Ceramic Sculpture

Inspiring Techniques

Ceramic Arts Handbook Series

Edited by Anderson Turner

Ceramic Sculpture

Inspiring Techniques

Ceramic Sculpture

Ceramic Arts Handbook Series

Edited by Anderson Turner The American Ceramic Society 600 N. Cleveland Ave., Suite 210 Westerville, Ohio 43082 www.CeramicArtsDaily.org

Ceramic Arts Handbook

The American Ceramic Society 600 N. Cleveland Ave., Suite 210 Westerville, OH 43082 2009, 2011 by The American Ceramic Society, All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-57498-300-5 (Paperback) ISBN: 978-1-57498-530-6 (PDF) No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in review. Authorization to photocopy for internal or personal use beyond the limits of Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law is granted by The American Ceramic Society, provided that the appropriate fee is paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 U.S.A., www.copyright.com. Prior to photocopying items for educational classroom use, please contact Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. This consent does not extend to copyright items for general distribution or for advertising or promotional purposes or to republishing items in whole or in part in any work in any format. Requests for special photocopying permission and reprint requests should be directed to Director, Publications, The American Ceramic Society, 600 N. Cleveland Ave., Westerville, Ohio 43082 USA. Every effort has been made to ensure that all the information in this book is accurate. Due to differing conditions, equipment, tools, and individual skills, the publisher cannot be responsible for any injuries, losses, and other damages that may result from the use of the information in this book. Final determination of the suitability of any information, procedure or product for use contemplated by any user, and the manner of that use, is the sole responsibility of the user. This book is intended for informational purposes only. The views, opinions and findings contained in this book are those of the author. The publishers, editors, reviewers and author assume no responsibility or liability for errors or any consequences arising from the use of the information contained herein. Registered names and trademarks, etc., used in this publication, even without specific indication thereof, are not to be considered unprotected by the law. Mention of trade names of commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the publishers, editors or authors. Publisher: Charles Spahr, President, Ceramic Publications Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The American Ceramic Society Art Book Program Manager: Bill Jones Series Editor: Anderson Turner Graphic Design and Production: Melissa Bury, Bury Design, Westerville, Ohio Cover Images: Immersion 17 by Kathy Venter; (top right) Spheres with Cross by Barbro berg; (bottom right) Floating Slabs Teapot by Louis Marak Frontispiece: Spiked Log by Mark Gordon

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Contents
George McCauley: Life Experiences
Peter Held

1 7 14 19 23 29 37 44 49 53 56 61 67 71

Jim Koudelka: Layered Contraptions

Daniel Duford

Reflections on Accumulation
Wendy Walgate Braden Frieder

Greg Penner: Casting Call Growth in Change

Mark Chatterley Marnie Prange Andy Nasisse Kathy Venter

Adrian Arleo: Nature Studies Jean-Pierre Larocque: Heads and Horses Immersion Series Spraying Paper-Reinforced Clay
W. Lowell Baker Linda Mau

Paper Clay and Steel Barbro berg: Lightweight Sculpture

Ulla Munck Jrgensen Andrea Myklebust Kate Bonansinga

Gary Erickson: Organic Abstraction Eva Kwong: Sculptural Vases Kathleen Holmes: Dress Sculptures
Barbara Rizza Mellin

Slip-coated Fabric
Jen Champlin

74 77 81 87 89 96 99 103 106 109 113

Leigh Taylor Mickelson: Stacked Compositions

Mary K. Cloonan Niel Amon

Tile and Sculpture Right Angle Jig

Marcia Selsor Morgan Britt

Sheri Leigh: Large-scale Slab Sculptures Saggar-fired Sculptures

Mee-Kyung Nam Mark Gordon

Mortar Construction Patrick Crabb: Adobe Castings

George M. Tapley Jr. Nesrin During Dee Schaad

Deirdre McLoughlin: Coiling Around Space Figurative Soft-Slab Sculpture Louis Marak: Illusionary Sculpture
Cathy Ray Pierson Alex McErlain

Catrin Mostyn Jones: Doing What Comes Naturally 118 Mary Fischer: Slab-built Structures
Jim LaVilla-Havelin Steven Thurston Glen R. Brown

