Studio #6

This one's a bit blurry, having been enlarged from a facebook post by a friend. But, at least it shows I'm actually here! I get so involved posting pictures of my work and of the place, that one might wonder where I am in all of this! In this photo I am carving out one of the tile pieces. As I have said, work continues at all hours here. When the piece is of the right dampness, that's when the job is done. We use lots of plastic wrap to preserve the moisture content so we can work at sane hours. But sometimes, well, the timing is off. It was about midnight when this shot was taken.


This is the last of this series of small abstracts. I reverted to one of my favourite images: I just love herons. They are so sensual, and can pack so much length & power into their curvy necks.

The next series of small abstracts are essentially landscapes. The photos look rather boring I'm afraid. My aim is to use these designs with some post-firing colourants I sent over by mail earlier. I wanted to avoid aeroport hassles with them, since they are liquids -- both emultions of metals in acrylic, and oxidants in solution. Glaze firing is difficult here, since most potters only fire once, and the pieces are stacked willy nilly on top of each other. Shelves are a real luxury, and not really necessary. The molton glaze would of course cause the pieces to stick together on cooling. I am trying to do things in the most traditional way possible, the way local artists work. Often, decoration is applied post-firing by painting. So, I have designed these pieces to have the colourants applied after firing. Inshallah, they will have some lovely turquoise and golden parts which will accentuate the terracotta clay colour and the black of the oxides I've already applied. We'll see ....................

This triptic represents the "Kirzilirmac" -- the river which flows through Avanos, and the longest river in Turkey, whose waters often run red with the iron-rich clay so plentiful here.

A few more abstract landscapes, and then it's back to my bigger figurative pieces. Also, stay tuned for some pots with sculptural forms added to them.

All for today.