A Selection from. Surface Decoration

Transcription

1 A Selection from M O N T H L Y Surface Decoration

2 Ceramics Monthly May Birds and Their Pets, 11 in. (28 cm) in height, terra cotta slab with brushed terra sigillata, fired multiple times to Cone 03.

3 Jenny Mendes FROM CENTER TO SURFACE by Katey Schultz Sometimes I pose a question to myself before I begin to work, says ceramist Jenny Mendes. But it s not a word question. I really work prior to language. It s as though I perceive myself as a little dot in the center of a piece even before I ve physically started it and I have to find my way out of it toward something that feels essentially honest. In order to find her way out, Mendes paints with terra sigillata in layers over terra cotta clay, until the narrative has emerged. It all comes to a result in the end, but my body has to tell the story and that comes through my hands. It s a different kind of intelligence, but it s not something I can control. Thus far, the story Mendes work narrates is at once anthropomorphic and mythological. Originally from Ohio, she earned her B.F.A. from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and has supported herself as a full-time studio artist since the mid 1990s. Mendes received three Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowships and recently completed a three-year residency at Penland School of Crafts. She finds inspiration in many painting styles, particularly Indian miniature paintings, the work of Australian Aboriginal artist Emily Kngwarreye and folk art. Likewise, a memorable sound byte from the radio, a gesture captured in photography, or even images from pop culture magazines may all blend together to pique her interest. Her hobby as a gardener also feeds her cre- Oui General, 6 in. (15 cm) in height, terra-cotta slab, allowed to dry completely between sheets of gypsum wallboard, brushed with terra sigillata and fired multiple times to Cone 03. ative spirit. Recently, Mendes started reading M.C. Richards famous book, Centering: In Pottery, Poetry, and the Person at the suggestion of mentor and friend Paulus Berensohn. Art creates a bridge between being and embodiment, wrote Richards, whose philosophy aligns the universal whole with the individual through a dynamic process called centering. As a poet and potter, Richards deciphered a new mysticism that encapsulated not just an artist s approach to her work, but more importantly, a human being s moral and spiritual obligation to society and, ultimately, the greater whole. Easier said than done, but spend an afternoon with Mendes and the work of centering feels undeniably present. Her sculpted figures are handbuilt using coils, and plates are cut from a slab laid over her grandmother s heirloom plate. Small bowls are pinched and tiles are rolled out by hand, measured and cut uniformly according to the demands of the project. But it is the paintings on the surface of these plates, bowls and tiles that so clearly originate from the same psychological landscape and imagined community. Seen as a whole, the paintings construct a language of personal imagery that marks Mendes work through and through. But if this work is the bridge that brings Mendes nature, or being, into the world, what dialogs occur between the clay and the paintings that allow her to be embodied as Ceramics Monthly May

4 Horse, 12 in. (30 cm) in height, handbuilt terra-cotta with brushed terra sigillata, fired multiple times to Cone 03. such? If surface design is the primary narrator in Mendes work, why not paint on canvas? In short, why clay? There s something about the material, says Mendes. Working with a malleable material like clay puts me in more direct touch with my subconscious. I can be a conduit and that s how I like to work. The separation between the self and the material disappears. Because of clay s softness, I can find things that I didn t know were there. This sentiment echoes Richards, who wrote: If we surrender our consciousness to experience, our thoughts may then come directly from a living source. Perhaps this is why we become joyful and active as we respond to the formative forces in the materials in our crafts: their potentialities call forth our own, and we discover our own inner vision by bodying them forth. For Mendes, clay feels inherently forgiving. While she did experiment with printmaking and painting in college, she had never been asked to paint her own landscape before. Then a friend suggested she paint on clay tiles. I think clay was the most accepting material I ever worked with. It feels like there s a lot more life to it and maybe that s because it s a living material. It gives and takes and I like how my fingerprints can be left in it and I don t really have to cover that up. Mendes serial work on plates and bowls adds another voice to the dialog. First, the clay provides the form and foundation of potential, the place in which the realized ideas are rooted. The paintings provide a direct link between the being, or artist, and the form; a sort of narrating medium that expresses the inexpressible. Finally, the repetitive nature of a series provides the voice of challenge by Ceramics Monthly May

