my middle school ceramics instructor told us to “embrace destruction” because at any point our pieces can break, even at the last step. When this piece came out of the kiln it was stuck, so I had to bang it to free it loose. the words of my first teacher really came through then.

i glazed these with shinos because all the old ladies at my studio kept talking about shinos. they did not lead me astray.

i have tragically lost this bowl so if you have it lmk

my roomate loves using this bowl to make homemade sourdough and really thats what its all about

this bowl. she is the blueprint, she is the moment.

i could write a love letter to these bowls, *chefs kiss*

when i started doing ceramics again after two years off, i came in like a bat out of hell with this butterbell and mortar pestle. it paid off cause this shit rocks.

i love seeing the glaze before vs after, the iron turns blue when heated in the kiln, it really exemplifies how much a piece can change

This vase almost did not make it off the wheel alive, but look at her now! that glaze! sometimes you have to ignore destruction and see it out to the end

I really admire one of my good friends Frank who is an amazing artist. when i first started doing ceramics They made me this mug with a fish on it saying “this ones got fish lips”

that moment really stuck with me and so did the motif.

first tries throwing porcelain.

its like throwing cream cheese

when the chip repair does not work, it becomes a chopsticks holder.

sometimes, because of where the piece is positioned in the kiln, or for seemingly no reason at all, a piece will come out looking completely different than what the glaze usually looks like.

Oldies

When i was a kid we had a chicken mug, my sister and I would try to drink our hot coco as fast as we could so the chicken wouldnt drown.

as an adult its kind of a pain to clean but the whimsy is still there

these mugs, are the definition of “an oldie but a goodie”

my teacher told me this piece was never going to make it through the glaze firing because it had a huge crack at the base and would stick to the kiln shelf so please dont fire it.

yeah well i didnt listen. look at her now Leah

There used to be 5 of these fruit bowls. we lost the grape one after a long night of hosting, the orange one to a picnic. the blueberry one was found shattered in the attic because my roomate was to embarrassed to admit he broke it.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Some pieces are still waiting for their story

my first fish lips fish piece

When I was a young lad in hippie quaker boarding school, The whole school sung together every morning at 7:30am. One song went

“all gods critters got a place in the choir, some sing low, some sing higher, some sing out loud on the telephone wire, and some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they got now”

one of the best potters i know, arlo, would never take that compliment, and never signed his work.

I always thought the signature was essential to the creativity of the piece. But recently ive just started doing a circle. maybe thats the point.