there are a continuing resource.

Batik itself is not native to Bali, and indigo dying is not native to Pejeng village, although the Ikat weavers in the Balinese villages of Sidemen and Tenganan use it. When Agung (a relative of the Ubud royal family) decided to develop a batik studio as a cottage indus-try for Pejeng, he researched the techniques of batik and dying. He eventually imported indigo seeds from Thailand and Sumatra, and donated fields to grow indigo in Pejeng. For the batik and indigo dying techniques, he turned to Java.

Batik Process From Start to FinishDuring this visit to the Tjok Agung Indigo studio, Agungs wife (and head salesperson) showed me around the workshop, ex-plaining through an interpreter the various techniques in use. Amazingly, in the same visit, I was able to see the stamps used to make the patterns, the process, and the finished, printed fabrics.

In one room, a group of about ten women applied hot beeswax to sections of fabric stretched out on wooden supports. Some were using brushes to apply the hot wax in geometric patterns (figure 2), while others were using a tjanting tool (spelled cant-ing in Bahasa Indonesian) (figure 3) to create flowing line work that included an intricate phoenix design (figure 4). Traditionally, the women do the handwork using the tjanting, while men work with the stamps, called cap (pronounced chap).

Wax-decorated fabric hung on racks to cool along the side of the room (figure 5). In another area, finished fabric was ironed to

Bringing

to Clay

Indigo BatikPatternS

by Shana Angela Salaff

Wooden batik stamps stored on the courtyard wall at the Tjok Agung Batik workshop. These stamps also make great tools in the pottery studio.


remove the wax. There were several small showrooms near this work area that con-tained racks extending from wall to wall that were covered with patterned fabric in a range of materials including cotton, linen, and silk (figures 67).

All the colors were the subtle tones of natural dyes. I learned that the dark blue came from traditional indigo plant dye. Creating indigo from plant sources in-volves an extensive fermentation process to create a paste from the raw Indigofera tinctoria leaves. Using the indigo plant dye on fabrics requires repeatedly dip-ping the cloth into the dye vat to achieve the desired intensity. Because of its labor-intensiveness, indigo and other traditional plant dyes result in fabric too expensive for the local population to purchase. However, there is a small movement now in Bali of re-establishing the use of these natural materials (like indigo, persimmon for a golden yellow, and tree barks), which dont pollute the way chemical dyes do.

The workshops outdoor courtyard is where the dye vats (figure 8) as well as the many stamps are stored and used (see im-age on page 14). In the Indonesian tradi-tion of batik, these stamps are made of copper, and Agung uses many of these (figure 9), but he also has quite a few made out of pressboard or Masonite. This is where the men worked, dipping the stamp into the hot melted wax, and applying the stamp to the undyed fabric. Any mistakes such as thin wax or missed areas are filled in by hand afterward. When I returned later in the summer to purchase stamps, it was the wooden ones that Tjok Agung of-fered me, as these could be easily remade.

Wooden batik stamp that was part of the studio tool collection at Gaya CAC.

A worker painting wax onto fabric at Tjok Agung Studio.

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tjok agungs PatternsWhat I love about Agungs patterns is that there are such a huge variety of influences evident. Some patterns have a local Indonesian feel, while others are distinctly Euro-pean in style. I was told that Agung researches pattern sources on the Internet. What a great example of contemporary artistic practicelocal materials employed with regional technology, using designs sourced globally with contemporary technology!

Although I used the stamp I found in the Gaya CAC workshop many times in Bali, I have not used the ones I brought home. I find them to be beautiful artworks in their own right and enjoy having them as visual reminders of my trip.

For ceramic artists interested in patterns from Batik stamps, sources abound. Fragments or full examples of traditional Indonesian stamps are now widely available on eBay, as well as many more from other Eastern cultures such as Thailand and Cambodia. Most preva-lent are the carved, wooden, textile printing stamps from India. Import shops sometimes have small wooden stamps created just for resale that are fairly inexpensive (figure 10). Larger stamps can sometimes be found in such shops, but the truly antique ones that have actually been in use and are complete, are expensive. The stamp fragments are the cheap-est, as they cant be used for their intended purpose and are smaller and easier to ship.

Using Batik Stamps on ClayWorking on soft clay slabs with batik stamps is fairly easy as long as the clay surface isnt sticky. Be sure to rub off any clay attached to the stamp each time you make an impression, as intricate stamps tend to clog up quickly. Metal stamps tend to stick more than wooden ones; either use slightly firmer clay or apply a thin layer of cornstarch to the clay first. With larger stamps, use a gentle rocking motion to release the stamp upward without tearing the slab. If the stamp is small, you can press it into the clay from above. For larger stamps,

Finished fabric showing a detail of the phoenix pattern from figure 3.

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Wax being applied to fabric using a tjant-ing to create a phoenix pattern.

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Wax-decorated fabrics showcasing a geometric pattern hanging up to cool.

