Pottery Making Illustrated

Pottery Making Illustrated November/December 2009

	Theme: Fun and Function In this issue we have a little fun with functional work – treating forms and surfaces with a twist. First of all, Michelle Erickson and Robert Hunter lead you on a journey of discovery about an 18th century technique called “laid agate.” The detailed step-by-step makes it possible for you to duplicate. Next, you’ll discover a complete description of the mishima technique presented by Molly Hatch (see the cover), followed by Clay Cunningham’s description of Posey Bacopoulos’ majolica technique. And we’re fortunate to once again have Keith Phillips (Pancaker, Gumball Machine) return with another how-to project – the American Butter Dish. So, whether you’re throwing a simple tumbler and dedicating a lot of time to the decoration, or throwing a complicated butter dish and using a single glaze for decoration, you’ll enjoy the hours you spend picking up some of the great techniques in this issue. To purchase this back issue, call 1-800-340-6532. Get great content like this 6 times a year: subscribe today A Pot, A Drawing by Molly Hatch Molly Hatch finds something magical in her ability to interpret what she sees through her hands. Using drawing as a visual language similar to writing, she’s often surprised by the small narratives that appear in the patterns she draws using a mishima technique. Choose your own narrative using her detailed step-by-step technique to tell your story.

Ceramic Arts Daily

October 7, 2009

2-D to 3-D: Using Image Transfer and Mishima Techniques to Make Drawings on Pottery

by Molly Hatch

	If you’re drawn to drawing on clay surfaces, but haven’t quite mastered the ability to get your two-dimensional ideas onto your three-dimensional forms, this post is for you. During her undergraduate years at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, potter Molly Hatch mostly focused on drawing. Then in her final year, she learned how to combine drawing and printmaking skills for surface decoration on pottery, and the rest, as they say, is history. Molly went on to earn her MFA in ceramics and just recently finished a residency through the prestigious Arts/Industry Program at John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. In today’s post, an excerpt from the November/December 2009 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated, Molly explains how she uses image transfer and Mishima techniques to create her drawings in clay. Plus she shares her slip and engobe recipes. - Jennifer Harnetty, editor.
Mishima is a traditional Korean slip-inlay technique. The Korean pots you see with mishima decoration typically use several colors of slip in the same piece. I basically use the same black slip recipe for all of my mishima drawing. I always reference a pattern when I am drawing on my pots and sometimes I use a template to transfer a detail of the pattern. In this case, I am using the template to transfer the bird in the pattern onto the cup surface. I make my templates by laminating my own drawing of a found pattern. This is helpful if you are trying to make multiples, but still requires a lot of drawing and interpretation because you are drawing on a three-dimensional surface.
Be sure to download your free copy of the Buyers Guide to Ceramic Supplies and Materials for a comprehensive listing of manufacturers and suppliers, along with valuable studio resources.
A laminated paper template of your drawing can help maintain consistency in a design when transferring images to a set. All of my mishima is done when the pots are a dry-leather hard. Usually they are ready to draw on just after trimming is finished. Gently wrap the laminated pattern around the cup and use a quill or dull-tipped pencil to trace the image, taking care to position the image exactly where you would like it to be on the cup. Remove the template to reveal the transferred tracing image. Use the transferred image as a guide for drawing deeper lines into the surface. After going over the tracing, finish off the rest of the drawing freehand, using the template as a visual reference. You do not need to draw very deeply into the surface for mishima to work. I often feel as though I am just scratching into the surface of the clay. Brush the surface of the pot with a soft-bristled brush to get rid of crumbs, which could mar the surface. Apply a layer of stain over the drawing using a wide brush. Once the pot has dried back to the dry leather-hard state and any sheen on the slip has gone, wipe away excess slip from the surface of the pot using a clean sponge. You need to clean the sponge often during this process to avoid streaks on the surface of the pot
Drawing Tools There are many tools you can use to incise the surface of the pot for mishima. I have gone through stages of preferring particular tools. Pencil-style X-Acto knives, commercial stylus carving tools (sold in ceramic supply stores), African porcupine quills (available at Santa Fe Clay) amongst others. My current drawing tool of choice is a calligraphy pen with exchangeable metal tips. It is the same kind of pen that you dip in ink and would use to do traditional calligraphy; I just use it on clay instead. Pictured here (from left to right): X-acto knife for drawing into the leather-hard clay; African porcupine quill (I got mine from Santa Fe Clay) for drawing and transferring images into the leather hard clay (different line quality); $1.00 Chinese brush for brushing on the slip after I have drawn into the leather hard clay; Extra soft men’s shaving brush for brushing away the crumbs of clay (I got mine at a flea market because really nice ones are really expensive!); natural sponge: for wiping away the slip after I have brushed it onto the pot. Adding Color On many of my pots, I add color accents to the mishima pattern through painting. I do all of my painting after the pot has been bisque fired and before I do any glazing. For the color, I use a cone 04 vitreous engobe that I mix myself, but commercial underglazes also work well. If you use an engobe, combine it in a 1:1 ratio with mixing-medium using a palette knife until it is well mixed. The mixing-medium helps make the engobe more brushable and thins it out so that you can build up color in layers, similar to painting on canvas. This layering makes for more solid colors with less visible brush strokes. The engobe recipe that I use tends to flux a bit at cone six but it can still be used to fill in the line drawings on the bottoms of pots. After I finish adding the color, I use a clear glaze over everything then fire the work in oxidation to a hot cone six.
Slip and Engobe Recipes Andrew Martin’s Brushing Slip (up to cone 10) Raw Material Ferro Frit 3110 30% Ball Clay 20% Mason Stain (for black use MS 6600) 50% Total 100% Add: CMC Gum 2% Vitreous Engobe (cone 04 to cone 6) Raw Material Talc 15.3% Ferro Frit 3110 18.4% Ball clay (Kentucky #4 or OM 4) 15.3% EPK Kaolin 5.1% Glomax (Calcined Kaolin) 25.5% Silica 20.4% Total 100.0% Add: CMC (dry) 1% Macaloid (dry) 1% See images of Molly Hatch’s finished work at www.mollyhatch.com. An expanded version of this article is included in the November/December 2009 issue of Pottery Making Illustrated. Subscribe today to get great articles like this delivered to your studio door!

