Master of Fine Arts Thesis

Turning Off Autopilot: Being More Curious

Chris Alveshere

Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirement for the degree of Master of Fine Arts, School of Art and Design Division of Ceramic Art New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University Alfred, New York

2020

Chris Alveshere, MFA

Thesis Advisors: John Gill, Johnathan Hopp, Matt Kelleher, Walter McConnell, Linda Sikora, Meghan Smythe

Abstract

My pots are an investigation of items I find curious, feel sentimental towards, or objects I find humor in. Forms, parts, and clay and glaze colors are curated to be strong and inventive. I prefer to work through repetition, replication, and multiples. I visualize pots in everyday objects and places, seeing the potential of form and color in everything from vintage wooden toys, a pile of Skittles, or wandering thrift stores. I make work for the countertop, and pots that allow for a vast range of function. Foremost is an intention to make pots that have a sense of whimsy, humor, and color. Audacious, lively, and cheeky, pieces with attitude and intention. Juicers that peek at you from a shelf in the corner, or through a cracked dishwasher door. Cups that operate daily, are convenient to store, and worth displaying in the open. Jars to arrange and enhance the presentation of food preparation or novelty keepsakes. Small jars that suggest endless possibilities for peculiar use, from storing saffron, a single Twizzler, or your collection of cat whiskers.

2 I visualize pots in everyday

objects and places, seeing the

potential of form and color in

everything from vintage wooden toys,

a pile of Skittles, or wandering thrift

stores. This inspiration has steered me

into making pots for the countertop,

and pots that suggest a vast range of

function. The compact size of my work

allows an intimacy between vessel and

user, and stems from my eternal love

for cups. A love of cups has led me to Cup with Inlay, 2020, colored porcelain, cone 10 oxidation, 3.25” x 3.25” x 3” make forms that are meant to be held, experienced, and appreciated from all angles.

Foremost is an intention to make pots that have a sense of whimsy, humor, and color. Audacious, lively, and cheeky, pieces with attitude and intention; a task I tackle through working both symmetrically and asymmetrically.

Juicers that peek at you from a shelf in the corner, or through a cracked dishwasher door. Cups that operate daily, are convenient to store, and worth displaying in the open. Jars to arrange and enhance the presentation of food preparation or novelty keepsakes. Small jars that suggest endless possibilities for peculiar use, from storing saffron, a single Twizzler, or your collection of cat

3 whiskers. Ceramic vessels need to serve their purpose and be visually compelling if they are taking up precious space.

I enjoy being in the kitchen, hosting parties, entertaining, and making cocktails. I was raised in a family obsessed with odd, rarely used kitchen tools and appliances. This family obsession remains a source of inspiration for my pots. In a culture driven by consumption, new, novel, shiny, colorful, seductive, cheap, everyday items are ubiquitous, and seemingly reproduced endlessly. My habits of consumption – and in part my aesthetic sensibilities – were formed in a middle-class American family in the 90s and 2000s. Success was defined by stuff; not even good quality stuff, but things in abundance. Furbies, go carts, game consoles, HitClips, boom boxes, pool toys, and skateboard ramps, stuff for every occasion, and a lot of it, particularly in the kitchen. Hot dog toasters, quesadilla makers, icy and sno-cone machines, chocolate fountains, whip cream makers, popcorn poppers, you name it, it was probably in a cupboard of my family home.

When I moved to Alfred, I had a tiny apartment with very limited space.

Cooking, counter and cupboard areas were precious. I cohabitated with objects from the late ‘90s through the mid 2000’s that were sold in places like Kohl’s and

Target - perhaps as an endcap or a Black Friday bargain. These novel household non-necessities were marketed to the masses, cheaply made, and ranged in design from mid-century modern to futuristic. I was fortunate enough to move into a full house that allowed for some spreading out, and socializing picked back up.

4 A place with an open floor plan, excess cupboards, and a central location for

hosting homemade pizza parties and taco night.

In my practice, it took a long time to accept that one object cannot do it all,

and I needed to stop asking a single piece to meet so many criteria. Compact

countertop storage arrangements- small jars with assembled elements in variable

utilitarian compositions- have risen in response, letting wild and obscure ideas

evolve and come to fruition. The format allows ample room for play with negative

space, quirky silhouettes, and extruded pedestal bases and handles, while giving

license to play with peculiar function opportunities. Small, still lifes which permit a

multitude of function. A thrown stand, for instance, can double as a holder for a

sticky lid covered in peanut butter or jam, or perhaps a handle that doubles as a

candleholder can attach to a jar full of jellybeans. These pieces are glazed in

single, vibrant colors, emphasizing variable function and form while offering

irresistible eye candy to engage the viewer in an exploration of the pot’s playful

eccentricities.