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process | Bringing Indigo Batik Patterns to Clay | Shana Angela Salaff

try rolling the clay over the stamp instead. Fragmented stamps can also be used on wheel-thrown work when it is still soft but not sticky. The type of mark made depends upon the thickness of the raised areas of the stamp. When not in use, keep stamps clean and protected with a soft cloth.

Other decorating techniques can be combined with the impressed patterns. Slip or underglaze can be inlaid into the pattern or can be brushed across to highlight it. After bisque firing, thin un-derglaze or stain can be brushed over the whole surface and then wiped away from raised areas to accentuate the patterns.

Other suggestions: use the stamps as ac-tual stamps. Brush color over the pattern and apply it as a monoprint to flat slabs of clay. You could also try using a stamp for its original purpose: to apply wax resist.

Think of batik stamps as texture tools that have a history, a culture, and an artis-tic heritage attached to them. The char-acter of the stamp will be transferred to your work, but the more you add on to it, the further it will get from its culture of origin. By doing a little research into the textiles made in the same area your stamp came from, youll be sure to find some other great patterns!

resourcesTjok Agung Indigo: tjokagung-indigo.com.

Threads of Life: (threadsoflife.com) a store showcasing Indonesian craft textiles, in-cluding Tjok Agungs work.

Shana Salaff, a frequent contributor to Pottery Making Illustrated, is an artist and instructor living in Fort Collins, Colorado. To see more of her work, visit www.shanasalaff.com.

Finished batik patterned fabrics hanging in the Tjok Agung Indigo showroom.

Wooden stamp used to create the batik pattern on the fabric in image 7.

7

Small Indian batik stamps created just for resale that are available at import shops.

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The courtyard at the workshop showing drying fabric and the indigo dye vats.

8

Blackie Cruet and Tray, oxidation-fired cone 10 stoneware. The inside bottom of the tray was textured using the stamp shown in figure 1. When the thrown components were still wet, the studio dog, Blackie, jumped up upon the table and got his claws into them. Instead of trying to remove the claw-marks, I continued them around the rim to create the impressed pattern. I then congratulated Blackie on his excellent suggestion!

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One of Tjok Agungs copper batik stamps with an intricate floral design.

9


I make utilitarian pottery using a very deliberate and methodical process. Each decision informs the next. How lines begin, end, and intersect are all considered. Forms are funneled through a series of aesthetic choices, both visual and functional. Each car-ries the same weight. The sum of these decisions; though small, individually create the whole. I want the pots to be balanced between the visual elements and the function theyre designed to perform. I believe that finely crafted, thoughtfully made pot-tery can contribute to a renaissance of tradition and daily use.

Design and FormI build my pots with porcelain and I have been experimenting with wedging coarse silica sand into the clay body. This changes the character of the clay, giving it texture and tooth, as well as affecting the final finish of the piece.

To make a pitcher, begin with 36 pounds of clay depending on the desired volume and height, and wedge in around cup of silica sand. Center the clay in a vertical shape to minimize pulls while throwing. I like my pitchers to have a wide foot and stable base and then taper inward creating negative space for a handle before flaring out slightly from the center to the top.

Once the desired height is thrown, shape the form by pushing out from the inside while compressing with a rib from the out-side. Compressing helps clarify the form, and removes throw-ing lines. Use the same rib to create horizontal bands around the pot (figure 1). These lines highlight the transitions within form, and guide the appendage placement of the handle and the spout. Use the 90 edge of a rib to make the seat for the lid by compressing the clay downward (figure 2). When the form is finished, measure the opening with calipers.

To make the lid, throw a shallow bowl slightly larger then the caliper measurement. Coddle the rim back inward and fold the clay onto itself, creating a rim twice as thick as the center. Finish by compressing down with a rib to create a clean line. Measure with calipers to ensure a tight fit (figure 3). Both the body and the lid are trimmed at the leather-hard stage (figure 4). When trim-ming the lid, add a circular raised line for the handle to fit into.

Creating ConnectionsMove the pot to a banding wheel to make it easier to add the vertical lines. Begin by scoring a line from the top to the bottom of the form, then roll out a thin coil and press it into the scored

by Kenyon Hansen

Blending the lines

Kenyon Hansen uses exaggerated lines and subtle textures to highlight important transitions within his functional forms.


area. After its attached, use a small amount of water and com-press the coil into the pot with your finger, securing the con-nection. Use a stiff rib with a sharp, angled corner to thin and refine the lines and scrape away any unwanted clay (figure 5).

Spout and HandlesTo make the spout, create a slab that is inch thick. I do this by tossing and rotating a piece of clay on a flat surface until its stretched out to an even thickness. Measure from the rim to the hip (bottommost horizontal line) of the formthis distance is the length of the spout. Cut out a slab that is three inches wide and the full length of the measurement. Make a mark at the lower center of the slab. With a pin tool, lightly draw a line from the top two edges to the bottom center point, creating a V-shaped slab. Cut the shape of the spout out with the pin tool and use the remaining scraps to double the thickness of

the spouts rim (figure 6). This strengthens the edge and gives

you more clay to work with while refining the lip of the spout.