5 beginning with a set of boundaries and ending when those boundaries have been stretched to their limits. After each plate or bowl, I always ask myself What if? What if? What if? says Mendes. Limiting herself to perhaps two or three colors painted over twenty-five to thirty bowls or plates that are equal in size, Mendes decorates the borders of each form first, creating a literal and figurative boundary for the stories that will emerge from the center of each piece. Next, she paints the central story of each piece, often around a loosely imagined theme such as love, loss, androgyny or figures caught in a moment of play or dream. The smallest things make people happy. I understand a lot more about how my work affects people when I see the relationship they make with it, says Mendes. Sometimes people can be loving and expressive with their animals in a way that they can t or won t be with other people, for example. Some of my work taps into that animal need that people have, and I see them relate to it in interesting ways. While Mendes tiles often make use of up to 150 colors, the brightness of the black and white glazes on her serial work commands a different kind of attention from the viewer. It is as though the distraction of a large palette of colors has been removed in service of delivering a clearer message. The borders keep us trapped in the narrative and the limited colors help us refine our attention. The repetitive work I do is a long meditation, as I usually work on the painting part for at least a week straight, sometimes longer, maybe a month. It becomes a pleasant obsession I can t stop until I ve painted each prepared piece in the series. The end result is a deeper narrative in which the artist and the art are in constant play, fluctuating between maker and made. Literally, the artist has shaped and formed the art, yet figuratively, the art has made the artist who she is, and we can see now what Richards meant when she wrote, Art creates a bridge between being and embodiment. When I focus on a process that is the same thing over and over, says Mendes, I think I can get into a deeper internal space, a less-self-conscious state that I really enjoy. It is a state of mind. The trick is learning to stay in it, to carry an artistic awareness in walking through the world, in conversation, in making drawing marks, in experiencing the body, in having friends, in understanding the nature of growth in plants (my hobby), in understanding oneself. The scale of this work is intimate, yet the implications carry meaning in the public forum. The artist working from a less-selfconscious state comes to know herself more holistically, and within this paradox lays a greater teaching: The artist who knows herself can release that self into a broader life force, a place where subject and material merge, a place where community can arise, a place where the only work to be done is the work of centering. Mendes work can be seen in galleries, fine craft shows and private collections across the country. She has solo exhibitions in 2008 at the Plates, 6 in. (15 cm) in diameter, hand-rolled terra-cotta slab formed over a mold, then brushed with underglazes, bisque fired, then finished with a commercial clear glaze; by Jenny Mendes, Penland, North Carolina. Sherrie Gallerie in Columbus, Ohio, and AKAR Design in Iowa City, Iowa. To learn more, visit or see her collaborative work in jewelry at the author Katey Schultz, writes from her home in Fork Mountain, North Carolina. Her current projects include a series of essays about artists, and her thesis for graduation from Pacific University s low-residency M.F.A. in Writing Program. To learn more, visit Ceramics Monthly May

6 PAINTING POTS from the INSIDE by Peter Pincus Cups, 38 december 6 in. (15 cm) in height, colored porcelain, fired in an electric kiln to cone 6.

7 1 2 Cutting the mold on a band saw to enhance the original form. Removing sections of plaster narrows the form. Remaining mold pieces are sanded, cleaned, reassembled, and keyed together with fresh plaster sections added to the top and bottom. Peter Pincus adding colored slip to the casting surface of plaster molds. december