Storage Jar with Lid Seat, 2020, glazed earthenware, cone 3 oxidation, 8.25”L x 4.5”D x 5”H

5

Turning off auto pilot and limiting inspiration from the contemporary ceramic scene or historical ceramic objects – as was my inclination prior to graduate school - has been very helpful in finding my direction in the studio and building momentum.Though aspects of diner porcelain and Koryo Dynasty stonewares are still present in the work, progress has come from looking outside of ceramics and thinking critically about what newness can be brought into to my practice.

Previous work was heavily steeped in historical connections through wood firing and Eastern forms and aesthetics. Building up layers of color and texture with slip and brush work on surfaces was routine. All historical reference cannot be completely jettisoned, nor is that my intent. Merging these histories of historical ceramics and my past practice with new ideas independent from ceramics has brought out passion.

6

Jar Set, 2020, glazed earthenware, cone 3 oxidation, 7.5” x 4” x 5.5”

“If you look at one of my pieces, there is usually two things present. One, it’s kind

of related to something you know. If it’s a chair, it’s got four legs. I don’t do chairs

with eighteen legs. I do things that in a way are familiar to you, that you can

recognize from afar. I first make you feel comfortable. But then there’s

something, something a little weird, something that surprises.”1

- Marcel Wanders, Dutch designer

1 Ingrid Fetell Lee, Joyful (New York: Little, Brown Spark, 2018), 184-85.

7 I currently revel in borrowing from

a wide range of product design

from the 1950’s and 60s as a

primary source of inspiration (see

Appendix 1 for complete list).

Playskool toys, for example, are

durable, bright, and simple. They

have inspired small, unexpected

attachments and support

structures in my work,

asymmetrical compositions, lively

negative space, color, pattern, and

material at the forefront. Mid-

century modern furniture’s

Paper Towel Holder, 2020, glazed earthenware, cone 3 oxidation, intriguing compositions, in bright 5.5” x 5.5” x 14”. Photographed with VIVA Choose-A-Sheet paper towels. and neutral colors, combined with

soft swells of volume next to tight, rigid corners influence the form and structure

of my pots. The qualities of these everyday domestic items pulled into my pots,

make intentional inferences; they are reminiscent of things I believe are relatable

for the viewer, the user, and myself. These items often have a tactile physicality

and a sense of whimsy. Their unconventional silhouettes translated into pots

create cheeky inuendo, both symbolically and visually.

8 In a single jar, elements of a harshly undercut form and foot derived from a Yi

Dynasty jar mixed with an upside-down industrial desk lamp. The squatty swell of the storage area alludes to the poofs on a winter coat, topped with a steeply overhanging lid reminiscent of the tops of Alfred’s streetlights.

A clown nose, or perhaps an eye being Schylling Panic Pete Squeeze Toy, Eyes, ears, and nose “POP” in panic when squeezed! squeezed out of a stress relief toy, invites a playful touch while functioning as a finial. The finished form is trimmed with weight left in unexpected places, often in the thrown foot or a bulbous knob, creating a satisfyingly solid, diner porcelain-esque weight when handling. My intention here is to affect how the viewer experiences the work; handling intimate objects or feeling it with a sense of one’s own body, bringing awareness to curves and personal form. Maybe its solidity and roundness allow it to be “kid friendly.”

Research and experimentation through material is a large part of my practice, letting me stay curious and pleasantly confused simultaneously. A wide range of materials, processes, firing temperatures, and kiln atmospheres are utilized, to aid in variety, durability, and conversation among the work. I have a limited attention span, which acts as a barometer of sorts, and is accurate in forecasting my present and future studio endeavors. It is ultimately the deciding

9 factor in what forms and techniques are seen through, and which ones get written off as a lesson or experiment. There is a need to keep form and material research and testing continuously in motion in order to keep the energy in my practice.

I have 40+ glazes I currently work with between low and high fire. All different colors, intensities, and characteristics. Varying levels of gloss and matte, stiff and runny, transparent and opaque. Artificial stains work with oxides and varying opacities to create a seemingly never-ending arsenal of color and surface to work with. What excites me is coming up with new surface qualities (color, tactile, sheen) in relation to form that impact the encounters of the pots.