Attach and blend the two pieces together with a serrated rib.

Gently curve the slab with two hands to give it shape and vol-

ume. Hold the spout up to the form and trace the outline. Start-

ing from the bottom, carefully cut out rectangular slots with a

sharp knife making each one a little wider as you work your

way to the top. Remove any burrs of clay that fall into the piece.

With a wet sponge, soften the cut edges from the inside. When

both the spout and the body are leather hard, score and apply

slip around the edge of the spout and inside the outline on the

form and attach the two together (figure 7). Dip your fingers in

water and compress the rim of the spout so it tapers from thick

to thin, then slowly stretch out the lip with your wet finger so

the outline of the spout is one continuous curve (figure 8).

Create raised horizontal bands to high-light transitions in form.

Place the lid on the pot and trim a raised band into the lid for the handle to fit into.

Using the 90 edge of a rib on part of the rim to form the seat for a lid.

Add vertical lines using flattened coils then refine their edges and corners.

Use calipers and measure several times to make sure the lid fits tight.

Cut a V-shaped slab for the spout and thicken its rim. Shape into a spout form.

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process | Blending the Lines | Kenyon Hansen


Softly pinch out a thick handle, leaving extra clay at the ends where it will be attached to the pot. This extra clay forms a strong visual connection, and shows generosity of material. Dry fit the handle and outline where it will be connected. Score and apply slip to the areas of connection really well and attach the handle. With a small amount of water, begin compressing and smoothing out the handle with your fingers. Finish shaping the outline while rotating the piece, making sure to consider all angles (figure 9).

Make the handle for the lid using the same process as the first handle; pinch, attach, compress, and smooth out (see fig-ure 10).

Incorporating the LidNext, cut out the section of the rim inside of the spout (figure 10). Make sure not to cut into the seat for the lid. Then place the lid

back onto the pot and mark the area that was just cut out. Score the lid in between the lines and attach a ball of clay large enough to fill the negative space of the spout. Pinch and form the clay to make an extension of the lid that fits tightly inside the spout. Al-low the tongue to dry to leather hard, then refine and blend the seams together with a serrated rib. Place the lid back on the pot and extend the raised lines from the rim to the circle around the handle (figure 11).

Integrating the SurfaceWhen the whole pot is leather hard, cover the exterior with slip (figure 12). This creates depth in the glaze firing and achieves two different colors on the interior and exterior with a single glaze. When the pot returns to leather hard, use a straight edge and a pin tool to carve through the slip to reveal the clay (figure 13). Allow the pot to dry completely and use a brush to

Cut out rectangular slots, making each wider as you work up. Attach the spout.

Cut out the section of the rim in the middle of the spout.

Compress, taper, and refine the lip of the spout to fit the form.

Pinch out a tongue shape to fill in the spout. Add raised lines to the lid.

Pinch out a handle, and dry fit it to the form. Attach and shape it on the pot.

When the entire pot is leather hard, pour white slip over the exterior.

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remove any clay burrs that may still be attached (figure 14). Dry the pot slowly and bisque fire it.

After the pot is bisque fired, lightly sand down the entire form. Caution: Always wear a dust mask and work in a well-ventilated area when sanding greenware or bisque ware. This softens any sharp edges and removes fingerprints or unwanted marks. Next, wipe down the entire form with a wet sponge and allow it to completely dry. I like to alternate glazes to break up the surface patterns, so I apply one glaze with a brush and let it dry, then wax over just that glazed area, allow the wax to dry, and pour or dip the other glaze to finish covering the pot. After everything is dry, I fire my pots to cone 10 reduction in a soda kiln.

Kenyon Hansen received a BFA from Finlandia University in Hancock, Michigan and has been an artist-in-residence at Watershed Center for the Ceramics Arts, and the Archie Bray Foundation where he was awarded the Lincoln Fellowship. Kenyon currently resides in Hancock where hes a full-time potter, and adjunct instructor at Finlandia University.

Add surface decoration to the sections between the raised lines.

Kenyon Hansens lidded pitcher, 10 in. (25 cm) in height, porcelain, sgraffito, slip, glaze, fired in reduction to cone 9 in a soda kiln, 2014.

When the pot is completely bone dry, lightly sand the entire form. Bisque fire it then glaze it to highlight the surface details and the functional accents.

13 14

Porcelain cone 10

Custer Feldspar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 %Pyrophyllite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Tile Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Ball Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8EPK Kaolin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 100 %

Add:Bentonite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 .00 %Epsom Salts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 .25 %

Yellow SliP cone 10

Nepheline Syenite . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 .6 %Ball Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 .2Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 .2 100 .0 %

Add: Tin Oxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 .3 % Titanium Dioxide . . . . . . . . . 10 .5 %

Green celadoncone 10

Dolomite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 %Wollastonite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20G-200 Feldspar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40EPK Kaolin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 100 %

Add: Spanish Red Iron Oxide . . . . . . 1 %

Crystal growth in this glaze is very sensitive to variations in cooling .

process | Blending the Lines | Kenyon Hansen


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46

Making handbuilt porcelain vases comes naturally to me as a

ceramic artist, lover of nature, and avid gardener. I love the

minute formal challenges these porcelain vases bring within the

parameters of function.

