I’ve always had a tendency to become entranced by process and the materiality inherent in craft making. As a child, I did a lot of papercrafting and left little sprays of snippets and offcuts in my wake. Currently, I’ve been gluing rhinestones onto vintage faux fruit as a way to wind down in the evening. Repetitive motions and the satisfaction of transforming disparate parts into something new engage my creative drive and grant me time and mental space to reflect. In my ceramics practice, I am easily lured in by smoothing a surface or pinching and pinching and pinching singular bits of soft clay. The appeal of clay as a material is multifaceted and seemingly universal—its tactility, its inherent color or characteristics, and its ability to capture the effects of forming and a moving flame captivate. The artists and stories shared in this issue have a similarly strong connection to something specific about the clay itself, which steers their interest, research, and practice.
Brittany Mojo, whose appliquéd vessel is shown on this issue’s cover, combines clay with a newfound approach to color and play. Evidence of the hand in forming and surfacing that recalls women’s work and labor distinguishes her objects and installations.
Pivoting from a career as an art director to ceramics, Daniel Shapiro now makes complex, otherworldly functional pieces out of his St. Louis studio. By wearing two distinct hats, Manager and Worker, Shapiro is afforded time to “churn,” zoning in on the repetition of construction and freeing his mind to develop ideas.
James Oughtibridge allows the blended clay bodies of his ceramic sculptures to shine by omitting glazes and instead building depth and contrast through form and shadow. Working at a larger scale allows him to refine the planes and curves of these forms to create objects that are organic and curious. Ray Brown shares his process for throwing and altering a porcelain basket. Working in additive and subtractive processes including shaping, stamping, sandblasting, and glazing, his fluid forms and layered surfaces converge in dynamic vessels.
José Sierra describes his current inspirations in this issue’s Spotlight, and encourages fellow ceramic artists to be constantly exploring in the studio. Shikha Joshi pushes the results that come out of her electric kiln by experimenting with local materials to replicate the influence of flame and reduction prominent in other types of firing. Sue McLeod discusses when to use calcined kaolin in kiln wash and glazes, plus how to easily process your own. An excerpt from Jonathan Kaplan’s The Mold-Making Manual: The Art of Models, Molds, and Slip-cast Ceramics provides useful tips based on his decades of insight working with clay and plaster.
Finally, this year’s readership-wide contest For a Feast highlights work that facilitates gathering to share a meal, celebration, or the marking of a special occasion. The editorial staff was tasked with reviewing submissions from more than 330 artists for their skill and originality, and selected 18 exemplary pieces of functional pottery.
In reading this issue, I hope you are inspired to indulge in the materiality of clay the next time you’re in the studio and notice what element of its substance most impacts your practice. Enjoy!
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I’ve always had a tendency to become entranced by process and the materiality inherent in craft making. As a child, I did a lot of papercrafting and left little sprays of snippets and offcuts in my wake. Currently, I’ve been gluing rhinestones onto vintage faux fruit as a way to wind down in the evening. Repetitive motions and the satisfaction of transforming disparate parts into something new engage my creative drive and grant me time and mental space to reflect. In my ceramics practice, I am easily lured in by smoothing a surface or pinching and pinching and pinching singular bits of soft clay. The appeal of clay as a material is multifaceted and seemingly universal—its tactility, its inherent color or characteristics, and its ability to capture the effects of forming and a moving flame captivate. The artists and stories shared in this issue have a similarly strong connection to something specific about the clay itself, which steers their interest, research, and practice.
Brittany Mojo, whose appliquéd vessel is shown on this issue’s cover, combines clay with a newfound approach to color and play. Evidence of the hand in forming and surfacing that recalls women’s work and labor distinguishes her objects and installations.
Pivoting from a career as an art director to ceramics, Daniel Shapiro now makes complex, otherworldly functional pieces out of his St. Louis studio. By wearing two distinct hats, Manager and Worker, Shapiro is afforded time to “churn,” zoning in on the repetition of construction and freeing his mind to develop ideas.
James Oughtibridge allows the blended clay bodies of his ceramic sculptures to shine by omitting glazes and instead building depth and contrast through form and shadow. Working at a larger scale allows him to refine the planes and curves of these forms to create objects that are organic and curious. Ray Brown shares his process for throwing and altering a porcelain basket. Working in additive and subtractive processes including shaping, stamping, sandblasting, and glazing, his fluid forms and layered surfaces converge in dynamic vessels.
José Sierra describes his current inspirations in this issue’s Spotlight, and encourages fellow ceramic artists to be constantly exploring in the studio. Shikha Joshi pushes the results that come out of her electric kiln by experimenting with local materials to replicate the influence of flame and reduction prominent in other types of firing. Sue McLeod discusses when to use calcined kaolin in kiln wash and glazes, plus how to easily process your own. An excerpt from Jonathan Kaplan’s The Mold-Making Manual: The Art of Models, Molds, and Slip-cast Ceramics provides useful tips based on his decades of insight working with clay and plaster.
Finally, this year’s readership-wide contest For a Feast highlights work that facilitates gathering to share a meal, celebration, or the marking of a special occasion. The editorial staff was tasked with reviewing submissions from more than 330 artists for their skill and originality, and selected 18 exemplary pieces of functional pottery.
In reading this issue, I hope you are inspired to indulge in the materiality of clay the next time you’re in the studio and notice what element of its substance most impacts your practice. Enjoy!
Unfamiliar with any terms in this article? Browse our glossary of pottery terms!
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