I am considerate of a wide age range in audience, and work to create pots that are enticing to kids and adults alike. A set of cups can ignite a capacity for unmitigated delight, through soft curves and exaggerated form, with bright, happy colors analogous to children’s toys. Play is one of humanity’s greatest means of accessing delight, and is the source of out early joyful memories. Work in any capacity may be pleasurable when tied to an outcome such as money or recognition. The only measure of success for play, however, is joy. As we grow up, we are told to “stop playing around.” “More work, less recess!” Seriousness takes the prize over happiness. Most adults are able to hang on to an inner child who can sneak out every now and again for a spontaneous game of tag, or to hop on a rollercoaster. 2 I refer to these pieces as

2 Ingrid Fetell Lee, Joyful (New York: Little, Brown Spark, 2018), 134-37.

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Cups with Nubs, 2020, colored porcelain, cone 10 oxidation, 4” x 3.25” x 4” tallest

“cone 10 toys,” as their playfulness in color, form, and function brings happiness through making and use.

A cup might masquerade as an ideal juice glass for a child, but it should be a great whisky sipper for their parents too. A sipper will fit a large, single ice cube, for a Negroni or Old Fashioned, but may also feature a colorful clown nose nub to play with while drinking. A paper towel holder may appear to be acting completely normal when fully stocked, but is no more than a toilet plunger on the countertop when empty, begging for a refill. A pocket juicer on a keychain may

11 seem frivolous, but is hanging out in your car’s glove box when you need to make that last minute picnic margherita.

Color brings energy to ideas of play and joy, both in historical and contemporary use. Spanning generations of evolution, bright hues have reliably predicted nourishment, becoming intertwined with joy. In Ingrid Fetell Lee’s book,

Joyful, she states that “Color is energy made visible. It activates an ancient circuit that lights up with pleasure at the idea of finding something sweet to eat.” Living in a modern world with rainbows of artificial colors, we are able to feel this joy, even if a colorful object does not contain any physical nourishment. In a broad sense, color is an indicator of the richness of our surroundings; an unconscious sign of not only immediate sustenance, but of an environment capable of sustaining us through time.3

Color can camouflage or call attention to an object, raise or lower your blood pressure, or make you feel hungry. Tints, tones, and saturation also work to evoke feelings of sentiment, taste and smell, and allude to tactile qualities and durability. Looking to colors from design history has been my starting place to begin combining colors successfully. The 1930s were a time of instability and economic depression, but Art Deco design was working to sweep away the dust from the nineteenth century industrial age. Art Deco proved to be an antidote to frivolous design concerns and economic depression.4 Clean linework, pale hues, and eclectic combinations from silkscreened advertisements have stuck in my

3 Ingrid Fetell Lee, Joyful (New York: Little, Brown Spark, 2018), 19. 4 Leslie Cabarga, The Designer’s Guide to Color Combinations (Cincinnati: North Light Books, 1999), 31.

12 working choices. Two or three pigments at a time, with weirdness and appeal working together in my favor.

The 50s were a time of scientific advancement, and design began using colors including chartreuse and flame red due to the popular molecular motif brought on by the splitting of the atom. Colors from this period were a real pick- me-up for society. Seafoam green walls with pink and turquoise curtains were reminiscent of bacterial-like imagery, and teal poodles attached to a wide array of daily object brightened spirits.5 Nubs, bumps, and noses attached to cups, vases, and juices are assembled with the poodles in mind.

The first half of the 60s had designers trying to undue the momentum that colors from the 50s still had, which then carried Cold War connotations with their use. By the middle of the decade, bands like The Beatles brought a new energy to color and text through show posters. The 60s came to a close with the rise of both Pop and Op Art, and new color use with the psychedelic movement.6 By no means do I work with these colors because of their associations with war or psychedelics, but the “far out” and eclectic combinations from these decades are appealing to me. They encompass something both attractive and repellent simultaneously, allowing for an array of personal associations for viewers.

When color works to construct or evoke a memory or feeling, it aids in capturing an essence of an experience and helps build a relationship with the ceramic piece. A pale yellow, teal, and orange piece is both reminiscent of a polyester dress from photos of your grandma, and the sign from a childhood ice

5 Leslie Cabarga, The Designer’s Guide to Color Combinations (Cincinnati: North Light Books, 1999), 47. 6 Leslie Cabarga, The Designer’s Guide to Color Combinations (Cincinnati: North Light Books, 1999), 63.