My work grows out of an extensive root system. My inspira-

tion comes from sewing, nature, the basic structure or architec-

ture of plants, Art Nouveau architecture, traditions in ceramics,

and the art of function. All these are referenced in my work, from

the moment I start layering patterns throughout the piece, to the

point when I fill the vase with water and flowers and make sure

all my seams are leak proof!

Varied VasesI make many variations of vaseswide, squat, fat, tall, slender, and

dainty. I love to play with textures and patterns that work together

within the forms and I normally make several versions of the pots and then tweak the rims and the feet to change them up a bit. Flip-ping a pot over to create a whole new form was an idea gleaned in graduate school from one of my instructors, Anne Currier, and I use it to this day.

I begin working on my vase forms, as with every form, con-sidering the function of the pot. Will this vase be for a large centerpiece with a grouping of tall flowers, or will it hold just a wispy wildflower bouquet that I might put in a small niche of a room to cheer it up? When making anything with clay, even an open flower pot, the right proportions and weight are im-portant. Height, balance, and shrinkage are all taken into con-sideration when designing vases. These thoughts are all in my head while cutting the clay away from the block and preparing my slab.

by Allison McGowan Hermans

Handbuilt Vases with

Natural Undulations

Handbuilt vases made from slab cylinders can be every bit as free flowing as wheel-thrown forms, as Allison McGowan Hermans proves with her Concord Flower Vase.

22 PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2014


Spatial IllusionsI am interested not only in formal elements of the vase but also in creating illusions of space through a combination of layering patterns onto the wet clay surface, then using glazes that pool and flow to both accentuate and soften or distort the pattern and create a sense of depth to the surface of the pot. Most of my at-tention in the process is in the wet state when the surface design is being manipulated and stretched. My glazing is straightfor-ward and entails hitting the texture with different accent glazes, then dunking the piece to cover it completely with a final glaze. I fire all my work in an electric kiln with witness cones to between cone 1011.

Layered InterestsBy layering all of my interests together through structure, tex-ture, pattern, and functionality, I am never bored with a form. I cut, alter, and tailor all of my vessels from a slab, sometimes using a hump or slump mold, or soft-filled pillow molds to create the form; however, the forms that are the most intriguing to me are ones that start as a straight-forward, slab-built cylinder. I build the body of the pot free hand and then integrate a foot to lift it off the table. The final step brings the form to life with a rim to tie the vessel to the foot and emphasize the volume in the form.

Making vases gives me an opportunity to be both in my gar-den and in my studio, which I love, especially in the spring. I enjoy making vases because I love having fresh cut flowers in my house and I love to make forms that compliment and not com-pete with a flowers own grace and beauty.

Texture, Shape, and VolumeMy Concord Flower Vase has a full-bodied form with its scalloped edges and rounded feet. Like all of my pieces, the Concord Vase starts with a slab that I toss out onto my canvas-covered table. I dont use a slab roller; its quicker for me to stretch and flip the clay by hand, and I have more control of the thickness and width by tapping the ends and the top and bottom of the slab. I throw out a long, rectangular slab, leaving it a little thicker than the finished slab will be, since its stretched out later and giving the piece more volume after texturing.

I have a tool box full of treasured textures, found objects, and sewing notions in my studio that I have found all over for my surface textures (see sidebar figure A). I imprint the slab with a texture I took from the sole of a shoe and made into a bisque-fired stamp (figure 1), then layer another pattern over it using a button that was glued to the end of a short dowel (see sidebar fig-ure B and resulting texture in figure 4). After I make the textured slab foreground, I stretch out the slab a little more to distort the impressions by throwing it back out onto the canvas.

I set up a tall cardboard cylinder on a banding wheel as a sup-port, and then stand the wet slab up against this support. De-

A This is my box of treasured textures. I find textures everywhere, but what most intrigues me with these found textures is the pattern within pat-terns. I have used textures from fabrics, cording, shoe soles, buttons, door handle knobs, and mens under-wear waistbands to impress the clay.

B Texture tools come from various places. The one I use to create the smaller foreground pattern seen in figure 4 is a button that was glued to the end of a short dowel.

A

B

pending on the height, weight, and wetness of the slab, I use this cylinder to help keep the clay upright (figure 2) at the beginning of the process. To form vases, I always work on a bat on my band-ing wheel so that transferring the pot later is more manageable. Note: I dont use the cardboard cylinder to shape the vase, just to brace and support it until I finish joining seams. Overlap the slab according to the desired diameter, then use a sharp knife to cut through both layers at a 45 angle at the same time to create the seam (figure 3). This type of cut maintains an exact seam that matches up perfectly. I need the seam to be strong because it will be stressed when I alter the form later.

