Etsy Shop for potsandpens

Pinched Clay Mini Pot with Sage Leaves

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:47:36 -0500

$36.00
This pinched, burnished clay pot was sawdust pit fired with sage leaves.

A pinched clay pot is made without the use of a potter’s wheel. The shape of the finished piece is gently coaxed from a single ball of clay, imitating the process of the wheel with my hands. I also enlist the use of a rubber rib and wooden paddle to help stretch and smooth the clay. Although primarily decorative in nature, my pots are created for more than simple viewing. They are brought to a careful, delicate balance without losing the natural cradle of the human hand; mine as the maker and, by extension, yours as you lift and hold the pot. I burnish the surface of the clay many times over during the process with a simple polished stone. This burnishing leaves behind a soft, sensual surface that begs your hand’s contact.

My primary and preferred method of firing is the sawdust pit. There I can achieve a decorative range from simple and unembellished to more complex by using vegetation, metal leaf, or copper wire forms. These produce a visual texture while preserving the tactile smoothness. The bisque fired pots are buried in the ground between layers of sawdust (scrap gathered from the studios of local woodworking artists) and sticks, a fire is built on top, then covered to allow the pit to slowly smolder down. The black in the finished pot is carbon that becomes trapped in the clay during the process. My favorite ornamentation is the addition of foliage which is wrapped around the pot prior to firing. The moisture rich foliage resists the fire and leaves behind a smoked image (ghostly and almost photographic) on the finished piece. Sometimes even the tiniest detail of veins in the leaves is visible on the surface of the pot.

No two finished pots are ever the same. They may hold similarities because of the foliage that has been used, but each has subtle and sometimes drastic differences. The images and details shown here are of and unique to this particular piece.

THIS POT MEASURES APPROXIMATELY 2 1/2" HIGH BY 3 1/4" IN DIAMETER.

Pinched Clay Pot with Palm Fronds

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:57:04 -0500

$42.00
This pinched, burnished clay pot was sawdust pit fired with palm fronds.

A pinched clay pot is made without the use of a potter’s wheel. The shape of the finished piece is gently coaxed from a single ball of clay, imitating the process of the wheel with my hands. I also enlist the use of a rubber rib and wooden paddle to help stretch and smooth the clay. Although primarily decorative in nature, my pots are created for more than simple viewing. They are brought to a careful, delicate balance without losing the natural cradle of the human hand; mine as the maker and, by extension, yours as you lift and hold the pot. I burnish the surface of the clay many times over during the process with a simple polished stone. This burnishing leaves behind a soft, sensual surface that begs your hand’s contact.

My primary and preferred method of firing is the sawdust pit. There I can achieve a decorative range from simple and unembellished to more complex by using vegetation, metal leaf, or copper wire forms. These produce a visual texture while preserving the tactile smoothness. The bisque fired pots are buried in the ground between layers of sawdust (scrap gathered from the studios of local woodworking artists) and sticks, a fire is built on top, then covered to allow the pit to slowly smolder down. The black in the finished pot is carbon that becomes trapped in the clay during the process. My favorite ornamentation is the addition of foliage which is wrapped around the pot prior to firing. The moisture rich foliage resists the fire and leaves behind a smoked image (ghostly and almost photographic) on the finished piece. Sometimes even the tiniest detail of veins in the leaves is visible on the surface of the pot.

No two finished pots are ever the same. They may hold similarities because of the foliage that has been used, but each has subtle and sometimes drastic differences. The images and details shown here are of and unique to this particular piece.

THIS POT MEASURES APPROXIMATELY 3" HIGH BY 4" IN DIAMETER

Pinched Clay Mini Pot with Fern Fronds

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:56:07 -0500

$36.00
This pinched, burnished clay pot was sawdust pit fired with fern fronds.

A pinched clay pot is made without the use of a potter’s wheel. The shape of the finished piece is gently coaxed from a single ball of clay, imitating the process of the wheel with my hands. I also enlist the use of a rubber rib and wooden paddle to help stretch and smooth the clay. Although primarily decorative in nature, my pots are created for more than simple viewing. They are brought to a careful, delicate balance without losing the natural cradle of the human hand; mine as the maker and, by extension, yours as you lift and hold the pot. I burnish the surface of the clay many times over during the process with a simple polished stone. This burnishing leaves behind a soft, sensual surface that begs your hand’s contact.

