My love affair with porcelain began when I was in a college with a grayish slop called SIUC domestic porcelain, the summer I graduated my professor gave me a bucket of well aged grolleg porcelain. After one firing the gorgeous color of the clay body had me hooked. When I moved to Atlantic Beach, Florida for a residency at
Atlantic Pottery Supply I didn't anticipate that I would start purchasing my clay. I think it only took one bag of well aged porcelain to convince me that I did not need to mix my own clay. This is the first time that I have tried several clays with similar ingredients side by side, however, and I am a little shocked at how different they can be. Working for a clay supplier can evoke all kinds of conversations about clay, which is essentially mud. These conversations drove me nuts, to me clay is clay. And porcelain is of course, porcelain. WRONG! I can't believe how different these clay bodies are. To begin my testing I am making a large bowl, a cup with a handle, a pot with a lid, and some test tiles with each body. I was having a some trouble with large bowls lately which prompted me to start testing all this clay I had sitting around. The large bowls went pretty much as expected the Frost, which is a beautiful white color and turns to glue when you wedge it, flopped over and the grayer clays had a nice plasticity. I have always been pretty puritan about my porcelain and have never wanted to use these darker bodies, but now I am thinking if they fire white and crack less why not?
After I let the bowls dry a little I did some decorating and moved on to the new forms. In between this time I read some great reviews of Miller's #16 which is the dirtier cousin of the #15 I am testing. I have personally never heard of Miller before, but they apparently started somewhere in New York and their clay is now mixed by Laguna in Ohio. So far I am liking the #15, but the handle will be the true test. I am curious to try the #16 now, as it seems well revered. I am also really curious about Laguna's Frost, after drying the clay out a little I threw a decent bowl with it today, so we'll see where that goes. Standard's #365 has been a vast disappointment. I had really wanted to switch to one of their clay bodies, but this clay is mixed too stiff for me and it's gray and blah so far. I am impressed with both of the clays by Sheffield and they might be the underdog of this group, but the Elaine's has already cracked where I cut the foot and that just won't do. The real test of course will be the firing, and I hope to do some of that this weekend. PS I just put a deposit on a used Skutt 1227 in great condition!!! Too excited about this. And finally some mugs in the studio. Bigger than usual.
I've realized a lot since moving. Sometimes I hate the process of moving, the packing, the money, the changing of jobs, the stress settling into a new studio can create. But I also love moving. I love shedding all the junk, I love decorating a new apartment, I love starting fresh. I have also discovered, surprisingly, that I really like the Northeast. I also discovered that over five years in Jacksonville I had made a lot of contacts that it's hard to walk away from. I've been invited to do several really excited things since I've left Jacksonville that I had to turn down, because I am no longer their local artist. So in the central New York area I am going to proactive in building those connections. My first step is participating in the Community School of Music and Arts "Arts for All Marathon". The Arts for All Marathon lasts 26.2 days just like a regular marathon is 26.2 miles. Artists can basically create their own way of participating, which really drew me to their cause. They are also having a post-it note show that Vaughn and I will donate an item to. Artists donate art on post-its that are sold for $5 each at the closing show. I really like how accessible they are making art to the general public while raising money. The CSMA offers a great variety of classes, and the money raised in the marathon goes to their scholarship fund. For the duration of the marathon, September 26th-October 24th I will donate 26% of sales on regularly priced items in my online store to the CSMA Arts for All Marathon. In addition my sale items are now 26% off. And I am promising to post new work before the end of the marathon. You really can have it all...fabulous pottery and donating to a good cause all in one!
