Well Here I am again in my most favorite time of the year!I just got back from two wonderful weeks at Anderson Ranch. Charity Davis-Woodard and Lorna Meaden were the instructors and the focus of the workshop was the burry box alterative. It was a fantastic experience and I have to admit I felt a bit manic the first week I was there because I was making pottery again, and learning.... Here I am with my new friend Amber at 4 in the morning getting the burry box going. I also did a woodfire in Aztec, N.M. earlier in the summer so these pots that you are about to see are a mix of the two firings. 
These are some woodfired bowls from A.R. I was really excited to work with some colors and a little less ash/debris from a typical woodfire. These are porcelain fired to 1o or 11.
I found this stencil of a bird and am using it on everything, immediate gratification if you will but I like using it in the woodfire with Barnard Slip because it bleeds out and gets softer. Porcelain mugs woodfired to cone 10/11
These cups are some of my favorite things to make right now. I learned this dry-thrown technique from Ayumi Horie last summer and it really goes against the super rigidness that I am capable of. I also really like using this technique for it lends itself to a feminine quality that i strive for in the woodfire. This is a closeup of one porcelain cup
We made a lot of sets in the Anderson Ranch workshop and I was pretty jazzed about that. Woodfired sake set. I really look forward to the day when I learn to take better, clearer photos, sorry ladies..... the tenmokou glaze on this is really pretty, lots of variations.
Heres a little Ewer set that I made, not really my style but a very good jumping off point. Again working to get a little color into the woodfire.
Birdee jar fired from the wood kiln in Aztec.
Birdee Bowls are Porcelain and fired in a soda kiln at Anderson Ranch. The two views are the same bowl, I just wanted to show you the inside and out. I like applying the stencil so it looks like the swallows are going to run into each other because thats how they appear in the sky sometimes.
Woodfired porcelain tumbler.
Porcelain woodfired jar.Id love to hear from you all and hear all about your current adventures. I am back in school and frankly having the most uninspirational time at it. I got denied to N.A.U for this year so i am at the community college wading my way through general education with not a ceramics class in sight. If you ladies have any kind words of support as far as pushing through school goes let me know, again Id love to hear them. I hope you are all wonderful and happy love candice
7 comments:
Martina here...no better way to procrastinate from writing than to check in on the blog. way to go candice!
this is just my off the cuff impression - but i like the colors and things on a whole looke a lot more cohesive. sounds like you had a great time, and i'll write more soon i hope. just wanted send this affirmation, m
That Birdee Jar is an absolute stunner! Lovely. I am also very fond of the Birdee bowls. The stencil is so different on the two pieces. I really do like how it softens up and bleeds though.
Hello Candice,
It is nice to see your lovely work. I love wood firing, also, not just because of the outcome but also the comradery involved in cooperative firing. The pieces that drew me most were the ewer set and the sake set. The unity created by the soft line and color is strong.
As for bird mugs and bird bowls, I’m generally not fond of marks made by stencils, but the softer edges on your pieces are working pretty well. I personally would like to see your brush work, though.
ok, time for a longer response...
the stencil itself isn't a problem for me, but that it fails to offer you the flexibility to change the scale of the deco. that being said, i like the idea that you only get part of the picture on the mug and more of the whole on the bowls.
the leaf texture on the smaller mugs works well - the way it moves around the form and serves to unify the piece more than some of your past explorations of surface texture. i would be curious to use those mugs - they exude a great sense of comfort and casualness - a couch, a book and a fall day. i'd like to see how those rims and handles feel. they seem a little clunky. i can relate to finding a way of subverting rigidness, but i would advocate not losing sight of the grace present in your other work.
the placement of the texture on the first bowls and the last two images - jar and tumbler are the least successful in your post. it is difficult for me to find a relationship between their placement and the form. in the case of the tumbler and the jar, i wonder how it would look without any further deco. the kiln offers so much and forms have lovely quiet curves that maybe they don't need anything more.
i hope you are well and that the fall semester hasn't overwhelmed yet. all the best, martina
Candice -
Your work is looking great and more resolved/cohesive, like Martina mentioned. I am really drawn to the bird cups (nice image on shape, good balance with handle, wonderful soft feel, beautiful the way the image melds into the cup as the pieces get hotter in the kiln). I also like the stamping on the dry thrown piece, but feel that the handle really dominates the piece. I think I get this impression from the boldness of the width and thickness of the attachments where the handle joins the cup.
Personally I am drawn to the sensuous quality of the pots where the glaze and imagery start to show where it is running down the pot (birdee jar, birdee bowls, and porcelain tumbler). I also like how I can focus more on the shape and texture of the pot as the pots are not doused in ash. It will be fun to see more work (I am jealous you have gotten to so many workshops!). Sorry for my delayed response - juliane
Hi Candice,
Sorry it has taken a while! I hope that school has gotten better for you since you posted. If not....just remember that it is a step you are taking to get you to a better place. I also like instant gratification (a la the stencil) but sometimes we must put that aside, struggle a bit, and know that it is going to work out on the other side. You are taking the right steps so just keep taking them!
And your work is looking great!
I am particularly drawn to the shapes of the jars, and the similarly shaped mugs. Though you mention that you use the dry throwing to be less rigid, I find the jars to be some of the most relaxed and feminine pieces. I like the generous knobs - knobs can be quite tricky and I think that these really work.
I have been working with sets quite a bit so it is nice to see your initial efforts. I would love to see where these would go if you kept after them.
The stencil -- I'm not a big fan of it on the mugs, where you can only see part of the bird. It becomes a little too messy. What is the stencil made of? Could you make more? I think you should take its appeal and run with it - do you like stencils of other things? Is it the bird in particular or just having the imagery? What about other colors of slip (light on dark?)
I'm not sure about the dry thrown mugs. I agree with Juliane about the handle dominating the piece. They feel a bit like sensory overload too me - all the texture and imagery. What if they weren't wood fired?
I hope you are getting some time in the studio!!
-Megan
Hi Candice – Sorry my comments are so late… It’s exciting to see some of your newest work – I think the surfaces you are achieving are fantastic. Lots of warmth and softness, which sounds like the feminine qualities you are working toward in your pots. I am jealous of your workshop at Anderson Ranch this summer – I love Lorna Meaden’s work!! It must have been fantastic to have some time to focus and experiment. I am particularly drawn to the first bowls you posted. With the weather turning winter-y all I want is a warm bowl of soup and these seem like they would be excellent soup partners in form and in surface. They have a cozy and warm color palate, and a generous shape. Beautiful!
I’m also enjoying the many ways you are playing with the bird stencil you have. I can totally envision the swallows darting around doing their aerial acrobatics. The soda firing gives such a lovely halo around the stencils, too – there is a lot to look at in these surfaces.
The piece that feels least resolved for me is the final jar you have posted. I like the form of the body, but I’d like to see some of the fullness continued up into the lid. Just slightly rounding the form of the lid seems like it would help to visually connect the lid to the fullness in the body. Have you tried any variations on the knob? The form certainly connects well to the bulbous shape of the body, but I would be interested to see how things would change if you downsize the knob a bit. Right now the handle dominates visually and a slightly smaller finial may unify the whole.
Are you getting any time in the studio these days???
I hope all is well - thanks for posting!
–Kip
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