8 3 3 Colored slip is painted onto the casting surface of the mold with a 1-inch brush. I produce three-dimensional paintings out of pots. The studio challenge is to create containers that belong not only on the dinner table, but also elsewhere in the home. Many of my pots are status symbols saved for special occasions, generally deemed distinct because of the value of what they hold rather than for what they are. But to me, in between such occasions, they become canvases that visually illustrate the defining spirit of the times, despite their being utilitarian and made of clay, not canvas. They still need to do their job; to be genuine, they must be functional as well as opulent. But they can be so much more. In the studio, I try to be mindful of the following three questions and to actively pursue their answers: What determines a container? What defines a painting? What distinguishes a status symbol? If a set is to contain, the decanter must hold liquid and pour its contents into the cup, and the cup must hold a specific amount of liquid and gently deliver it to the user. This simple job is by no means an easy one. Having exaggerated features, the cup and decanter require meticulous design to ensure that their form will never eclipse their function, or vice versa. Lately, I have been easing away from vastly extravagant forms for the sake of simple function, trusting in surface to take up the slack. This is where painting comes in. For this decanter and cup set (see page 41) to be a painting, it must embrace and express visual language. This process combines vibrant material with contemporary aesthetics borrowed from pop culture, fashion, tattoos, modernist paintings, and other sources. Together, they form a basic working vocabulary of color relationships and compositions highlighting what I see as defining elements of our current culture, playfully injected onto the work s surface. Finally, for this set to become a status symbol, it must assert its cultural value. The cup s interior glaze of white gold luster proclaims a grand impact through a small gesture. It announces that if it is to be used, the occasion had better qualify as worthy of drinking from a golden cup! Lines are cut through the slip using an X-Acto knife. Colored slip is added, cut, and trimmed. Excess slip is lifted from the plaster and discarded. A different colored slip is added, cut and trimmed december

9 The mold is cleaned up and assembled, then white porcelain casting slip is added, then poured out after the right thickness is achieved. 7 8 The surface of the demolded form is relatively rough, and needs to be scraped and then sanded before and after the bisque firing prior to glazing. The Process My pieces begin as profiles on the wheel, fabricated precisely from a drawing, but thrown wider than I intend the finished piece to be about 1½ inches larger in diameter. As soon as the piece is thrown, when the clay model is still completely malleable, I assemble metal flashing around it, leaving two inches of space between the flashing and the widest diameter of the model. I pour plaster in between the piece and the flashing, and allow it to cure as the wheel turns. When the plaster hardens, I lift it off of the wheel, turn it over, and pull out the clay model from inside (the wet clay peels right out), turn it back over and sketch lines to be cut with the band saw. The extra 1½ inches in diameter is important at this point. It leaves room for complex, angled cuts that enhance the original form. The cuts are made on a bandsaw (1), the remaining pieces are sanded and meticulously cleaned, and they are reassembled and keyed together with fresh plaster sections added on the top and bottom (2). Each mold is then subjected to a lengthy and damaging process of repetitive slip layering and knife cutting. Colored porcelain slip is slathered onto the casting face of the mold with a 1-inch brush (3). A fresh X-Acto blade is then used to draw across the surface of the leather-hard clay, often digging deep into plaster (4). The trim easily lifts from the plaster and is tossed in the nearest trash can (5). New colored slip is added, cut, and trimmed (6) and so on until the composition is complete, the mold is cleaned up, assembled (7), and cast in porcelain. When removed from the mold, the work is relatively beaten up (image 8). It must be scraped and sanded, bisqued, fastidiously wet sanded, flattened on glass, cleaned, and fully dried in preparation for a smooth coat of clear glaze. Peter Pincus is an artist and instructor living in Penfield, New York. He received an MFA in ceramics and a BFA in ceramics and metal fabrication from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. To see more of his work, visit Decanter and drinking vessel, 11 in. (28 cm) in height, colored porcelain, fired in an electric kiln to cone 6. december

10 Gesture in DRAWING AND FORM by Mel Griffin Platter, 13 in. (33 cm) in diameter, earthenware, fired to cone 04 in an electric kiln, march