My primary and preferred method of firing is the sawdust pit. There I can achieve a decorative range from simple and unembellished to more complex by using vegetation, metal leaf, or copper wire forms. These produce a visual texture while preserving the tactile smoothness. The bisque fired pots are buried in the ground between layers of sawdust (scrap gathered from the studios of local woodworking artists) and sticks, a fire is built on top, then covered to allow the pit to slowly smolder down. The black in the finished pot is carbon that becomes trapped in the clay during the process. My favorite ornamentation is the addition of foliage which is wrapped around the pot prior to firing. The moisture rich foliage resists the fire and leaves behind a smoked image (ghostly and almost photographic) on the finished piece. Sometimes even the tiniest detail of veins in the leaves is visible on the surface of the pot.

No two finished pots are ever the same. They may hold similarities because of the foliage that has been used, but each has subtle and sometimes drastic differences. The images and details shown here are of and unique to this particular piece.

THIS POT MEASURES APPROXIMATELY 2 1/4" HIGH BY 3 1/4" IN DIAMETER.

Custom pinched clay wedding bowl

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:16:46 -0500

$125.00
Although I call them wedding bowls and the image shown here is of a wedding bowl, these pots can be designed to commemorate any special occasion. This pinched clay pot is adorned with calligraphically carved lettering. You supply the name(s), date, and sentiment to be written in a continuous circle around the pot as seen in the images. It is then pit fired with foliage.

This is, of course, a custom order and as such will require a turn around time of approximately 4 – 6 weeks. If at all possible I will strive to meet the needs of your particular date. A card (written calligraphically, of course) explaining that a special item is being commissioned for your gifted can be sent upon request if the time required to finish the pot exceeds that date.

This bowl makes an incredibly unique gift.

A pinched clay pot is made without the use of a potter’s wheel. The shape of the finished piece is gently coaxed from a single ball of clay, imitating the process of the wheel with my hands. I also enlist the use of a rubber rib and wooden paddle to help stretch and smooth the clay. Although primarily decorative in nature, my pots are created for more than simple viewing. They are brought to a careful, delicate balance without losing the natural cradle of the human hand; mine as the maker and, by extension, yours as you lift and hold the pot. I burnish the surface of the clay many times over during the process with a simple polished stone. This burnishing leaves behind a soft, sensual surface that begs your hand’s contact.

My primary and preferred method of firing is the sawdust pit. There I can achieve a decorative range from simple and unembellished to more complex by using vegetation, metal leaf, or copper wire forms. These produce a visual texture while preserving the tactile smoothness. The bisque fired pots are buried in the ground between layers of sawdust (scrap gathered from the studios of local woodworking artists) and sticks, a fire is built on top, then covered to allow the pit to slowly smolder down. The black in the finished pot is carbon that becomes trapped in the clay during the process. My favorite ornamentation is the addition of foliage which is wrapped around the pot prior to firing. The moisture rich foliage resists the fire and leaves behind a smoked image (ghostly and almost photographic) on the finished piece. Sometimes even the tiniest detail of veins in the leaves is visible on the surface of the pot.

No two finished pots are ever the same. They may hold similarities because of the foliage that has been used, but each has subtle and sometimes drastic differences.

Wedding bowls measure approximately 4" high by 6" in diameter.

Pinched Clay Mini Pot with Sage Leaves

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:34:02 -0400

$28.00
This pinched, burnished clay pot was sawdust pit fired with sage leaves.

A pinched clay pot is made without the use of a potter’s wheel. The shape of the finished piece is gently coaxed from a single ball of clay, imitating the process of the wheel with my hands. I also enlist the use of a rubber rib and wooden paddle to help stretch and smooth the clay. Although primarily decorative in nature, my pots are created for more than simple viewing. They are brought to a careful, delicate balance without losing the natural cradle of the human hand; mine as the maker and, by extension, yours as you lift and hold the pot. I burnish the surface of the clay many times over during the process with a simple polished stone. This burnishing leaves behind a soft, sensual surface that begs your hand’s contact.

My primary and preferred method of firing is the sawdust pit. There I can achieve a decorative range from simple and unembellished to more complex by using vegetation, metal leaf, or copper wire forms. These produce a visual texture while preserving the tactile smoothness. The bisque fired pots are buried in the ground between layers of sawdust (scrap gathered from the studios of local woodworking artists) and sticks, a fire is built on top, then covered to allow the pit to slowly smolder down. The black in the finished pot is carbon that becomes trapped in the clay during the process. My favorite ornamentation is the addition of foliage which is wrapped around the pot prior to firing. The moisture rich foliage resists the fire and leaves behind a smoked image (ghostly and almost photographic) on the finished piece. Sometimes even the tiniest detail of veins in the leaves is visible on the surface of the pot.

No two finished pots are ever the same. They may hold similarities because of the foliage that has been used, but each has subtle and sometimes drastic differences. The images and details shown here are of and unique to this particular piece.

THIS POT MEASURES APPROXIMATELY 2 1/4" HIGH BY 3 1/4" IN DIAMETER.