I score both edges, and use a deflocculated slip (see recipe sidebar on page 26) to adhere the seam together. The defloc-culated slip requires less water to stay fluid. This is helpful be-cause it means the water content of the slip is closer to the water content of the slab, so the slip shrinks less as it dries and theres less stress overall on the seam. I join the ends together, pushing with my palms and thumbs carefully so as to not disturb the texture (figure 4). Pressing the clay against the cardboard cylin-


Use a 2-inch-diameter dowel rod to support the outside and define the scal-lops without disrupting the textures.

Create scallops: press out with one hand, while pressing in with your fin-gers on either side of the bulge.

Throw out another slab for the base of the form, add texture to both sides using stamps and a textured plaster slab.

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Place the bottom, textured slab on the cylinder and fold the extra clay over to make a bellied foot for each scallop.

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process | Handbuilt Vases | Allison McGowan Hermans

Overlap the slab according to the desired diameter, then cut through both layers on an angle close to 45 to give the seam extra strength.

3

Score, apply slip, and push the seam together carefully so as to not disturb the texture.

4

Set up a cardboard cylinder on a banding wheel as a support, and then stand the slab up so its encircling the tube.

Throw a slab out onto a canvas-covered table, or a sheet of drywall, then imprint texture on the slab.

21


Sandwich the cylinder between the two bats and flip it over once the feet are leather hard and can support the weight.

Roll a small coil for each scallop with the ends tapering and the center swelling, apply texture, then curve each coil into a gentle crescent-moon shape.

Neatly attach each coil to the rim by squeezing the scallop up against the coil. Clean up any excess slip that squeezes out of the seam.

Cut the top with an X-Acto knife to create seven or eight scalloped shapes, then remove the excess.

Carefully shape and taper one curved coil around each scallop of the rim to ensure a tight fit and strong seam. Score, then ap-ply slip to both the rim and coil.

Smooth and compress all of the joints and make any final adjustments to the scallops and overall shape while the piece is still leather hard.

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Place another bat on top of the piece and use a level to adjust alignment of the feet.

9


der on the inside gives the stability needed to apply some force on the outside without breaking open the seam on the inside.

Once the cylinder is complete, I start to define the scalloped shape. After removing the cardboard tube, I use my hands on the inside and outside at the same time to push out and up in a straight vertical line while using the fingers of my outside hand to press in on either side of the bulge (figure 5). Its important to press lightly so as not to disturb the texture while still accentuat-ing the bulge in the form. To further define the scallop of the form without disrupting the textures, I use a 2-inch-diameter dowel rod to provide support on the outside while I use my fin-gers to push out from the inside (figure 6).

Once the form is ready, I toss out a second slab for the base. I place it on a large, 3-inch-thick plaster texture mold that I made using the cover of a fluorescent light fixture. Then I texture the top of the slab with the same pattern thats on the body of the pot (figure 7). This way, when someone looks inside of the vase, the texture at the bottom mirrors whats on the outside.

I attach the slab to the cylinder, taking care not to disturb the texture. Im working upside down, so what shows here as the top of the piece (see figure 8) will become the bottom of the finished piece. To make a foot, I cut around the edge leaving a wide margin.

I fold the extra clay over and make a bellied foot for each scallop (figure 8). As I work the clay from the inside, I am also pillowing the foot out to create more volume.

After all the feet are finished, I cover two-thirds of the vessel with plastic so that I can finish the rim and top of the pot once stiffened. I place another 12-inch bat on top of the piece and use a small level to make slight adjustments to the alignment of the feet (figure 9). This ensures that the vessel sits level.

When the foot can support its own weight, I flip the piece over and work on the top. I sandwich the leather-hard vase be-tween two bats and flip the form over (figure 10), so I dont press on the sides of the pot and distort the form.

At this point, the top rim is cut with an X-Acto knife and re-moved into seven or eight scalloped shapes, according to the overall form of the piece (figure 11). Then I slightly thin and push out the scallops to open the top of the pot to receive flowers.

I roll a small, moon-shaped coil for each scallop, with the ends tapering and the center swelling (figure 12) and roll them onto the same textured slab used for the base.

Each coil gets carefully formed and tapered around each scal-lop of the rim (figure 13). The coil is then neatly attached by scor-ing the bottom of the coil and the edge of the rim, applying de-flocculated slip, squeezing the rim up toward the base of the coil, and cleaning up any visible slip (figure 14). Final adjustments are made to accentuate the scallops and the overall shape (figure 15).

After the bisque firing, I layer several glazes to accent the tex-ture and increase the sense of depth, dip the piece in an overall top coat of glaze, then fire to cone 1011 in an electric kiln.

