I have been thinking about making a style of vase that I am
rather fond of, it springs from Iga-yaki as well as those Mino-Iga pots. It has
been quite some time since I have made this style of vase and I thought this
form should work well with the newest version of my Oribe. The first few
attempts didn't really work out as well as I was hoping and it took some
thought as to why. Having what I thought was a better way to go about things, I
set about doing first things first. I wedged up some clay and once centered, I
first threw what would be the upper, neck/mouth portion of the vase and cut it
off the hump; then with the remaining clay, I threw the base of the pot. Once
thrown, I paddled the base to create a vivid texture and then attached the
neck. Once together, I set about further distorting the body and the mouth, followed
by the addition of two thick ring lugs. Illustrated is a pair of stoneware vases,
about 12" and 15" tall, both freshly
cut off the wheel-head. I have a few more things to do to each once they
stiffen up a bit, but I am nearly finished. I like doing as much of the work as
possible while the pot is still wet and fresh, a technique I first saw during a
demo by Ron Meyers. It forces a certain spontaneity and keeps the pieces from
being over worked, lest things get well out of hand.
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