face it

"My work is primarily figurative. I like story and detail." Page Candler

in her south kentucky studio, page candler takes slabs of clay, cuts shapes freehand and builds a variety of functional and decorative art. she then pinches the facial features into the vase, each one with a unique personality. grouped together, the vases make a rather interesting statement.

link via ample sanity

boxed in

"Because pottery itself abstractly expresses—through clay, glaze and shape—nature’s landscape, it can be as spirited as a spring day or as barren as a raw and sullen winter afternoon, barely touched with color. I am aiming for distillations from nature, historically alive and poetically inspired. Clay processes are intertwined with extensive drawing, painting and collaging on paper." Catherine White

potter catherine white has other not-so-hidden talents. white's cup box series offers a glimpse of her softly sketched illustrations. her website offers a more extensive catalog of both 3d and 2d art. i was drawn to white's work for obvious reasons - both the cup and the box are art vessels. love it.

shedding light on things

"In our contemporary lifestyle where mass consumerism plays a central role, packaging plays an inseparable role with the product it packages, both aesthetically and commercially. Cardboard is an everyday material that symbolizes transition, mobility, transience, fragility, instability and obsoleteness. Cardboard boxes are usually used more than once and one can follow their various uses by their labels. My cardboard boxes have gone through one more stage to a final and permanent stage and now the only thing they "hold" is light. The light is meant to emphasize their emptiness and the material they are currently made from." Einat Cohen

when ceramic artist einat cohen puts porcelain paper clay and slip through its paces the resulting slab construction artwork is transformed into social commentary. necessary observations about the excessive consumerism that continues to permeate every facet of our society. cohen's humble still life II series is breathtaking in its simplicity and the monochromatic color scheme adds drama...the ultimate punctuation mark.

natural impression

“Aged 4 or 5 years, I recall seeing some men throwing pots on a wheel and being captivated by the magical transformation of the clay – from ball to cylindrical vessel. Ever since then I have had a desire to work in clay and experience the plasticity of the material.” Liz Emtage

liz emtage inlays organic materials such as rice, grass, parsley, lasagna, eggshells, lentils, wheat and spaghetti into porcelain clay that has been mixed with paper. the paper and organic materials burn out in the firing process, leaving a delicate translucent vessel with a natural impression. the luminaries, pendant lamps and wall sconces that emerge offer a warm, subtle glow to light your home or office. emtage utilizes a muted color wash, asymmetrical shape and organic texture, resulting in vessels that light the way for a calm, peaceful experience.

on living/living on

"I use plants, sea forms, and human anatomy to talk about life, disease, and the will to live. My intention with this work is to make references to the process of survival. The work is not meant to dwell on the concept of dying. The pieces are about living. I hope to show the beauty that can be found in nature, and in doing so, wish to make the viewer more aware of the life around them." Bonnie Seeman

bonnie seeman walked through her days viewing the world through one lens. then a loved one became gravely ill, a loved one died. now seeman sees the world through a very different set of lenses and the difference is reflected in her ceramic art as in her life.

life is fragile. life is hard. life is short. embrace all of it.

thanks to natalia for sending the link to this thoughtful artist.

leaving his mark

"I draw on functional forms because I want permanence and longevity for my personal history. Just as we know much about our cultural past from the pottery created thousands of years ago, I want my pots to tell those who may discover them in five thousand years what was important to one person living in the twenty first century." Tim Christensen-Kirby

tim christensen-kirby uses the sgraffito method to draw pictures on his porcelain vessels. each vessel is made with layers of contrasting clay colors. as he carefully carves a drawing the top layer slowly peels away, revealing the layer beneath. although he gets excited by the notion that the kiln process could easily turn a piece back to dust again, his work is clearly about permanence and leaving his mark on the world at large.

teabags

"I have to push the envelope constantly. Every new piece represents an opportunity for me to learn and to master something new. I want to go a step further every time." Meryl Ruth

meryl ruth's functional teapot handbag series is sweet, funny and well done. this five time niche award finalist has a charming sense of humor and style. her work is a standout because she pays meticulous attention to minute details as she manipulates the clay. she's also having fun and it shows.

toby goldsmith sent the link and a few laughs to boot. thanks again toby!