Allison McGowan Hermans is a studio potter, mother of two, and a certified occupational therapy assistant in Concord, North Carolina. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and she has demonstrated her techniques to universities and art centers around the country. She currently maintains a studio beside her home with a showroom that has an open house the first weekend in November and is open any time by appointment. You can see more of her work at www.allisonmcgowan.com.

To make a deflocculated slip, take a 2 gallon bucket of bone dry clay, slake it down with enough water to form a thick slurry, then add about 510 drops of deflocculant. Blunge the slip with a drill mixer until it webs in between your fingertips. The final consistency should be like honey. This amount of slip lasts for quite a while if covered with plastic and a lid. The slip needs to be mixed each time you use it, because as it sits it becomes too viscous, then returns to honey consistency once remixed.

Deflocculated Joining Slip Recipe

Left: Finished Concord Flower Vase, 10 in. (25 cm) in height, handbuilt porcelain, glazes, fired to cone 1011 in an electric kiln.


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Maiolica is described in Wikipedia as Italian tin-glazed pottery

dating from the Renaissance. Its decorated in bright colors on

a white background, frequently depicting historical and legend-

ary scenes. The name is thought to have come from the medieval

Italian word for Majorca, an island on the route for ships bring-

ing Hispano-Moresque wares from Valencia to Italy, although

the tin-glazed ware originated in Iraq (then Mesopotamia) in

an attempt to replicate white Tang Chinese ware. Modern day

maiolica is now painted in many different styles throughout the

world but the materials and method basically remain the same

(although we can no longer use lead in our colors and Zircopax

often replaces the expensive tin oxide as the primary opacifier in

many maiolica glaze recipes).

Watercolor TechniquesWhile the basic materials remain the same, different painting styles can be adapted to maiolica to achieve unique results. Ce-ramic stains and underglazes mixed with water painted on un-fired white-glazed bisque is very much the same as painting a watercolor painting on paper. Both techniques require that you use soft brushes, mix pigment/stain with water and apply them to an absorbent surface. While painting on top of glaze, your colors will absorb instantly and stay where you have dropped the brush stroke. While painting on paper, your watery colors will be absorbed more slowly and can move around or travel before they settle (figure 1). Sometimes (unintentionally or in-tentionally) colors will bleed into other colors and create magic.

by Laurie Curtis

Technique

WatercolorMaiolica

29PotteryMaking Illustrated | July/August 2014


There is a different kind of magic that results in painting on top of an unfired glazed piece of pottery. The joy of opening your kiln and seeing a beautiful painting technique that only high heat and atmospheric conditions could have created.

Getting StartedTo create my watercolor maiolica, I start with a handbuilt piece of terra-cotta bisque (fired to cone 04) and brush on two or three lay-ers of white glaze. I prefer to use a commercially made white dip-ping glaze from Italy (Hobby Colorobbia) and have experimented making my own but find I always go back to the Italian glaze. I use it both for dipping small pieces and brushing or pouring it on the larger pieces. After Ive completely covered my piece in white glaze I let it dry completely overnight. Wearing a dust mask, I always lightly hand sand my pieces over a water-filled sink to remove any bumps and create a smooth base for painting. There will always be more glaze dust created while you sand but either leave it on the surface of the piece (it will dissolve when you apply the watercol-ors) or tap it off but dont blow on it as the materials are harmful to breathe in. Sometimes I start painting my piece by brushing on a lightly colored wash, which is basically a mixture of stains and lots and lots of water. I try to avoid going over an area with my wide

soft brush more than once. I let the piece dry again overnight. Its very important to work on a very dry glaze surface.

I then take the piece and improvise a design in my mind by thinking of a specific fruit and start drawing it lightly with a dull pencil directly on top of the dried white glaze. If the composition isnt quite right, I lightly rub out the pencil lines and redraw it. Never use an eraser because it has oil in it that will repel the colo-rants. I tend to always keep in mind the five basic design elements color, line, shape, texture, and mass or size relationships when cre-ating a design. I also always try to paint an odd number of main objects like three oranges as opposed to two or four oranges. One orange will work visually, but it should be placed slightly off center with leaves to balance it. I usually start with the main fruit and fill in the spaces with different sizes of leaves or blossoms. After Im happy with the composition, I start painting.

Mixing colorsI usually fill up two or three palettes with different colors (all Ma-son stain, Italian underglaze, and water mixtures (see figure B)), one with greens and yellow and the others with orange, red, and yellow or blues and reds to make purple. I use white plates for mix-ing my washes and little separate bowls for brown, pink, manga-

A The brushes I like to use (from top to bottom): A synthet-ic-hair, fine liner brush; very soft natural hair round quill brushes; and a white goat-hair, flat wash brush.

B Colors for maiolica watercolor painting. Hobby Colorob-bia Bisque Strokes underglaze (manufactured in Italy), Mason stains, and manganese dioxide. The white maiolica glaze I use is also made by Hobby Colorobbia. Colors flow and bleed in this painting of satsuma oranges on

paper. This effect doesnt happen with watercolor maiolica.

