Serendipitous Pairings Ashley Kim

Appears in the Nov/Dec 2021 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated.

For some years, I have been keen on repurposing and borrowing shapes from once-used to-go boxes, commercial food packaging, vintage jello molds, and secondhand pottery for my work. Beyond obvious formal reasons, my interest in these mundane, functional and yet sometimes quirky objects is their endless possibility for exploration. Through rearranging, repeating, and reconstructing, I have come up with my own unexpected forms. 

A more deliberate reason for working this way stems from my growing awareness of our impact on the environment. Up until a few years ago, I was that person who was sufficiently content on recycling where I could and using reusable grocery bags when shopping. Then I heard an interview on issues surrounding recycling on NPR’s Fresh Air. I learned that plastics are graded and only certain plastics are recyclable. Recyclable glass, paper, metals, and plastics are not equally energy efficient to recycle. The most positive impact we can collectively make on the environment is not through recycling, but rather by reducing our consumption. Repurposing these once-used objects to create functional pieces has become a kind of activism—my way of underlining this environmental issue. 

Scavenging, then Editing 

My making process begins with scavenging. I save many used Styrofoam to-go boxes and food containers in various sizes and shapes. Clamshell fruit packagings easily make the cut (those for large Gala apples and Korean pears are the best). I take much pleasure in browsing through Etsy to find many of the vintage aluminum jello molds and cast-iron baking trays that are now in my collection. Often I rummage through second-hand stores to score pottery forms from the past. Recently I have tapped into a handful of curiously shaped medical packaging from a hospital where I work. These delightful discoveries and acquisitions nudge me to wonder beyond the confines of my ways of working and to explore different possibilities of form and content. 

After a period of time collecting, I start sorting through and editing, usually once or twice a year. I tend to gravitate toward more unusual and quirky objects. Ones with simply good geometry are also added to the keep pile. There seems to be less and less logic involved in this yearly editing process. 

Pouring Plaster

Next comes preparing the selected items for pouring plaster to create drape molds (1). To do this, ensure that they are clean, dry, and coated with Murphy’s Oil Soap for easier release of the plaster once hardened. When making drape molds, the plaster needs to be durable yet moderately absorbent and #1 Pottery Plaster works well for this purpose. After the poured plaster has cured, release the hardened plaster molds and dry them thoroughly over several days before use (2). 

Intuitive Building: A Tray on a Pedestal

I rarely make my work from sketches and use my plaster molds the same way; I respond to what is in front of me more intuitively. This way of making keeps my work fresh, spontaneous, and varied. For the set demonstrated here, the two pieces of the elevated tray were made independently, then paired together serendipitously. I invite and enjoy this kind of chance.

To make a piece like this, start by rolling out two 1/3-inch-thick slabs of clay. I use Laguna Clay’s B Mix without grog as a smooth, light-colored canvas. Then apply texture, either by using a piece of lace to transfer the texture (3) or using a laser-cut texture roller. To achieve a clear impression of texture, ensure that your slab is consistently rolled out and devoid of any dimples or bubbles. 

To build the stand, I use an oval plaster mold made from a vintage baking dish (4). Drape the lace-textured slab over the mold with the texture side facing out and shape by patting gently, so as to not distort the texture. Darting may be necessary for the slab to closely follow the shape of the mold (5). Then, roll out a 2/3-inch-thick coil and attach it to the outer corner of the upside-down stand. Pinch the coil up to create a tall foot, which will elevate the stand (6), then cut scallops around the top rim of the pinched-up wall (7). 

Once the draped form is leather hard, release it from the mold. Attach a 1/3-inch-thick slab, usually cut from the same slab used to make the stand (this is a great way to ensure that the slab has the same thickness and moisture content). Place the slab on the work surface with the texture side facing down, score the attachment areas on the stand and slab, apply slip, then place the stand on the slab to enclose the form. Attaching the slab with the stand upside down prevents the top from drooping. Trace a line on the slab around the edge of the stand, then cut through the slab and remove the excess clay (8). Next, cut out windows with a fettling knife to give the stand a visual lift and add a little flair (9).Keep the stand upside down until it is leather hard.

The Tray

Drape a second textured slab over the two round plaster molds (made from a plastic lunch tray) with the texture side facing down this time (10). Cut the slab to the desired shape. Use a soft rubber or silicone rib to smooth out the non-textured side of the slab and compress the clay without thinning it. Dry the slab to the leather-hard stage and sign on the bottom before releasing it from the drape molds. Once the slab is turned right side up, roll out a long, ⅔-inch diameter coil, attach it to the outer edge of the tray, and pinch it to build the rim (11). I find completing the tray with a soft, pinched rim is more visually pleasing than ending with an awkward cut (12). 

To create the handle, attach a small coil in the middle of the tray and pinch up. Finish building the handle with three equally spaced coil loops and cutouts, mimicking the cutouts in the foot of the stand (13). For me, these elaborate, unnecessary parts in this handle are what is interesting to build and intriguing to look at.

Embellishing the Surface and Decaling

Contrary to what I typically do with my work, I colored and glazed this elevated tray minimally to emphasize the form. Subdued, intermediate colors from mellow-yellow glaze and chocolate-brown underglaze are used with a stroke of red added over the coiled loops of the handle (14). There are plenty of textures to enjoy already. The applied textures, exposed seams, and subtle stitch marks drawn with a fabric-pattern marker are present throughout the form. Also evident are the coil loops, scallops, and cutouts—what I call doodlings in space. 

For easier application, I generally color first before bisque firing. Apply wax resist to the colored areas, then glaze both the tray and the stand by dipping. I glaze fire to cone 5 in oxidation.

Decals are applied minimally to capture dragonflies lazily flapping away. Often I make sepia-toned decal images of nature—fruits and vegetables, butterflies, dragonflies and animals—as well as images of objects to layer with whimsy or subtle messages. High-quality images are borrowed, purchased online, or occasionally freely drawn then scanned. I almost always enhance these images using Photoshop to meet my needs. I may increase sharpness and contrast for clarity and alter scale to better fit my work.

Ashley Kim is a maker, artist, and lecturer at San Diego State University. You can find her work and follow her at @ashleykimclayworks.