121 124 130

Rapid Prototyping Nina Hole: Site-fired Kiln Sculpture

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Preface
As an artist, educator and gallery director, Ive spent many hours looking at and thinking about art and art making. Often Im looking for inspiration for my own work or for a curatorial idea I have brewing. Many times Ive sent students to look someone up, so they can better understand the artists ideas and techniques in order to better inform their own work. This book is a great tool for exactly that process. From beginning to end it contains details about the making process. As a gallery director Im forever reintroducing patrons to people and ideas that everyone should hold dear. While in my own art I may stick to a certain aesthetic, as an educator/curator I find, as I grow older, a fondness for all art making. Most importantly I feel my students and patrons often lack an understanding of the value of their education and are more worried about what it can get them than what they can learn. I also feel strongly that art making is a research driven activity. The information contained in this book is written by some of the more innovative and interesting minds working in ceramics today. While not all of the ideas are necessarily groundbreaking, they are unique in their individual approach to the use of the material. How these artists researched and successfully used the processes they set out to is inspirational, informative and important. I hope you find the research contained in these pages as exciting as I do.

Anderson Turner

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George McCauley
Life Experiences
by Peter Held

Ceramic Sculpture

hrough their work, artists communicate a full range of emotions, perceptions and spiritual explorations. George McCauley shapes these varied life experiences into clay forms that are assembled as wholly personal and revealing sculpture. Prior to studying art, his vocational positions included carpenter, concrete inspector, waiter and chef, mechanic, horse trainer and aluminum-siding salesman. Like many of his contemporaries, McCauley was drawn to clay after his initial introduction, a classic case of the love at rst touch syndrome. Ron Meyers at the University of Georgia, was a signicant role model. At the University of South Carolina, Meyers fostered an environment of experimental freedom, instilling in McCauley a sense of discovery and excitement for the medium. The work of Peter Voulkos also has been a strong inuence. Voulkos works as if the pieces come out of him, not by him, observes McCauley. His devotion to making art, breaking new ground and his abilities to make works that are about what he wants to make are

Candelabrum, 43 inches in height, wheel-thrown and handbuilt earthenware, soda fired.

Ceramic Arts Handbook

McCauley hand trimming excess clay from thrown shapes prior to assemblage.

in spirational. The seemingly casual appearance and freedom evident in his work are what I strive for in my own creative endeavors. George Ohrs persona and art also hold a particularly strong fascination for McCauley. Billing himself as the Mad Potter of Biloxi, Ohr was a nonconformist who created a distinctive body of work that challenged the status quo of the day. Both McCauley and Ohr share a hirsute sensibility as well, sporting ample mustaches reecting amboyant personalities. Having spent the greater part of his childhood residing in Georgia and South Carolina, McCauley absorbed the rich history of folk-art traditions of the South, particularly those of the Jugtown potters. For a time, he

emulated these artistsinhabiting a rustic home in the country, surrounded by yard art and integrating his creative endeavors with the art of everyday living. I have fancied myself as a kind of folk artist, not as a primitive or nave practitioner, but relating to the complete sense of freedom in their work. Folk artists make what they want to make and create their art completely from within. Myths and archetypal symbols, some relating to his childhood growing up in a strict Greek Orthodox home, play a signicant role in McCauleys work. He has a strong interest in the rituals and ceremonies found in world cultures. He is fascinated with religious objects such as icons, shrines and vestments. Universal symbolsconcentric life spirals, the mati (an open palm with an eye)are incorporated in his work to express needs or desires. This implies a personal narrative invoking historical signicance. Compositionally, McCauley is drawn to an unconventional organization of objects, disturbing juxtapositions and, at times, fantastic extravagance. Fleshy gures cavort with a menagerie of barnyard animals, sh, a jumble of cups, saucers and other miniature pots. He interweaves dopey-eyed reptiles suffering from heatstroke in the arid desert and skeletal remains on cylindrical candlesticks. His totemic candelabra and house sculptures are similar to trees of life, a marriage between the animal and human worlds.

Ceramic Sculpture

Covered jar, 26 inches in height, earthenware, iron wash and glaze, soda red.

photos: george mccauley, craig sharpe

Ceramic Arts Handbook

Wall sconce, 21 inches in height, wheel-thrown and handbuilt earthenware, with terra sigillata, soda red to cone 02.