11 1 Choosing a drawing to work with. This drawing will affect the shape of the pot s form. Whether sculptural or functional, all of my work emerges from drawing. When I make pots, the form is affected by the image that is intended for its surface. In other words, the drawing comes first, and the pot comes second (1). I build vertical forms (like vases or pitchers) to reflect the shape of a drawn image, and pinch and alter plates in order to accommodate the drawing s gesture. I m interested in developing a strong relationship between the imagery on the surface and the form itself, and think of my plates more as sculptural paintings than as pots with images that decorate their surfaces. I don t want imagery and form to simply relate to one another; I want the two to feel absolutely integral to the finished object. After throwing a relatively tight, simple plate, I use a rough template made from a drawing to slightly change the plate s shape. I want the plate to remain functional, but also to be affected by the gesture of the animal I m drawing. I place the stencil on the thrown form and pinch around it, out to the rim (2). In this example, I m giving the bird something to stand on and some branches above his head (3). I m also emphasizing the way his tail feathers stick out and his beak is pointy and open (4), which begins to develop a structural relationship between image and form. Then, once the piece is trimmed and covered in white slip, I begin the process of bringing life to the surface. When the piece is bone dry, I remove areas of slip with a green scrubbie in order to re-emphasize the shaping I did in step one, and to begin to build a sense of depth (5). 1 I then use a variety of brushes to apply different types of materials, creating a series of layers that build a world for the animal to occupy. The manner in which I altered the plate earlier gives me a general idea as to where the animal goes (6), which makes it easier to decide where to place color. I apply slip with thicker brushes that can hold more material, then scrub parts away again once the slip has dried. Here, I m giving the bird something yellow to stand on and adding some blue flowers to the tree branch in the background (7). Because I am applying the slip to a bone dry piece, I have to be very careful to keep it thin so it doesn t flake off later on. Terra sigillata is more difficult to apply, and requires a brush that holds slightly less material. It needs to be applied more evenly and with more care. I use terra sig on most of the animals bodies as well as on any areas of trimmed, exposed clay (8). When glazing, I use wax resist to keep the terra sig exposed, thereby giving the animal a different texture from his world and bringing him to the front of the composition. Brushes are by far my most important tool. I buy a variety of inexpensive brushes, and also make my own. This can mean Pinching the rim to create a ground for the bird and to continue the line created by its beak. Pressing into the surface to create branches above the bird s head. Emphasizing the bird s head and tail with further pinched areas along the plate rim. march

12 5 6 7 After adding a layer of slip to the bone dry plate, areas are removed with a green scrubbie to reemphasize textures. Placing the animal stencil back onto the slip-coated plate to check positioning prior to painting the remainder of the details. Painting colored slip on the ground area, over the indentations indicating where the branches are, and added in various spots for flowers. Painting a layer of terra sigillata on the part of the composition where the bird will be Scratching back through slip layers and rubbing stain into the marks after the bisque adds accents to the composition. Using brushes that are different shapes and sizes allows for variety in the type of line created and the amount of coverage. 38 march

13 Snack plate, 9 in. (23 cm) in diameter, earthenware, slip, terra sigillata, stains, glaze, fired to cone 04 in an electric kiln, gluing animal hair into a beautiful bamboo handle, or cutting some strands off of another brush and using duct tape to stick them to a barbecue skewer. Each brush will respond differently to each material, and it takes time and practice to learn how to use them. I often practice on paper before applying anything to my pots. For the plate shown here, I used five different brushes, some with different shapes, and some that are the same shape but vary in size, meaning they hold more or less material and can make lines of different widths or character (9). I try to take care of my brushes by not leaving them sitting in water too long, which splits the handles and breaks down the adhesive, and cleaning them well after each use. No matter how one fires, it takes a lot of time and energy to develop interesting surfaces. For many potters, that time is spent putting wood into a kiln or developing glazes that will react well to soda or salt. Because I fire at low temperatures in an electric kiln, I have to build depth before the work even gets loaded into the kiln, and play with time and temperature in order to develop rich color and texture. In addition to painting with layers of sig and slip, I also make marks with a needle tool and add stain after the piece is bisqued (10). I use glazes in order to add accents and increase contrast, as well as to soften other parts of the composition. I thoroughly enjoy the time I spend adding and subtracting material, building layers through mark making, and the freedom that comes with working with low-fire materials to develop a rich and atmospheric surface. the author Mel Griffin is an artist and instructor living in Helena, Montana. To see more of her work, visit her website march

14 Wet Slip Inlay by Robert Strasser Slip-decorated plates and platters, stoneware and earthenware, clear glaze. (Shino glaze on top and bottom left plates), various firing temperatures, When I was in college and just a few years into making ceramics, I took a two week trip in early summer to England. My primary goal was to meet as many potters as I could. The experience deepened my love of English ceramics and introduced me to a technique that has been one of the most exciting veins in my studio work ever since: wet slip surface inlay. I had read briefly in Bernard Leach s A Potter s Book about slip application and how to get surface marbling and feathering patterns on flatware using slip trailers to decorate thin slabs of clay. There in England, in the studio of his son David Leach, I got to see in person my first finished examples of feathered slipware. On the same trip, I visited the Victoria and Albert Museum and had the opportunity to see a large, and particularly fine, marbled dish with an amber lead glaze made in Staffordshire in the early 1700 s. I wanted to reproduce these effects, and so my creative journey making slipware began. I started by experimenting with methods of slip preparation and application. It was exciting and more fluid than any method I had ever tried. I was quickly hooked. In addition to feathering and 62 september

