YOU ARE INVITED!

For most of my life, I never considered myself an artist, I was trained as, and worked as a chemist until I retired 12 years ago. Fortunately for me, I married a serious artist, my wife, Donna. I could see her dedication and the enjoyment that creating art brought her. I dabbled with woodworking, and did make some nice furniture. I liked making things “square”, and was delighted when things were perfectly square. I considered myself a “craftsman” not an artist.

We retired to an “Active Adult Community” with lots of amenities. On a rainy day, when Pickleball was cancelled, I wandered into the pottery studio and signed up for a “Wheel Throwing Class”. I was immediately captivated by the process. However, after a week of making lopsided bowls, and outrageously heavy mugs, I was ready to quit. An experienced potter scolded me, and said: “You can’t quit until you throw 100 pots”.  Best Advice Ever!

Long before I reached 100 pots, I was totally captivated by the process of transforming a 2-pound lump of clay into all sorts of “round” stuff: bowls, mugs, vases, plates, no two that I threw were the same, but I was in quest of the perfect round shape. Glazes, colors, texture were not important to me. I loved “playing in the mud”! The community studio only fired electric kilns, and I soon became tired of the lack of variety that electric kiln firing provided.

I began researching “Alternative Firing” methods: Pit Firing, Raku Firing, Sagar Firing, Horse Hair Pots, Smoke Firing, and Naked Raku Firing. None of these were possible at the Community studio. Luckily, we owned a small ranch In Blanket Texas, where I could do what ever I wanted.

Each of these “Alternative Firing” methods produced unpredictable results. Unlike electric kiln firing where I knew how the pot would look before I opened the kiln, with Raku Firing, I was always surprised with the results. Sometimes happy, sometimes sad. “The serendipity of the raku process, saves us from the poverty of our intentions” is a quote that applies to my work.

Today, I thoroughly enjoy all stages of the pottery process: throwing, trimming, glazing, firing, displaying, and selling. I’m becoming much more thoughtful in the process. I do my best to give each pot a chance to be beautiful. After thousands of pots, I’m getting better. I love exploring each of the pots that come out of my kiln. Every pot is different, and every part of every pot is different.

The pots I have in this exhibit include some of my early stoneware fired pots, but most are examples of raku fired pots with my own glazes, and other alternative firing techniques. Thanks for looking at my work, I hope you enjoy it.