13 cream joint. These ideas of association are also used with personal, modern societal and cultural knowledge.

Small Storage Jars, 2020, colored porcelain, cone 10 oxidation, 2.75” x 2.75” x 4.75” tallest

The orange of a jar is pulled straight from the Nickelodeon splat, and a cup in pastel peach has been color matched to an orange sherbet Push Up Pop from middle school lunches. The allowance for these expansive associations keeps my mind wandering with so many possibilities. The single colors pots are successful in a different sense, as they allow for more universal links to me made. A highly sanded surface on a solid mint green or orange jar offers a likening to a macaron, or maybe a yellow rubber duck.

The color palette of both clay and glaze speaks of toys, plastics, candy, advertisements, and often alludes to function (see Appendix 2 for complete list).

14 Bright colors from toys grab attention and speak directly to play and joy. Plastic kitchen tools are often highly colorful, creating a bright and uplifting environment.

A juicer or reamer in bright yellow or coral works to invite the user and calls to the function of the ceramic piece. Items and places with so much color, texture, and pattern sport a kind of sensory overstimulation.

The experience of growing up in the ‘90s and early 2000’s is something that I think about a lot. Technology and the internet were improving but had not taken over every part of the day. Time was spent outside with friends, rather than learning about each other through social media. Interactions were personal. This decade continues to show up now in many ways, from advertising to music and film.7 “Nostalgia Marketing” has become common in recent years, aiming to remind millennials of the good times. This marketing is working to evoke feeling of hope and comfort, often in times of instability and uncertainty, to spawn memories of happy and simple times. This kind of marketing can cause people to reminisce on childhood, create opportunities for generational inside jokes, and can make people feel like they are kids all over again. Companies like Urban

Outfitters brought back Lisa Frank products, the sticker packs that used to come

7 Akaya McElveen, “ The Obsession with the ‘90s explained: Our nostalgia made way for consumerism,” blavity.com, published April 26 2016, accessed April 7 2020. https://blavity.com/our-nostalgia-made-way-for-consumerism/our-nostalgia-made-way- for-consumerism?category1=opinion&subCat=culture.

15 in crayon boxes, and Nickelodeon revived blocks of ‘90s programming during primetime for adults to have a little visit back to childhood.8

Epilogue

Six weeks before my thesis exhibition we were removed from our graduate studios due to Covid-19. When this happened, my work was on a strong trajectory using comically expensive materials. The priciest, whitest porcelain colored with the most expensive cadmium stains. As I finish this written thesis, all of my work is locked up in the studio. I am uncertain when I will get to finish all of these pieces, but I know I will pick back up right where I was forced to abandoned it all. With a lot of unknowns, including my thesis exhibition, I have set up in my basement to continue making work, and rely on my contacts in the local community to maintain kiln access. I had been keeping count of how many kilns I was firing this year and had just unloaded my sixty-first kiln the morning we lost access to facilities.

Everything I needed came home with me. Even without facilities and steady feedback from faculty I have made and explored new forms for my show.

It has become apparent that my Alfred education has been life changing, even if it has come to an unforeseen finish. I am eternally thankful for all I have been exposed to and learned, that has given me the ability to land on my feet during a

8 Jeff Fromm, “As Millenials Get Nostalgic, So Do Brands,” millennialmarketing.com, accessed April 7 2020. http://www.millennialmarketing.com/2014/02/as-millennials-get- nostalgic-so-do-brands

16 global pandemic and keep making. I have been able to peek into what it’s really like to have a home studio and be a maker out in the world.

I now have time to slow down and be reflective, putting time into aspects of my practice I have been neglecting. There are many things occurring now that

I could have never imagined I would be doing right before my thesis is due.

Making time to do nice things for other people is honestly the last thing I thought would be happening the end of my last semester, but it has been doing a great job of keeping me active and sane. Whether it is baking banana bread for friends who are also stuck in town or hanging out in the sun drawing an entire zoos worth of animals on the sidewalk and waving at passersby, there is no way it is standard behavior for this time in my career.

