Today was a hectic day for me, and I did not finish my painting for the blog. So-0-0 I am taking you to the pottery exhibit I attended two Saturdays ago. The work is done by Andy Smith, nationally recognized potter, who lives in a rural area of
Marshville, NC. I have a wonderful collection of his work and treasure each one.
Look carefully at this one in order to see the design. His surface design, it seems to me, reflect influences of Frank Lloyd Wright, Art Deco, and Art
Nouveau.
His pot silhouettes are classic, beautiful shapes. You will notice a unifying black on each of them. This is the
raku procedure in action. Pots are first bisque fired, then glazed,
refired to a high temperature in about 45 minutes, removed red hot from the kiln with tongs, and plunged into a barrel of leaves, etc. Of course the leaves catch on fire and the smoke makes the black areas which are unglazed, and gets into the fine line crackle of the glazed portions. It is quite dramatic! The process originated in Japan, but American potters have modified the procedure somewhat.
Isn't that a gorgeous shape? If you look carefully, you can barely see the fine line crackle.
Have a great day tomorrow and check back for one of my paintings. My thanks to all of you.