Studio Pottery Invitational and Ferrin Gallery

There has been lots happening in my studio recently! I am now showing with Ferrin Gallery in Pittsfield MA. There is an upcoming show with a preview this weekend! I would be excited to see any and all of you there at the gallery on Saturday the 10th of Oct. for the preview of the show. Click here for more info about the show and Ferrin Gallery.

Studio Pottery Invitational

Group Show of Functional Ceramics by American Studio Potters

October 17-November 18

Opening October 17, 4-6pm

Ferrin Gallery's Studio Pottery Invitational introduces a group of studio potters who have not shown previously at the gallery. Each year ten artists are invited to show a series of 10-25 functional pots that are related by forms and surface. This year's artists include:

Mary Anne Davis
Sanam Emami
Steve Godfrey
Molly Hatch
Kristen Kieffer
Seth Rainville
Kevin Snipes
Gwendolyn Yoppolo

Dates: October 17^th - December 31^st, 2009

Artist Reception: October 17th, 4 to 6:00 pm

Preview: October 10^th, 4 to 6:00 in conjunction with Locally Thrown/Locally Grown: a series of events on Columbus Day Weekend in partnership with IS183 Art School focused on ceramics.

Photo Caption: Chris Gustin, "Vessel", Ceramic, 2009, 29 x 17 x 17"

2009 Featured Artist: Chris Gustin

Chris Gustin grew up in Los Angeles, California where his family were part owners of several commercial whiteware ceramic manufacturing companies. Immersed in the beauty and function of ceramic tile manufacture from a very young age, Chris Gustin has held a lifelong love of the art of ceramics. Gustin started Gustin Ceramics Tile Production in 1996, and now devotes his full time and energies to his studio work and tile production company in South Dartmouth, MA.

Click here to link for more information on Locally Thrown/Locally Grown

Watershed Auction

For those of you interested in keeping Watershed going--please visit the auction online! All the information is below and the events on June 20th are going to be really fun.

This piece is featured in the online preview auction so check it out! Who knew my work looked so good in woodfire?

Saturday, June 20th   
4 - 7 pm

Please join us at my studio and gallery 
for the Opening Reception and Party in celebration of 

The Watershed Gala Wood Fire Benefit 
Exhibition, Raffle and Auction

We've invited 125 of the best potters from the United States, Canada and Australia to send work
to be fired in the Anagama Wood Kiln in May. Each has generously donated their work to support the
facilities and programs of the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts.

Watershed is a premier arts center located in Newcastle, Maine. It's mission is to provide both time
and space for artists to work in clay. An international program located in the beautiful coastal 
Boothbay region of Maine, Watershed offers residencies for artists to explore new ideas and 
possibilities within their work. All proceeds from this event will go to help fund the programs at 
Watershed and the construction of Watershed's new kiln facility.

The wood kiln will be opened on Saturday, June 6th. We'll unload the kiln at 9 am so join us for a preview of the work. The exhibition, raffle and auction finale will take place the following week on June 20th.

100% of all sales from the Auction and Raffle 
will go to benefit Watershed!

The On-line Auction

A select group of pieces from the firing will be auctioned on-line beginning June 12th and ending June 20th.
Please visit our auction website at:

http://gustinceramics.cmarket.com 

The Gala Raffle

100 pots will be raffled off, with each ticket purchaser getting to choose their piece as their number is drawn. We've invited some of the best potters from around the country to participate, so there'll be some wonderful pieces to choose from. Buy a ticket, hear your number, pick a pot! Everyone who purchases a ticket will receive a piece. A "special" piece will be saved for last, going to the person with the 100th number!

