A few pots

At the prompting of an Australian potter (and my mentor) I picked up a piece of clay 2 months ago & made my first ever bonsai pot. Since then it has become as big an obsession/passion as growing bonsai (which I have been doing for 24yrs). I started out slowly just making the odd simple pinch pot & the like until I started carving, now I dont go a day without working on some.

I have always loved small pots and the carving suits this end perfectly, hence the largest pieces are actually the early accent pots & a few larger shohin pots. I had my first firing last week and have been letting the results teach since I collected them from my mentor.

I thought I would share some of my favorites and see what others think.

These are my first attempts & I can see lots that I need to improve on but I am happy with them none the less.

Matt

I really like your clay body. Are you wood firing?

Great 1st try Matt well done!!!

Preston, I am firing in my mentors kiln at the moment, gas fired and in a reduction atmosphere to bring out the best in that groggy clay. I hope to build my own wood fired kiln soon.

Anttal, Cheers bud...

You are off to a great start. I love the textures you are getting.

I like the blue and black rectangle pot the best. Plant that baby!
Salut, Todd

Todd Ellis wrote:I like the blue and black rectangle pot the best. Plant that baby!
Salut, Todd

Way too small for me to keep alive... I will send it to you... would love to see something in it

Matt

Heres a few more that I am really happy with.

Matt

Hi Matt,
I would love your pot and would be happy to pay you for it. You may "personal message me (PM)" if you like.


I wouldn't try to grow material in this small pot. But, for display, I think it would be a beautiful pot! You may want to reconsider letting the pot go. Here's why... You can create an accent planting and do the actual growing-developing in a deeper pot. Then, a couple of weeks before the "show", you take the planting out of the deeper pot and place moss around the soil mass, holding the moss in place with pins or staples; creating a mound effect, and set it into the (your) display pot for the show. To water, you use a spray bottle to keep it hydrated.

BTW,certainly no hard feelings if you decide to keep your pot!

Salut, Todd

Those are beautiful!! Keep it up!!

I did the first full firing of my own work last weekend in my mentors kiln. On top of the 4 clay bodies I currently use, i got samples of several others from a different supplier to trial. As well as several different mixed bodies that I have been experimenting with. I am still in the process of reviewing all of the pots & recording results of the various tests. Overall I am really happy with how they have come out, heres some of my picks, sizes in order they appear 15x9x3.5cm, 12.5x8x2cm, 9x3cm, 9x7x1.8cm .

The colour in the photo's isnt totally true to the pots but not far off. One day I might work out how to get a decent picture of my pots & trees.

This will be my last firing for a while, I am getting a gas kiln later this month but will take me a few months to get a shed built and all the necesary connections put in for it.

Matt

Matt,
You have begun the journey! Keep it up!

Rob