Raku Vessel

I love this little vessel. When I look over the shapes of my work, this is one that I make the most. My professor used to talk about the clay speaking to us and this shape is a word or thought that I seem to like a lot. My hand built vessels are figurative in nature. I started sculpting in clay when I first started using clay. Most if not all of my vessels are about the human being. I look at this vessel and think, that looks like me.

I don't like lots of glaze. In fact, I like to have thin layers of glaze and wipe it off, so that I can have a distressed look. I don't like it too shiny, shiny. I like the rough look, like it came out of the earth.

The Raku process really speaks to me because the process is quick, and you never know what you are going to get. You can set up the conditions to be one way, and then the conditions of the kiln, or the combustibles or the time before you put the piece in the combustibles can change the way the piece looks, and even impose itself on the piece in a way you could never predict. Raku is like life, you can plan all you want, and probably should, but in the end you get what you get.