The Raffle ticket price is $50.

You do not need to attend to participate! A proxy (a Watershed Board member) will pick a piece for you when your number is called, and we'll send it to you. Tickets may be purchased in advance by emailing me at cgceramics@aol.com or calling the studio at 508-636-6213. 

Artists who have committed to sending work are :

Ted Adler David Alban Dan Anderson  Chris Archer  Christa Assad  John Balistreri  George Barecca  Mary Barringer  Ben Bates  Peter Beasecker  Eve Behar Birdie Boone  George Bowes Lori Bradley Bob Brady  Anna Calluori Holcombe Mary Louise Carter  Linda Casbon  Doug Casebeer Bruce Cochrane Tom Coleman  Malcolm Davis Bruce Dehnert  Josh DeWeese  Jeremiah Donovan  Judith Duff  Rod Dugal  Lynn Duryea Susan Filley

Angela Fina  Tyra Forker  Terry Gess John Glick Steve Godfrey  Scott Goldberg Angus Graham  Silvie Granatelli Ryan Greenheck  Steve Grimmer Tyler Gulden Chris Gustin Sam Harvey  Molly Hatch Ryan Hereth  Jon Higuchi Ayumi Horie  John Jessiman  Judith Pointer Jia Nick Joerling Frances Johnson  Randy Johnston Karen Karnes Beth Kendall Diane Kenny  Jay Lacouture  Stacy Latt Savage  Jim Lawton Suze Lindsay  Liz Lurie

Ben Maier Janet Mansfield  Meira Mathison  Joe McCaffery  Jan McKeachie-Johnston  Sequoia Miller Maureen Mills  Daniel Molyneux Dan Murphy  Steven Murphy Matt Nolen Shawn O'Conner  Jeff Oestreich  Lisa Orr  David Orser Denise Pelletier  David Pier Pete Pinnell David Pinto Seth Rainville  Don Reitz  Don Ridley Steve Roberts  Louise Rosenfield  Tim Rowan Judith Salomon Shane Savage-Rumbaugh  JoAnn Schnabel

Brad Schwieger  Mika Seeger Bonnie Seeman  Nancy Selvin  Ellen Shankin Jeff Shapiro  Jane Shellenbarger  Sandy Simon  Chris Singewald Nancy Train Smith Rosanne Sniderman Vicki Snyder Tom Spleth Bryan Steinberg  Phyllis Kudder Sullivan  Rob Sutherland  Sharon Townshend  Becca Van Fleet Holly Walker  Hong Ling Wee  Matt West  Adero Willard  Rhonda Willers  Tara Wilson Lisa Windman  Bruce Winn  Paula Winokur Robert Winokur  Arnie Zimmerman

"American Story" at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center

click here to see other artists in the show

Molly Hatch (VT; b. 1978)

April 26, 2009–January 17, 2010

Six Cups, 2008, porcelain, 18 x 24 in.; installation view of the exhibition, Salon Familiar; Willow Pattern Saucer, 2008, porcelain, 14 x 10 in., 2008; Courtesy of the artist.

Molly Hatch was raised in a Quaker community in southern Vermont. Her ceramic installations stem from a family history that bestowed value on handmade items that were created for both use and contemplation. In a new series of work made this winter in the Arts/Industry Pottery program, Hatch delves into ideas of use and beauty, the handmade vs. the mass produced. Hatch transforms traditional tableware—from dinner plates to tea services—into items that, when not in use, decorate the domestic realm by being installed on the wall.

Recent Move and BIG NEWS for Molly Hatch!

As many of you might already know, I have been bouncing around the US this winter. I have just returned to New England from an amazing 3-month residency at the Kohler ceramic factory in Kohler WI.
I will be flying back out to WI in June for the opening of a new show at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center titled "American Story." There will be a full catalog of the 12 person show that I will keep you updated on as the time gets closer.

While I was away in WI, my husband Oliver set us up in a new apartment which meant a move. We are now living just a bit west of Northampton MA, just around the corner from well known potter Mark Shapiro. I have a small studio set up in Northampton in the Maplewood Shops near Main street until August.

The big news is that we are expecting a baby girl in mid-August! Of course potting will be on hold for a few months as I get used to having a little one in my life, but I will be back on the making wagon for Spring 2010 no doubt! There are lots of other fabulous and pregnant potter moms sharing similar due dates: Kari Radasch is due in May, Erin Furimsky is due in the early fall, Bonnie Seeman is due for twins in July....I'm sure there are more than I am listing. It seems to be a good time to have babies!

Keep in touch and keep an eye on my etsy shop--new work will be posted in the next month!

Happy Spring!
Molly

Last Days for Auction at Greewich House Pottery

LAST DAYS TO BID! AUCTION ENDS AT 10pm ON APRIL
26th!

CLICK HERE TO MAKE A BID OR LOOK AT WORK!