o-bedient

“The shoes are getting me places, taking me places.” Joanne Bedient

a shopping trip with her daughter that garnered a pair of vintage, tomato-red pumps worthy of miranda (the 1950's miranda, not the sex-in-the-city miranda) sparked a new attitude and a new subject for joanne bedient's art. she handbuilds the raku-fired shoes, creating textures that resemble the fabric, buttons and buckles found on the real thing. bedient makes bodacious bottles too. check them out here.

like butta'

"I sometimes think of my botanical work in stoneware as preserving a type of fossil record of biological diversity. My functional pieces are rooted in the rituals of human culture and are reminders of our absolute dependence on the natural world." Suzanne Crane

suzanne crane gathers wild plant specimens and presses them into the still-wet clay as she forms each piece of functional stoneware in her virginia studio. all of her wheel thrown pots, baskets, vases, ceremonial cups, pitchers and bowls bear the fossil-like textures of plants from creek beds and blue ridge mountain slopes and a familiar earthy color palette that complements. the butter and cheese domes above feel like a walk in the forest...

branching out

"My love of nature, trees, and quiet is perhaps most evident in my pieces incorporating branches. I start my process of creation with an inspirational walk in the woods. I gather fallen branches in just the right stage of dryness. After lugging them back to my studio, I study them for the form that they speak of." Jan Jaque

after forming the basic clay shape, new york potter jan jaque adds an element of surprise by incorporating the fallen branch that inspired the vessel. the slab and coil construction process utilized to create 'teapotnot' is slow and deliberate and includes paddling, scraping, shaping, sanding, coloring and pit-firing the clay along with sanding, carving, staining, fitting and sealing the wood. her patience for the process allows almost total control over the materials. teapotnot is appropriately named - instead of a teapot, i see the graceful curves of an other-worldly dancer practicing at the quintessential ballet bar. sweet.

nerikomi

"Nerikomi, the traditional Japanese technique of creating patterns with colored clay is the inspiration for my work. Colored clays are sliced and stacked repeatedly to form patterns and color/textures in the clay itself, resulting in a single block or loaf made up of thousands of overlapping layers. Cross-sectional slices are cut from the block and joined together to form the vessels. The many layers are thus revealed as fine undulating lines embedded in a surrounding color. The pattern becomes the substance and structure of the form itself rather than just a surface embellishment." Thomas Hoadley

ceramic artist thomas hoadley uses an ancient japanese pottery technique to create his exquisite bowls and platters, but the work is contemporary, refined and elegant. the process is time consuming and labor intensive - the results are worth it. a magical manipulation of materials.

meant to move

"Emotion fills me when I see perfect forms in nature, from the cracked conch shell on the beach revealing its perfect spiral, to the milkweed pod burst in the field, its brilliant airborne seeds streaming into the sunlight. The ordered symmetry and asymmetry of nature’s forms reveal the growth of life, the movement of life." Jennifer McCurdy

martha's vineyard potter jennifer mccurdy relies on translucent porcelain, the influences of the natural world and meticulously carved patterns to create light-shadow messages in her vases, bottles and vessels. i think the absence of color is effective in conveying a feeling of calm and peace. it allows us to concentrate on the form. i can almost hear the rustle of grasses bending in the wind and if i gaze long enough i can see the dancers swaying to the soft sound. and you? what do you see? do tell...

license to dazzle

"Rusted license plates and wire, radiator cans and the hubcaps off a '36 Ford have, for me, the strength to evoke the smells, sounds and tastes of my own places of becoming. These are places that could spin yarns about first cars, first times and how treasures become broken. I believe that sharing with others the things that have made us who we are enlarges our understanding of what it can mean to be human." Steven Hansen

i found steven hansen's work on a site about recycled art. looks like a teapot made with recycled metal parts and old license plates, right? that's what the author of the site thought too, but the realistic battered-sign pots and vases are actually ceramic. more than just interesting to look at, he works with a coded language of symbols to "blur the boundaries between art and commerce, between craft and art." hansen wants his work to be read on mulitiple levels, beginning with the concept of a simple, well crafted object and continuing all the way through to the not-so-hidden statements about history, advertising and commerce that wrap around many of the pieces.