After applying a wash, fill in the light yellow of the lemon within the pencil lines that define the image, working from light to dark.

Mix Mason stains on white plates. Group blues and reds to make shades of purples, and group yellows with blues and greens.

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process | Watercolor Maiolica Technique | Laurie Curtis

A B


nese, and dark blue (figure 2). I then fill my round, natural-hair quill brush with the watered down stain/underglaze mixtures (no added frit), working from light to dark to create a transparent lay-ered look (figure 38).

The amount of stain and underglaze mixed with water varies based on the intensity desired. Start with around 1 part stain/un-derglaze mixture to 20 parts water. I create the colors by sight and feel. The more water you use, the lighter and more transparent the color will be. You can tell you need to add more water if your brush starts to skip or drag across the surface of your piece. Your brushstroke should glide across the top of the unfired white glaze.

Brushing TechniquesLearning the best speed and pressure of your brush stroke is im-portant. There are many Chinese brush-stroke books available with great exercises that are helpful, and I recommend Chinese Brush Painting by Pauline Cherrett and The Art of Chinese Brush Painting by Lucy Wang.

After I have painted all the colors of the design and have added shading and accents like sun spots for depth, brown for the stems, and blue hues for shadows on the bottom of the lemons, Im ready to add outlines. I follow the traditional Italian maiolica technique

of outlining everything with a manganese dioxide wash (figure 9).

Some artists use black Mason stain, but I love the grainy texture

and softer color of manganese. I use a very fine liner brush, dip-

ping it often into water first, then into the manganese and water

wash when creating the lines. As I load the brush, Im constantly

stirring the colorant up in the bowl of wash because manganese

dioxide doesnt stay mixed with water. I like that quality about it

because it fires looking slightly grainy. Once outlines are finished, I

paint the back and the rim of the piece (figure 10).

handling and FiringI carry pieces to the electric kiln using my fingertips, usually

holding onto an edge where the glaze has worn off during the

painting process and the clay is showing along the rim. I dont

usually touch up that edge because it adds to the character of

the piece, but you can do this once its in the kiln. I then fire my

pieces to cone 06 (figure 11).

Troubleshooting and experimentingWatercolor painting on an unfired glazed surface isnt always easy.

Over time Ive learned the power of improvisation by transform-

ing a mistake, drip, or a smudge into an extra leaf, flower, or stem

Finish painting the leaves, adding darker shading to the outside edges by double loading darker greens and blues.

Once the basic shapes of the fruit are defined, its time to mix colors for the darker elements like leaves and stems.

Shade one edge of the lemon with light green to create a sense of depth and roundness.

Start painting the leaves, mixing stain colors on the plate and double loading the brush with greens and yellows.

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rather than trying to remove it. You cant brush over one area more than once or twice without picking up the white glaze underneath, especially when using so much water. This muddies the color and takes away from the transparent quality of the painting. No matter how hard the limitations seem when youre learning the process, youll be rewarded when you open the kiln and see the beautiful luminosity of layered, transparent colors sealed in glaze.

I have been painting watercolor maiolica for almost eighteen years now. It came together after studying fabric design, traditional watercolor painting and drawing, Chinese brush painting, and ba-sic ceramic handbuilding techniques using slabs and molds. None of these practices would have come together if it werent for an Italian friend introducing me to Italian maiolica ceramic products. I fell in love with the materials and the process instantly and spent many hours exploring the different personalities of each color (mostly made from mineral oxides) and how easily they could be mixed and applied like traditional watercolors. There were many trials and errors but eventually I came to know which ones needed more dilution etc. Eventually, I decided to add Mason stains to the colorful liquid underglazes I was using. The stains are less expen-sive and can be bought locally in loose bulk. So I now use a mix-ture of liquid underglaze colors along with the Mason stains us-ing them alone or mixed together on my palette. Sometimes using

analogous colors on my palette, I double and triple load my brush to create more interesting brushstrokes. Along with omitting the frit, I realized I didnt have to follow the traditional method of maiolica painting by finishing my piece with a layer of clear glaze. My tested watercolor palette was diluted enough to allow the base white glaze to absorb it all and seal it into a smooth gloss finish.

inspiration and SourcesThe inspiration for all my shapes and designs comes from my long-time obsession with vintage pottery and fabric design mostly decorated with beautiful common fruits and flowers. A weekly visit to my local Farmers Market also inspires me. I especially love looking at all the colors on the apricots, plums, peaches, and the different kinds of apples. While driving I make an effort to stop when I come upon an orchard or a vineyard and check out how the fruit, blossoms, and leaves are attached to the branches. I dont try to replicate them exactly but it helps to have some mental refer-ence. After years of selling pottery I have discovered that people are more likely to buy a piece if they recognize and can name the fruit or flowers they see in my designs.

