the tiny tiny studio

Handmade Functional Work

I love to incorporate handmade things into my daily rituals - I use my own plates and cups as well as those I've collected from other artists on a daily basis.

 

All of my functional work is made from a white earthenware clay and is food safe as well as microwave and dishwasher safe, but of course as with any other functional things, handmade or not they will last longer and stay brighter colors is they are lovingly handwashed.

 

My plates and platters are made from a slab construction method where I roll out big slabs of clay with a giant rolling pin and then stamp them with textures and form the edges using a mold.   I have yet to invent a slab built bowl that I'm entirely pleased with so my cups and bowls are made on the wheel and then stamped and altered so that they still have that handbuilt feeling to them.

 

Sculptural Work

My sculptural work is much more time consuming to make and fragile to move so I rarely take it to outdoor sales, just galleries.  It is also made by using a combination of handbuilding methods and also various finishes since I'm not as concerned about food safety.  Some of the finishes I use are ceramic glazes and different types of painting media including both oil and acrylic paint and some latex sealants and varnishes.  Each sculpture is a one of a kind and I rarely remake them unless I'm working through a challenge or a "problem" I ran into while making it the first time.