Sunday, October 25, 2009

First Pottery Fired at Harvard

I am excited to have the first round of pottery that I have fired at the Harvard Ceramics studio in the gas reduction kiln. I was a part of Shawn's teapots class firing to cone 10, or about 2,345 degrees Fahrenheit.

I tried out some red and black combinations:


I was trying to evoke a feeling of water:


Another test combination:


Testing a glaze combination on textured goblets:


A teapot I could have never made without being in Shawn's class:


A sake set:


Outside my sunroom the trees are yellow, it is autumn in New England:


Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Upcoming Firings: 3 Wood Firings in the First 2 Weeks of November


Meet the wood kiln to which I am the liaison between Harvard Ceramics Department and Nobles and Greenough School, a private middle and high school campus where the kiln is located.

The symbol on top means "fire" and it is painted green, symbolizing green fire. This kiln is designed to be smokeless, redirecting the smoke back into the firebox to allow for a very efficient and clean-burning firing.



This kiln has great craftsmanship and a pizza oven!




Saturday, September 12, 2009

Pottery for Sale in Cyberspace



I have begun the process of documenting the stock of pottery I have so that I can make it available for purchase over the internet.

Please visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/k8ceramics/sets/ to browse my pottery.

Petals Installation in Chelsea Cafe

Worcester Public Library: Petals Installation on a Display Case, 2008


Tomorrow I am installing some petals at Chelsea City Cafe, just 20 minutes from my new studio at Harvard.


This is an interactive installation so if you are in the area and would like to interact, I encourage you to visit the cafe and add to the installation!

In a collaborative twist, when I suggested to the curator that windows were a great surface to attach my petals to, he asked me if I would bring some or if I wanted him to put some up. So my petals will be installed on some windows that he puts up on the back wall of the cafe, a new and exciting place for the petals to multiply and expand out.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Tea Sets



This is an image of the first complete tea set I ever made. I made it during a hand-building class with Ginny Gillen in 2008. On Labor Day weekend I fired the set in Louise Harter's wood kiln in Connecticut.


So far I have exhibited this tea set at The Art of Dining show at the Krikorian Gallery and Change it as you see fit at the Sprinkler Factory Gallery. I have also offered it for sale at my studio sales. Yet, it seems that no one has been interested in creating a permanent relationship with this tea set. Perhaps it is just too small: the cups are like Italian espresso cups, and including the little loop at the top, the teapot is just 5" tall. But this is not a tea set for the thirsty, this tea set presents the opportunity to share, for a short moment, a pause from the bustle of daily life. I like to start small, and this is just the beginning of my journey into tea sets.

Next Wednesday I will start my first class at Harvard, The Contemporary Teapot Knows No Bounds: Through slide presentations, surface treatment, hand-building, wheel-throwing, and altering forms, this class will prepare me to take on the challenges of designing and integrating parts: lid, spout, handle and body in an effort to push limits and transform the teapot from functional vessel to sculptural object.


Saturday, August 22, 2009

wood-fired pitcher

I am proud to announce Patti, my coworker at SCPT, bought this pitcher as a birthday present to herself. She plans on using it as a vase and putting black eyed susans in it. Happy Birthday Patti and thank you for supporting my artistic endeavors!

I have gotten a lot of comments about this pitcher which I fired in the Worcester Center for Crafts woodkiln in 2007, and exhibited at my solo show at the Sprinkler Factory Gallery this summer. People immediately appreciate the shell texture pattern on the base, and the grip divot for the thumb to sit in as the pitcher is poured. I agree that these features are nice, and I also agree with a lot of people who wished it would be bigger (more functional for sitting on the table and being used every night as a water pitcher).

So, since I found out Wednesday that my new position as wood kiln assistant at Harvard Ceramics will enable me to participate in 3 wood-firings during the first two weeks of November, I figured I should try making around 10 more of this style, just bigger. Harvard has a nice soda kiln I hope to be firing in also, which has similar effects on the clay and glazes.

Visit http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~ceramics/makotokiln.htm to if you wish to get to know the kiln I will be taking care of. The guy who built it also has a great website: http://www.miharuarts.com/kusakabe/index.php?page=home.

Welcome to k8ceramics!

Welcome to my blog, and the beginning of my effort to bring my art into cyberspace!