Ceramics

Working with clay is definitely one of my top five favorite art media. I have loved clay for as long as I can remember. In fact, I still have a piece I made when I was only 2 years old! Recently, I have been making a lot of aquarium/terrarium homes for my fish/toads to enjoy as well as free-form incense burners. I am also familiar with Raku firing and throwing pots on a wheel (kick and electric).

Below is the text I wrote when I taught the clay unit to my high school art students:

Fountain, 2001

This is a 4-piece fountain. It was designed with acoustics in mind. Water must trickle down many different protuberances so that it creates interesting sounds on the way. The chamber inside where the water flows also has extra air space for the trickling sounds to reverberate and come out through the small holes near the top.

Incense Burners

This dragon is actually an incense burner. The tail is detachable and has a place to hold a cone. It is then reinserted into the base and the smoke comes out his nose holes and mouth.

Dragon Incense Burner, 1995

The first two pictures below show the same incense burner from two different angles. The bottom two pictures show a different incense burner from two angles. These were taken before they were fired in the kiln. The middle picture is of both incense burners together after they were fired. Setting between them is an interesting trilobite fossil.

incense burners with trilobite.jpg (63926 bytes)

Two incense burners, 2001

Here is a similar incense burner in red clay. The first two pictures are different views. The third picture shows the three pieces that make up the whole burner.

Incense burner created from red clay, 2001

Edgewater Inn, 2002

This piece is in a terrarium and is enjoyed as a soaking area for toads.

Edgewater Inn (unfired)

edgewater bait door closeup.jpg (125735 bytes)

edgewater office side.jpg (148709 bytes)

edgewater office door closeup.jpg (139156 bytes)

Edgewater Inn (after firing)

CASL Disco, 2002

This piece is currently in a large aquarium. It was created as a hideout for blue botias, a type of fish.

CASL Disco out of water.jpg (142199 bytes)

Tri-headed creature, May 2004

This piece is 20" tall.

Head sculpture, 1989

I made this one when I was 13. It is an abstract head with eyes all over it. The toad inside is real. I took, developed and printed this black-and-white photograph in my high school photography class in 1992.