Downstream and Going Steady - 89981

89981 - Downstream and Going Steady, 1998, 16" diameter, Three days of firing, three days of cooling.

 One of the things I love most about this platter is that as you look closer and closer, you realize that as the cooling cycle began, and the glazes began to freeze up... they were already in such a thick flowing state, that the underside of the glaze, kept on moving; remaining molten for an incredibly long time. This resulted in an almost pyroclastic flow sort of behavior. There is a skin over the surface of the glaze, that shows wrinkles from the glaze underneath continuing to move as the surface began to chill. Not something you see on pottery glazes.

The puckering from the chilling is pretty obvious in this image.

Fits So Well Around the Shoulders - 8280

This August I was planning on exhibiting a few of these platters at a show in the midwest. I have been invited to show at very few exhibitions over my twenty years of making pots, so I was very excited. I started making plans to ship the work there. Packing up these beasties and getting them ready to head out the door is no small undertaking.

I realized pretty quickly that I couldn't do it by myself, the way I normally had. Heck, I am not even supposed to lift something half as heavy as these platters. Then I needed to figure out a way to ship them half-way across the country, insure them, and then plan for return shipment.

I called a few different shippers (and one pack and ship place) to see what I would be getting into in terms of time and expense. The cheapest numbers that came back made it look like driving them across the country with them sitting in the passenger seat would be considerably cheaper. Who in their right mind has a week off in the middle of summer to take 4-5 platters for a drive in the country? Not me.

Long story made short, I had to give up on this show. As much as I wanted to be a part of it, there was very little chance of it being feasible. If there was a great likelyhood of a patron of their gallery knowing ahead of time that they "had to have" one of the platters, the sales from that one might offset the shipping costs of the others. But without that security, I couldn't subject my family to that much of a gamble. Any other year and it wouldn't have been a big deal, but since our bankruptcy, ever dollar has been 10x as precious as I ever imagined. Certainly not where I thought I would be at this point in my life, but with things looking up... it will improve. Maybe the next time a gallery asks to show these platters we'll be in a situation where shipping won't cause us to have financial fits.

A Pale River - 9298H

A Pale River - 9298H 

It's hard to describe the feathery crystals that create the movement along the edge where these two glazes meet. Like the shoreline at high tide, with the waves pulling back... the shore gives some and takes some. In this case, the glaze changes with every layering interaction.

Purple-Black Storm (9298B)

Purple-Black Storm, (9298B), 16" diameter, fired to cone 8 over three days and cooled for two days.

It is amazing seeing these platters again. The level of detail in the closeup images just blows my mind. I wish I had enough wall space to show them all off, all the time! They really need to be seen, with good light, at eye level, to really appreciate them.

Giving It Another Try (598)

598, 1998, untitled, fired to cone 8 over three days, and cooled 

for three days, oxidation. $1200

This platter never received a wonderfully descriptive or artistic name. It still sits there, with it's original designation: 598. It wasn't the five hundred and ninety-eighth platter... rather it was made in May 1998. That really just takes into account when it was thrown. In many instances it was months between when the platter was thrown and when it was glazed and then fired.

When it first came out of the kiln I was so disappointed with the glaze blisters. I almost smashed this platter into gravel, I was so frustrated. I kept it on my shelves for a few weeks in hopes that I would find something redeeming about the flaws. Over the next month it began to grow on me. By the time I put it on the way for its first vertical exhibition, I was quite taken with it.

Some of these details may end up as posters. The level of detail is staggering. So much rich color and texture!!

The First Post is Always a Test