Something that has been apparent through this trying time is that a good laugh goes a long way, and luckily, humor is a strong suit of mine. I have been able to find humor through laborious ways of making that I never would have tried in studio, and being satisfied with taking new risks with my making. Pots went from being two or three parts up to five or six parts and are made with the pricy porcelain to be laughably thick.

I am using my pots all the time since I happen to be quarantined with them. My glaze testing time has turned into cocktail concocting time. I am learning a lot about color interactions, form, and function, and have found I learn most about my cups from taking the cocktails on walks to get to know them better.

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Appendix #1

Trinkets: Inexpensive knickknacks found around the house, at thrift stores, or piled under the bed. Small plastic army men, Nerf dart launchers, gnomes that shoot foam balls out of their mouths, or creepy clown figurines. Desk lamps: Elongated proportions, use of negative space, and bright colors. Often a functional lid with knob. Streetlamps: Great at catching snow to make ever-changing silhouettes. Makes me consider how pots look from different angles. Intentional use of negative space. Human figure: So many possibilities! Curves, folds, visual and physical weight, beginnings and endings, and negative space. 50’s and 60’s wooden Playskool toys: Durable, simple, and allow for a wide range of playing techniques and styles. Diner porcelain: Durable, tested, satisfying in weight and function. Zulu round houses: Traditional South American dwellings with a round footprint and a conical roof. Designs also are beehive-like with curved walls continuing up and making the roof. These huts encompass great volume in either their wall swells or capped roof. 20th Century Design: Innovative, modern takes on design with small, unexpected attachments and support structures, often with asymmetrical compositions, negative space, and color, pattern, and material at the forefront. Yi Dynasty storage jars: Punch’ong lidded bowls and storage jars with their continued forms from the foot through the body and lid. Thought- provoking use of color, angles, and surface treatment. Mid-Century Modern furniture: Intriguing compositions, combining bright and neutral color use, soft swells of volume next to tight, rigid corners, and consistent use of elevation and use of negative space.

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Appendix #2

Colored masking and electrical tape: Bold, eye catching colors with a crisp, clean edge. 70s linoleum flooring: Tacky floor covering with use of muddy colors in patterned arrangements, garish. Oranges, browns, blues, and avocado. Concert posters: Bold use of color, shape, composition, and line use. I look to poster and package design from the 50s and 60s for color combination inspiration. Jadeite glass: A delicious, milky jade green glass used in home kitchen and prep spaces. Satisfyingly heavy as it is often cast in molds, allowing for wall thickness variations. Fiesta Ware: Bold use of colors that are just a bit off, outside or ordinary, in a large variety that encourages consumers to mix and match freely. Depression Glass: “Depression Green,” a mildly repulsive light green that speaks to the tightness of money and cautious optimism of the 1930s. Vans shoes: Colors and patterns that are intentional yet gaudy, stemming from old skool skate and music culture. Raincoats: I am attracted to the attention seeking color choices, use of tints and shades in fabric, variety in material sheen, and how they work or clash with anything they are worn with. Candy: Such variety in color use, vibrancy, texture, and packaging options. Obnoxious, over dyed coatings opposed by soft, chalky and dusty morsels. Plastics: Bright, often solid color blocks in kids’ toys. Mass produced cast objects from rubber ducks to kitchen utensils.

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Bibliography

Cabarga, Leslie. The Designer’s Guide to Color Combinations. Cincinnati: North Light Books, 1999.

Fromm, Jeff, “As Millenials Get Nostalgic, So Do Brands.” millennialmarketing.com, accessed April 7 2020. http://www.millennialmarketing.com/2014/02/as- millennials-get-nostalgic-so-do-brands

Lee, Ingrid Fetell. Joyful. New York: Little, Brown Spark, 2018.

McElveen, Akaya, “The Obsession with the ‘90s explained: Our nostalgia made way for consumerism.” blavity.com, published April 26 2016, accessed April 7 2020. https://blavity.com/our-nostalgia-made-way-for-consumerism/our-nostalgia- made-way-for-consumerism?category1=opinion&subCat=culture.