15 marbling, new patterns that I hadn t seen elsewhere appeared in my work. Echoes of natural patterns such as wood grain, minerals, and the skin and fur of animals emerged in the liquid slip I was applying to slabs of clay. Even microscopic biological patterns were suggested by some patterns. It was truly mesmerizing, with each round of new work segueing into the next. As I translated my love of the natural beauty found in the world around me into my work, I was also thinking about how human creative endeavors recapitulate nature. I begin the process with two or more slips of equal viscosity, homogenized through 40-mesh screens. A base white slip can be colored with stains to develop as large a palette as desired. A darker slip provides contrast, making patterns bolder. It is very important to screen the slips immediately prior to use or they tend to settle and flocculate, causing the edges to bleed during and/or flow irregularly after application. Rubber slip applicators are filled with the various colored slips to be used in decoration (conserve resources by starting simple with just two slips, expanding the color palette once sufficient comfort with the process minimizes material loss). Cut or roll out clay slabs and put them on cloth scraps for handling. I form slip-decorated slabs over hump molds, so I make them Roll out a slab of clay onto a piece of canvas, place it on a ware board, and apply a layer of white slip over the whole surface. While the base layer of slip is still wet, create a pattern of concentric circles and dots using a contrasting slip. 2 While the slip is still fluid, tilt the board supporting the slab to distort the pattern. Varying the angle, direction, and amount of time the slip is allowed to flow all affect the final result Once you have a pattern that you like, allow the slip to dry out so that it is not tacky to the touch. When the slab reaches soft leather hard, it is ready for forming. 4 Lay a hump mold on top of the patterned slab, positioning it over the area that you like best. Having a slab that is larger in diameter than the final size needed is helpful here. september

16 5 6 5 Place a board on top of the hump mold, and grasp it and the board supporting the slab, and sandwiching the mold and slab together firmly, flip the stack over remove the board, then peel away the canvas. 6 Press the slab around the hump mold gently using your fingers. Smooth over the canvas texture lightly with a metal or rubber rib at this point. 7 Using a fettling knife, remove any excess from the slab that hangs below the hump mold. Creating an even line is easiest when using the edge of the mold as a guide. 8 Feathered oval slip dish, 9 in. (22 cm) in length, stoneware with very thin shino glaze, fired to cone 10 in reduction, about an inch larger than the edges of the hump molds to be used for making dishes. Place a slab on a ware board and begin by flooding the wet slab with slip, tilting the board to spread it out evenly over the entire surface. The inlay colors can be applied onto this base slip with a steady hand in whatever pattern and combination is desired (1). Straight lines work well for feathering and marbling, while dots in alternating colors create concentric cells that, when tilted, flow into elongated shapes (2). These circles can be manipulated into a pattern that resemble wood grain when stretched by tilting the ware board in opposite directions. Once an appealing pattern is achieved, set the slab aside for about a day to allow it to dry until it is no longer wet to the touch, yet still flexible (soft leather hard) (3). When the slip surface can be touched lightly without smearing, it s ready. A bisque or plaster hump mold is centered over the slab (4), the two are inverted, and the cloth peeled off (5). Push the slab down gently, wrapping it around the profile of the mold (6). Trim the excess slab with a knife along the mold s edge (7), smooth the rim gently with a fingertip, and flip it over onto another board. Remove the mold carefully, pulling it straight upward. As the piece dries, the rim can be cleaned up with a fettling knife. It should be rotated daily to avoid warping. The primary consideration for glazing is to avoid treatments that will mask the slip decoration. I typically use transparent or translucent glazes that show off the patterns underneath, but a very thin application of opaque glaze such as the shino applied to this piece gives the surface additional depth (8). the author Robert Strasser is a ceramic artist and environmental biologist living in the Washington D.C. area. Contact him via at robertcs11@hotmail.com. 64 september

