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In this installment of the Ceramic Arts Daily Video Series, Gertrude Graham (nicknamed Gay) Smith shares the ways she works with freshly thrown pots to alter surface and form. Enamored with the tactile and responsive nature of clay, Gay chooses to make alterations on her pots immediately after they are thrown to create energetic and spontaneous marks. In this program, she shows a number of different ways to alter fresh surfaces, as well as how to enhance those marks in the trimming and finishing of several pieces. In addition, she covers her considerations of form and how to make the pieces more utilitarian. If you find yourself in love with the nature of freshly thrown clay and want to learn to successfully capture it in your work, this video is for you!

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About the Author

Gay Smith

Gertrude Graham (Gay) Smith is a studio potter living and working near Penland, North Carolina. Gay studied ceramics at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and the University of Oregon and has been an artist-in-residence at the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts and Penland School of Crafts. Her teaching credits include workshops at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Penland, the Harvard Ceramics Studio, and the Findhorn Foundation in Northern Scotland. Her work is represented internationally, and is in many collections including the Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina and Yingge Ceramics Museum in Taiwan. Gay’s work has been featured in Ceramics Monthly magazine and in numerous publications including Making Marks and Functional Pottery by Robin Hopper. To learn more about Gay Smith or see more images of her work, please visit, www.gertrudegrahamsmith.com.
Unfamiliar with any terms in this video? Browse our glossary of pottery terms!
Topics: Wheel Throwing Techniques, Ceramic Glazing Techniques
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