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Technical Statement

My work is made in long, continuous runs of production, altering commonalities of the forms, while adapting parts, proportions, and attachments. Forms, parts, and clay and glaze colors are curated to be strong and inventive in order to tiptoe around traditional form and material histories. I prefer to work through repetition, replication, and multiples. Ceramics has the amazing ability to imitate other materials. It is able to play the role of a wide range of other materials, likening itself to them through senses of sight and touch. A stained porcelain can be fired and sanded to look and feel like a marshmallow Peep (with a curious weight), or a plastic, mass- produced toy. Glaze runs can be lickable, as though a jar is dripping your favorite over-dyed melting gelato. Additives in very tight clay bodies are squeezed out at high temperatures, replicating anything from dippin’ dots, to dirty carpet or rocks. Materials alluding to plastics, dusty candy, and natural stone all end up in the same mix of making, allowing for intentional and humorous decisions to be made. Different works are made with different ceramic materials. Bold, juicy colors and layers, coming from the glazes or clay itself. Porcelain is dense and durable, and speaks to a utilitarian past. Luscious chocolatey brown clay is used in works on a larger scale, with more assemblage and attachment possibilities.

21

S.W.F.T. Porcelain- Cone 9-10

New Zealand Kaolin 25 SSP 27 Minspar 23 Silica 25

Veegum 2

This clay is best when its mixed as a slip in a Soldner and the remainder of the dry ingredients are added to thicken it up into a workable clay body. The Veegum needs to be blunged in the water before it is added to the mixer. This body is very plastic with high durability at cone 9-10. It does shrink a lot (about 18%). As a casting slip, it shrinks 22%. It likes to fuse to kiln wash at cone 10, so I switched to an alumina wash on new, flat shelves and have not had any sticking issues since.

S.W.F.T. Casting Slip

NZK 500g SSP 540g Minspar 460g Silica 500g

H2O 900g Darvan 10g

Cone 3 Chocolate

Redart 35 XX Saggar 10 Foundry Hill 20 Barnard Sub 5 Hawthorn 10 Neph Sye 20

This is the chocolatey brown cone 3 clay that I use for throwing and assembling parts. The hawthorn was added to give this very smooth clay some tooth and added strength, allowing me to work slightly larger. This clay is a nice dark base, given richness and depth to glazes. I have yet to find a slip that will stay on this body. Every recipe I have tested has shivered or flaked off either at bisque or after glazing, sometimes weeks later.

22 Ice Clear- Cone 10

Spodumene 13 Wollastonite 20 Frit 3134 20 Silica 24 EPK 25 Zinc Oxide 8

Ice Clear- Cone 3

Spodumene 13 Wollastonite 20 Frit 3134 20 Silica 24 EPK 21 Zinc Oxide 12

This glaze base does well with both stains and oxides, but sometimes needs to be refired to get rid of bubbles and pinholes. Firing it fast creates less issues. It works best on porcelain at high fire (it gets gritty and does not hold color very well on stoneware or bodies with grog) and the addition on 1-3% Zircopax in the cone 3 base allows it to be very vibrant, even over the dark brown clay. For a gloss white that pools I use 5% Zircopax and 2% Tin Oxide. For a very clean, iron free clear, the EPK can be substituted out for SSP in and equal percentage. I use primarily stains in this glaze for colorants, most often 5-8%, but on porcelain, 1-3% stain can give subtle color shifts and pooling.

I like to mix glazes and do a majority of my glaze testing like I do tie-dye, a little of this and a little of that, often leading to excess colorants and high intensity colors. This is how most of my glaze colors start, then I do the testing on the colors I want to use to reduce the stain percentages to appropriate levels, where they do not get any more intense. Here is a list of stains I use the most:

Mason Mango Mason Chartreuse Mason Dark Red Mason Tangerine Mason Bermuda Mason Taupe Grey Mason Best Black Mason Delphinium Blue US Pigments Mango US Pigments Light Orange

23 Charity Davis Celadon Base- Cone 9-11

Custer 12.5 Cornwall 9.5 Whiting 23 Grolleg 25 Talc 6.5- May sub strontium carb for brighter colors and higher gloss Silica 23.5

This glaze holds up great in any atmosphere, and has consistently made it to cone 11-12 in the wood kiln. It is glossy on porcelain, and satin on stoneware. It takes oxides and stains very well, and does a good job holding on to color at high temperatures and in atmosphere.

1-2% Red Iron Oxide- standard green/teal celadon. 4% Crocus Martis- gloss speckly brown on porcelain, greenish matte on stoneware.

I use a lot of stains in this base, most often 6-10%. Some of the stains that I have found to hold up best are Mason Dark Red, Mason Mango, Mason Chartreuse, US Pigment Mango, and US Pigment Light Orange.