There is a narrative quality to the work, begging for a story to unfold. McCauley denies any strict interpretation, but, rather, places a deeper importance on the meaning of the subject matter. My work is narrative in the sense that I am saying something about my feelings, not always telling a story. Some of the relationships impart humor, at times salacious, and he

feels this is a good enough reason to create. A freedom of process, where revisions and changes are evident, not hidden or rened to the point of obscuring the hand of the maker, also appeals to McCauley. I am process oriented in most of my endeavors. The act of making and the vitality of the construction are very important to me. I alter my work when it is soft

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so that I can keep all the nuances of the constructionI want the working process to remain evident in feeling and posture. Techniques have become less important as the years go bygiving way to a looser method of working. McCauley is primarily concerned with the making of objects, so his work is mostly wheel thrown, then altered and accented with handbuilt additions. Earthenware best suits his needs, and soda ring completes the soft, sensual feel I strive for. Most of his glazes are cone 10 reduction recipes that are red in the cone 0802 range in a soda or vapor atmosphere, as well as in an electric kiln. The dry and irregular surfaces enhance the imagery. Some of his works, particularly those with hues of purple and deep blue, take on an apocalyptic cast, looking like postnuclear relics. The color palette is generally muted. Some of his glazing strategies include undercoating with slips and terra sigillatas on leather-hard or bisqued surfaces, then pouring glaze overall and wiping off most. Occasionally, he simply applies a kaolin wash, then res to cone 02 in a soda kiln. Other times after firing, a sprinkling of dry glaze, dirt or grog is applied, and the work rered. Fundamentals and technique are merely a means to an end. McCauley chooses to do whatever is necessary, disregarding efciency or practicality over a path that will achieve the results that best reect his sensibilities.

Candlestick, approximately 30 inches in height, soda-red earthenware, by George McCauley.

McCauley has concentrated on creating a body of work composed of personal statements and expressions about a life dedicated to the creative act. His sculptures convey the idea that a magical dimension of lifepartly lost in the rush of modernitycan be recaptured and embraced without hesitation.

Ceramic Arts Handbook

Recipes
Blood on the Saddle Earthenware
Cone 0802

Blue Barium Matt Glaze

Cone 10

White Glaze
Cone 081

Custer Feldspar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.9 % Ball Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.9 Carbondale Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.6 Fireclay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.7 Grog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.9 100.0 %
to be used in oxidation.

Barium Carbonate . . . . . . . . . . 40 % Spodumene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Nepheline Syenite . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 100 % Add: Black Copper Oxide . . . . . 4 % Add 25% Cedar Heights Redart for a darker body Bentonite . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 %
For a green variation, replace the copper oxide with 5% iron oxide.

Ferro Frit 3124 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ball Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Add: Opax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bentonite . . . . . . . . . . . . .

75 % 25 100 % 18 % 2 %

Mottled Brown Glaze

Cone 086

Green Barium Matt Glaze

Cone 10

Barium Carbonate . . . . . . . . . . 37.3 % Nepheline Syenite . . . . . . . . . . . 48.1 Ball Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.1 Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5 100.0 % Add: Black Copper Oxide . . . . . 2.0 % Bentonite . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.0 %

Purple Barium Matt Glaze

Cone 10

Ash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.0 % Gerstley Borate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.2 Alberta Slip Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.8 100.0 %

toxic nature of this chemical. Always wear a respirator and gloves when mixing glazes. To avoid the barium risk, McCauley has begun to substitute strontium carbonate for barium carbonate in a ratio of to 1.

Barium Carbonate . . . . . . . . . . 36.5 % Nepheline Syenite . . . . . . . . . . . 44.2 Ball Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.4 100.0 % Add: Copper Carbonate . . . . . . 3.0 % When using barium compounds, be aware of the Bentonite . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.0 %

Terra Sigillata
Clay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 lb Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 21 lb
Mix 50 grams sodium silicate into the water, then add the clay. Decant mixture for 24 hours; siphon off water. Lift out the top layer of slip with hands. Yields 1 quart of thick slip. For application, thin with additional water. Variations include adding 5% Gerstley borate without decanting, colored stains added by eye, or using throwing water.

Green Glaze
Cone 086

Barium Carbonate . . . . . . . . . . 22.2 % Gerstley Borate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1 G-200 Feldspar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.4 EPK Kaolin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.2 Silica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1 100.0 % Add: Zinc Oxide . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.0 % Copper Carbonate . . . . . . 10.5 % Bentonite . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.0 %