Understated pottery, overstated potter.
Carisa Miller
Portland, Oregon U.S.
Understated pottery, overstated potter.
Carisa Miller
Portland, Oregon U.S.
Plover- Matte, moderately-opaque, cool white over black stoneware. The organic movement of the glaze during application alludes to the black clay underneath, especially along rims, somewhat mimicking an atmospheric firing. The texture is less satiny that the other two finishes, more stone like.
Pipit- Warm gray, semi-translucent satin-matte. Somehow the coziest of the finishes, if there is a way that makes sense, the glaze movement and dark stoneware make an electric oxidation firing more resemble a wood or gas firing. Edges and rims can often appear flame toasted.
Ink- The most uniform of the three glazes, this satin-matte finish over black stoneware is glaze-fired twice with two applications, first dipped, then sprayed. The finish has a layered depth resembling, in my mind, pools of black ink, with a hint of metallic glint in changing light.
Into The Actual Fire
Using a white half & half porcelain-stoneware clay body, I threw a batch of organic (read: rims uneven on purpose) mid sized stem vases, soap dish/jewelry tray/gum rests, lidded jars and tall & slender stem vases. These were tucked into individual pouches of aluminum and sprinkled in combustibles, mostly from the chickens: pine shavings with all kinds of droppings, poo, feathers, grain and seeds, eggs shells, and dried leaves and vines from the garden and some steel wool for good measure. They went into a wood fire pit, were stoked to around 1600° degrees, then were deprived of oxygen and left to cool over 24 hours.. The effects are a result of letting go and letting the elements do what they will. You’ll see swirls, wisps, and clouds of smokey blacks and grays laid over the white clay, with some darker impressions where high density matter has combusted, and occasional smatterings of rusty oranges and even pinks where the metals interacted. But because it’s me…mostly black and grays.
Technical Bits
-Pit fired pottery is unglazed and not fired to full temperature so the clay is not vitrified (fully mature) and therefore the microscopic particles are more open (porous).
-I’ve not made any pit fired work that would be use for food consumption, but I have taken measure to make the pieces more water tight.
-The pots have been sealed inside and out with the miracle juice the industry knows as liquid quartz sealer. It is food safe and acts to make water bead against the treated surface.
-I also waxed and buffed the exteriors of the pots, because it’s protective and makes them pretty.