Cone 3 “Plastic Matte”

Frit 3195 20 Wollastonite 20 EPK 20 Silica 20 Neph Sye 20

This is a very stiff, satin matte glaze. I only use it on the outside of work as its surface is not smooth. It works best over a white clay or slip, where it is much smoother and brighter than over dark clays.

Perfect Cone 3 Base

Neph Sye 18 Frit 3124 70 EPK 12

An easy cone 3 base. High gloss and holds on to color well.

24 Bisque Cycle- Cone 06

100/hr to 180F- hold for drying 1-4 hours 100/hr to 220- hold for drying 1-4 hours 250/hr to 1000 108/hr to 1100 300/hr to 1725 108/hr to 1828

Works great for firing pots, would not recommend for large forms or sculptures.

All of my pots that are small enough to fit into test kilns are fired in them. I have had the best luck with my work not warping or developing glaze defects if fired very fast, and these kilns will consistently fire over 500 degrees an hour up to cone 10.

Flashing Slips

Bauer + Laterite

Borax 5.7 EPK 63 OM4 42 Laterite 12

This slip usually includes calcined kaolin for half of the EPK in order to be used on bisque, but I use all EPK since I am applying it to greenware, usually bone dry. I mix it thin like skim milk to pour or dip, and thick like heavy cream to brush or spray. It can be used in wood, salt, or soda, and has the most variation when heavily reduced and hit with heavy atmosphere.

Vanilla Pudding

Old Hickory ball 75 EPK 25

This is a smooth flashing slip that holds color very well. When used alone, it is often bright orange/peach, and it responds well to the addition of colored stains (2-7%). This is my favorite slip for getting colored work out of the wood kiln.

25 Yellow Kiln Wash Slip

EPK 50 Silica 50 US Pigment Mango 2-6% This is a highly durable slip that hold onto color in any atmospheric kiln. It gives the salt or soda something to “chew” on rather than bleaching out the colors. Does not flash very much but flame path is evident based on gloss/matte areas.

In addition to Appendix 2, I have regularly used the online Sessions College color wheel calculator for gathering color combinations. I allows you to start with any color and intensity, and it will give you complimentary, monochrome, analogous, split complimentary, triad, and tetradic color combinations.

https://www.sessions.edu/color-calculator/

26 Quarantine Cocktail Recipes

My testing has continued after losing kiln access due to Covid-19. Trying and putting my own spin on cocktails has always taken place in connection to hosting and entertaining, and has amped up since most of my time has been spent at home during the pandemic. It is also a connection to testing cups, both of my own making and from other potters, to critically consider function and the cup/liquid color interactions.

Gimlet 2.5 parts gin .5 part lime juice .5 part simple syrup

Shaken and poured over ice.

Blueberry Basil Gimlet 2.5 parts gin .5 part lime juice .5 part blueberry simple syrup 2 basil leaves

Shaken with one basil leaf and strained over ice with basil garnish.

French 7 1.5 parts gin .75 part lemon juice .5 part simple syrup 2 parts Prosecco or Champagne

Gin, lemon, and simple syrup shaken with ice and strained into glass. Top with bubbly and lemon peel twist.

Blueberry Basil French 75 1.5 parts gin .75 part lemon juice .5 part blueberry simple syrup 2 parts Prosecco or Champagne

Gin, lemon, simple syrup, and basil leaf are shaken with ice and strained into glass. Top with bubbly and lemon peel twist.

27 Aperol Spritz 2 parts Aperol 3 parts Prosecco 1 part club soda

Combine ingredients over ice and garnish with fresh orange slice.

Negron 1 part gin 1 part Campari 1 part sweet vermouth

Combine ingredients over ice and garnish with a orange twist.

Margherita 1.75 parts Tequila 1 part Cointreau or Triple Sec .75 part lime juice

Shake with ice and garnish with lime and optional salted rim.

Old Fashioned .5 tsp sugar 3 dashes of Angostura bitters 1 tsp water 2 oz bourbon

Dissolve sugar into bitters and water. Fill glass with one large ice cube add bourbon and stir to combine. Twist orange peel over glass to mist with oils, add to glass.

Pisco Sour 2 oz Pisco 1 oz fresh lime juice .5 oz simple syrup 1 egg white

Shake all ingredients vigorously with ice. Strain into chilled glass, garnish with 3 drops of Angostura bitters. Alternatively, you can put all ingredients and ice into a blender and blend until ice is crushed.

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