cushy cabinet

"Soft Cabinet is about organizing your mind by organizing your things. The drawers are designed according to a matrix system that allows me to make any given piece – desk, side table or cabinet – on request." Kiki van Eijk


young dutch designer kiki van eijk's playful twist on traditional design caught my eye. the drawers on this impressive cabinet look soft and inviting, like padded, tufted cushions waiting to be poked. yes?

no! though the cabinet is wood, the drawers are handmade completely from ceramic. beautifully done and functional too. kiki describes it as a 1001 drawer cupboard to store all of your favorite things. ooohhh, a place to store her furniture-inspired handbags, yes - that will work!

corsetry

"I am utilizing the culmination of formal elements and aspects of allusion of corsetry and garters to express sensual softness. My flower boats and vases suggest beauty holding beauty and my boxes, intimacy holding the intimate." Kristen Kieffer

cor·set n. - close-fitting undergarment worn to support and shape the waistline, hips, and breasts.

the corset helps to emphasize a curvy figure by reducing the waist, thereby exaggerating the bust and hips. for some women it is a positively painful experience, but studio potter kristen kieffer has found a way to make corsets sexy again. her corset-shaped flower boats are suggestive, feminine, intimate and rich with soft, sweet curves. try one.

many thanks to amy crawley for this delightful find.

cuppled

"In design I seek the symbiosis of decoration and form – they communicate together and create a fulfilling entity. My design language is minimalistic but I combine simplified form with generous decoration surface." Heini Riitahuhta

i had to show these pictures of a large-scale sculpture/painting by finnish designer heini riitahuhta. she 'painted' the picture using ceramic cups! ok - the picture isn't a vessel, but it was created with vessels - thus scoring points with this vessel-as-art diva. see more of riitahuhta's work here.

sweet-heart

"I dream that others will catch a glimpse of what I have seen in the earth and the plants and the water when they experience what I make. That through my own striving, I can capture the heaviness of that stone, the struggle and balance of nature, and the rightness of that wiggling curve, and somehow place that into the mind of another human being." Scott Chatenever

toby goldsmith fed my penchant for all things organic when she sent along this link to ceramic artist scott chatenever's work. his vessels, like this heart shaped pod, definitely speak to me. don't ask what they are saying, it's a private conversation.

spirit vessels

"It is my desire that my Spirit Vessels evoke a sense of sacred space and sacred time. As objects of contemplation, and as musical instruments, the Spirit Vessels are intended to be reminders of the need for balance and harmony in our lives." Robin Hodgkinson

robin hodgkinson has been making music for more than twenty five years, using bamboo, exotic hardwoods, metal tubing and clay. each material has its own voice and he says the best material is really a question of individual taste and mood. the unusual spirit vessels round out a product line that includes simple flutes and ocarinas. the marriage flute pictured here plays a chromatic octave in harmony. the right hand plays the chromatic scale while the left hand plays the 1st, 3d, 5th, and 6th intervals. how refreshing - the right hand knows what the left hand is doing. i'm listening.

mixed marriage

"People talk about the element of risk in their work. I recently heard a story of a Cambodian painter who was told to paint Pol Pot with the stipulation that if the painting was no good he would be killed. That's risk. I'm more interested in wandering from idea to idea propelled by curiosity, not fear. There is a large amount of suffering in the world. If, when somebody sees my work they feel some pleasure, that is success." Bennett Bean

new jersey's bennett bean is described as a studio potter, sculptor and a fine artist with decades of experience in several media. 'mixed marriage' is just one example of his ability to paint across separate pieces, giving them the appearance of unity and continuity. although best known for his pit-fired earthenware bowls, the sophisticated, sleek series of pairs and triplets are definitely worth ogling. thanks to teapot-lover toby goldsmith for the link.

on a wing and a prayer

"I have studied art at Birmingham Southern College, architecture at Auburn University and ceramics at The Penland School of Crafts. This training has given me the inspiration to create work that I find both symbolic and delightful." Holden McCurry

i was in the klay gallery last week and happened upon a charming arrangement of small, richly textured ceramic towers, complete with muted colors and architectural details. they looked like lidded vessels, so i picked one up and tried to take the lid off. no luck. i was surprised to see that what looked like a lid...wasn't. exploring a little further, i found that the little vessels had no bottoms either! the reason? inside each tower, alabama ceramist holden mccurry has hidden a paper for the owner to write a prayer or a wish. i've got my wish ready...can you guess what it is?