Process Information

A delicious chocolate-red clay is where it begins. Everything rests upon this colour.

Images of figures and animals are pressed onto the inside of bisque ware, then coils of clay are pushed over the entire interior, covering and distorting the underlying images.

When the clay hardens a bit, I remove it from that pot and begin the process of adding layers of textures, imprints, more figures and animals, fish swimming through to the other side, and windows looking inside then out. The rim is crowned with a highly detailed old-world cityscape.

When the piece is leather hard I paint it with terra sigillata pigmented clay slips allowing that chocolate-red clay colour to reappear. It is then fired to about 1875º F. While still warm from the firing I saturate it with melted beeswax.