Here's a few pots...

Hi Rob,
I like your verdi-gri pots. I'm already matching them up with trees on my bench.

Hey, when you can, contact me about a "commissioned" piece. Looking for a tall cascade.

Great work!
Ed.

Wow, isn't this a stunner?! Perfect in my book, beautifully proportioned and that glaze! Looks like an antique Chinese pot, I bet Peter would agree.

R

Rob,
I really like that green glaze, and the way it worked over the Iron. Your gas reduction pots are looking very nice. Keep up the great work.
Rob

Hi Russell,
yes, you have absolutely right, they are all beautiful pots.

Hi Rob,
Congratulations Rob on your new kiln

Best wishes
Peter.

Rob, these are great. Congratulations on new kiln and great results from it.
Any other interesting glazes and shapes? :-) I still don´t have enough :-D (firing my kiln is closer and closer and my nervosity is rising)

Rob

So glad your loving the nuances of a gas kiln. Once you get into all their little touches of genius and variation, personally, I would find it very hard to go back to electric. Love your new work and there is a huge difference to the gas fired pots to your electric fired ones. Excellent and thanks for showing.

All the best

Andy

John Quinn wrote:I like the glaze a lot...I especially like the proportions and shape of first two pots you have posted today!

Thanks for the complement John. I appreciate your support!
Rob

pjkatich wrote:Good looking finishes on these pots Rob.

It would appear that you have worked out some of the earlier problems you were having. Were you able to make the modifications to your gas manifold that we spoke about?

I'm glad to see that the new kiln is working out for you.

Keep up the good work.

Regards,
Paul

Hi Paul,
I have worked out some of my earlier problems, yes, but now I have others. For the last two firings I have been getting back burning on two of the burners. I tried a prescribed remedy but to no avail. I am going to take apart the kiln and have a look at the burner orifices. They may need to be cleaned. If that doesn't work I may have to replace the burners altogether...

Thanks for the kind words. As always, I truly appreciate your assistance and insight.

Looking forward to seeing you this weekend as well. I understand the vendor area is going to be quite crammed with lots of goodies

Rob

EdMerc wrote:Hi Rob,
I like your verdi-gri pots. I'm already matching them up with trees on my bench.

Hey, when you can, contact me about a "commissioned" piece. Looking for a tall cascade.

Great work!
Ed.

Thank you Ed. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon. Like I said earlier, your pot is definitely doable, I just need more info from you to make it personal.

Rob

Russell Coker wrote:

Wow, isn't this a stunner?! Perfect in my book, beautifully proportioned and that glaze! Looks like an antique Chinese pot, I bet Peter would agree.

R

Russell,

Thank you very much. I know that you have seen a LOT of pottery, and I truly appreciate your comments.

Rob

Robert Wallace wrote:Rob,
I really like that green glaze, and the way it worked over the Iron. Your gas reduction pots are looking very nice. Keep up the great work.
Rob

Thank you Robert. As you know with wood firing, its the thrill of the unknown that adds a bit of interest in the firing.

I look forward to seeing some of your work again.

Thanks,
Rob

peter krebs wrote:Hi Russell,
yes, you have absolutely right, they are all beautiful pots.

Hi Rob,
Congratulations Rob on your new kiln

Best wishes
Peter.

Much thanks Peter. I am humbled from your complements.

Rob

Stone Monkey wrote:Rob

So glad your loving the nuances of a gas kiln. Once you get into all their little touches of genius and variation, personally, I would find it very hard to go back to electric. Love your new work and there is a huge difference to the gas fired pots to your electric fired ones. Excellent and thanks for showing.

All the best

Andy

Andy,

I laughed when I read what you wrote about not going back to electric. How true, how true huh? Although I am hooked to the thrill of the flame, I miss the ease of electricity. I will buy another electric for bisque probably in a year or two; this kiln is NOT easy to fire in oxidation.

Thanks for the support!

Rob

Tom Benda wrote:Rob, these are great. Congratulations on new kiln and great results from it.
Any other interesting glazes and shapes? :-) I still don´t have enough :-D (firing my kiln is closer and closer and my nervosity is rising)

Hey Matt,

Don't stress about your kiln. Just embrace it, and you will be the better artist when you allow yourself to experiment

Thanks for your kind words!

Rob

Really like the last pot and glaze.Obviously, some other people do to.That will be the big money winner I think.

Thanks Dave.

Yes that pot is already gone. I think it was on my display shelf for a matter of hours before it was snatched up.

The new owner knows a good pot when he sees it. I am pleased that it is going to a good home...

Thanks,
Rob

Well I have had this kiln for little over a year, and I can honestly say that I now have it doing what I want it to do. It has been a round about fight with burners, atmosphere (trying to get dependable reduction), even temperature, etc.

This last firing wasn't much in terms of volume, or a big variation, but I am very pleased with the results.

Here are a few...

This is a cascade with a very groggy clay, heavy reduction, fired to ^8.

Another round pot with rope like pattern in the same clay body as the previous one.

I must say, I do like the primitive side of bonsai pottery. This is a medium sized crescent scoop, with a real rugged stained and textured body.

This is a shohin oval pot that I made as an experiment. It is a clay body that is comprised of both porcelain AND stoneware. It has good color response, and works well in hand building/joining.



Other side, with a drip of white...

This large shallow piece is a commission for one of the curators at the National Bonsai Arboretum in DC. It features a commercial glaze with a stain wash of my own. The light grey stain helps to tone down the white and gives the pot a somewhat antique look.I am very pleased with the way it turned out.

Commissions are keeping me very busy lately. I appreciate the steady work, but it can be a bit of a challenge when I have to work around my regular production.



I would be honored to hear any thoughts on my recent work.

Thanks

My first response on seeing the shallow rectangle was OMG, it is great. However, I would have preferred shorter feet - around 1/4 of the pot width. How is that for a little feedback? I have not looked at the rest of the thread.

Rob, I think you nailed it, the surface finishes on all these pots look great.

I particularly like the way you finished the rectangle. It reminds me of one of my ash glazes.

Was the 50/50 fired to ^8?

Cheers,
Paul

Marty Weiser wrote:My first response on seeing the shallow rectangle was OMG, it is great. However, I would have preferred shorter feet - around 1/4 of the pot width. How is that for a little feedback? I have not looked at the rest of the thread.

Yes, that is great for feedback Marty, much thanks.

I can say, that the feet of this pot work fine with what is going into it. The particular maple will benefit from a little extra heft from below its nebari. Feet that would be shorter would be good for a different subject; they would be in more proportion to the sides. A pot as such could be more in tune with a thinner, feminine trunk/tree, IMO.

Thanks for your input. It forces me to question, think and grow as an artist.

Rob

pjkatich wrote:Rob, I think you nailed it, the surface finishes on all these pots look great.

I particularly like the way you finished the rectangle. It reminds me of one of my ash glazes.

Was the 50/50 fired to ^8?

Cheers,
Paul

Paul,
Thanks for the positive feedback. All pieces were fired to cone 8, and yes the porcelain/stoneware clay too.

I was able to tweak the pressure at the end to get a very even temperature throughout the kiln with a nice long cooling period. This helps to get the lovely satiny feel on the glazes.