17 CONNECTING THE DOTS by Elizabeth Sparks I make pots from clay that I dig from the earth. I also use local clay in terra sigillatas, and use recycled glass, and locally-sourced wood ash for glazes and surfaces. I enjoy my relationship with these materials, the process of experimentation, and the beauty and depth that using them gives to me and to the work. I love to study pottery designed for the rituals of everyday life, especially as a means of exploring the values of different cultures. I traveled to Ghana, West Africa to study water jars, and am currently learning about the roots of pottery in India. I have been fortunate to have teachers who instilled this inquiry into my life. Mike Thiedeman at Earlham College provided inspiration, foundation, and philosophy, and Will Ruggles and Douglass Rankin taught me the subtleties of form, decoration, and the integration of my philosophy, a connection to nature, and the work into a way of life. My professors in graduate school showed me that the strength of working lies in the questions I ask rather than the answers. This particular approach to using slip was born during graduate Birds, 20 in. (51 cm) in diameter, local Alfred clay, slips, and glazes, fired to cone 3. march

18 school at The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, in Alfred, New York, where I was encouraged to look beyond the surface of what I like and to really understand why. I began using the local Alfred clay there, designing a new glaze palette at cone 3, and studying old slipware pots. I learned the techniques of feathering and marbling from an old magazine. I then tore through books and ceramic history while gaining an awareness of the process of inquiry, going deeper and allowing my work to come from within after digesting all the research. Creating patterns with dots came from a sense of play and discovery, and has been an exploration ever since. I have to be totally present and mindful to execute the pattern well, and the best ones come out differently than originally planned. Geometric structures and plant life are the main themes. Base Form For plates, I begin by pounding out enough wedged clay to make multiple slabs at once. I pound it to a circular shape about an inch larger in diameter than the mold I will use. This allows for some shrinkage, some curvature, and a way to crop the image nicely later on. I then use slab cutters, made from notched wooden sticks and a cut-off wire to cut 3 8-inch-thick slabs (1). After cutting the slabs, I compress the top surface before taking it off the pile, then flip it and compress the other side. I put each slab on a bat and trim it to the edge of the bat so it is perfectly round. I pour a base coat of slip onto the slab (2). The slip is thick enough that it stays wet while I feather the added dots or lines before they dry. I create a slip using a light clay body and a dark 54 march

19 clay body with the same shrinkage. Alternately, you could choose a slip recipe with a high amount of silica, as this allows the slip to be thick without cracking as it dries. Slip Trailing and Feathering I then begin applying the dots in different colors of slips on the base slip (3). I like to use a few different kinds of slip trailers in order to get a variation in the size of the dots. Metal-tipped bottles are nice, as well as simple ear syringes from the drugstore. I then feather the dots by dragging through them with the fine tip of a porcupine quill (4). I do this first, while the slip is the wettest. After completing the outline, I fill in the pattern with dots that will not be feathered (5 6). Shaping the Form I let the slip dry to leather hard. I want it to be dry enough that the pattern stays clear and crisp without smudging as it is put against the mold, and the slab to be flexible enough to be compressed into shape over the mold (7). I leave it on the mold until it is stiff, then shave the edge with a Surform up to the edge of the mold (8). I then either shave the bottom flat, or put it on the wheel and thrown a coil for a foot. I place it upright and press the inside edge with multiple marks of my porcupine quill to refine the rim (9). I dry the form upright before glazing. 10 Glazing I use a cone 3 clear ash glaze over the decorated surface. Some slips flux more than others in the firing, and I like the way that some of the pattern is clear while other parts are slightly blurred. Still, my favorite phase of each pot is right after the slip has been applied and is still wet, showing the traces of each moment and glistening with potential. the author Liz Sparks is an artist and teacher. She has taught at Montana State University and Penland School of Crafts, and is currently living in Pune, India, researching pottery and teaching at Door Step School, an NGO for underprivileged children Compost jar, 13 in. (33 cm) in height, local Montana clay, slips, and glazes, fired to cone New Star, 10 in. (25 cm) in diameter, local Montana clay, slips, and glazes, fired to cone Spice jars, 25 in (64 cm) in length, local Alfred clay, slips, and glazes, fired to cone march