Laurie Curtis is an exhibiting member of ACGA and participates twice yearly in Pt. Reyes Open Studios. She teaches watercolor maiolica workshops in her studio. Her work is sold on Etsy and in various retail shops. For more informa-tion, visit www.lauriecurtis.net, www.pointreyesart.com, and www.acga.net.

Touch up anything that needs extra color, paint a wash on the bottom, add your signature and date, and paint the rim.

Shade the opposite side of each lemon to create depth, then add a little blue wash to the bottoms for a darker shadow.

Before firing, the painting is softer (center bowl). After firing, the colors are brighter and lines blend in more (bowl on the left).

Mix manganese dioxide with water to create a wash, then out-line everything using a fine liner brush.

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process | Watercolor Maiolica Technique | Laurie Curtis


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The whiskey bottle is a form that has interested me for a while. Its exciting and rewarding to create a form that is used in the celebration and toasting of lifes greatest events. Knowing that the piece you just created will be a part of these memories, and an integral part of the celebration, can give one a sense of meaning in this field.

My bottles are wood fired in a train kiln with a nat-ural-ash glaze. Their voluptuous forms are perfect for a wood-firing and all the color you see in the final form comes solely from the clay reacting to the ash and atmosphere of the kiln. As the flame moves around the piece, ash collects then melts down the curves of the bottle.

Creating a Base Shape Start off by centering about 3 pounds of clay into a tall cone shape. Starting with a cone al-lows the curves of the bottle (narrow base, wide belly, narrow top) to be formed more natural-lyits easier to make a thrown piece wider than it is to narrow it back in. With the cone shape, the wide belly can easily be pushed out, while the top remains narrow. The earlier you can set yourself up to create these natural curves, the better.

Forming the CurvesOnce the cone shape has been thrown to your desired height, start to belly out the cylinder. The bellying begins gradually at the bottom and becomes more pronounced in the middle, and is created by using one hand on the inside and compressing and refining the curve using a metal rib held against the outside in your other hand (figure 1). Its important to not let the top get any wider than it was when the cylinder was first thrown. A wide top will make it more difficult to collar in the neck in the next step.

by Matt Schiemann

Celebrating

Matt Schiemanns colorful and active

surfaces are created both during the form-

ing and the firing.

Whiskey Bottles and Cups


Collar in the neck with both hands encircling the cylinder.

As you do this, the neck will thicken and need to be re-thrown

to get more height and to thin out the wall. Use a curved rib

to make a fluid and continuous curve from the belly to the

neck (figure 2).

Defining the FootUsing a wooden rib with a 90 angle, push down the extra clay

at the bottom of the cylinder. The clay will begin to spread out

on the wheel. Cut away the excess clay from the wide circle,

leaving about 18 inch of clay on the wheel around the bottle.

Finally, slide the rib under the clay to create a slight bevel for

visual lift, then use a sponge to soften the edge of the foot into

the side of the bottle (figure 3).

Adding TextureIts easiest to add surface texture while the clay is still wet. I cre-

ate texture using a dry, stiff-bristle brush. Brush lines vertically

up the bottle, starting from the bottom and working to the top around the whole pot (figure 4).

Make a Ledge for a LidI use a coil attached to the neck of the bottle as a base for the lid. Let the pot dry until its leather hard and re-center it on the wheel. Next, roll out a coil that is approximately 38 inch thick and about three inches long. To attach the coil, score and slip both the bottle and the coil, then gently press the coil into the neck of the bottle (figure 5). To add more space for the lid to rest on, throw the coil outward, creating a ledge shape. This ledge shape is formed by using the tips of your fingers to pull out-ward on the coil as if you were throwing a small plate (figure 6). As soon as the ledge for the lid is attached and thrown, take a measurement with your calipers.

Its much easier to throw the lid off the hump and upside down, as you are working with a small amount of clay. Wedge and center approximately one pound of clay. Throw a small cyl-

Throw a cone shape then belly it out. Use a rib to compress and refine the curve.

Use a stiff-bristle brush to apply texture. Texture will help ash catch on the surface.

Collar in the form. Use a rib to refine the shape of the neck.

Attach a small coil to the neck for the lip ledge for the bottle capper.

Push excess clay down from the form. Fold a small amount up to create a foot.

Throw the small coil similar to throwing a plate.

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process | Celebrating Whiskey Bottles and Cups | Matt Schiemann


inder about two inches high and at the same diameter as your caliper measurements (figure 7). Cut it off the hump, let it dry to leather hard, then center the lid right side up on the wheel to be trimmed. When trimming the top of the lid, try to create a continuous shape and mimic the curves of the bottle (figure 8).

Once finished trimming, remove the lid from the wheel and score the roof on the inside of the lid. These score marks will be used to attach a cork stopper to the glaze-fired piece.

Adding a Looped HandleThe handle is a combination of handbuilt and pulled off the form. Start with a coil about 1 inch thick and 2 inches long. Roll the coil out so that its slightly tapered in width from one end to the other. Now, hold the thick end of the coil bet

allison mcgowan hermans' handbuilt vases

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