Sunday, April 12, 2009

Journey Workshop April 12 - 17 Garlic Pots

With the summer tourist season coming up I have to get some saleable items into the Valley Artisans Co-op. My page on the Artisans website has pre-Steven pots - sort of different from what I am making now.
My appliqued pots that I make now are all big ticket items - selling for $175 to $250 and in this economy and our small town are just too expensive. One hundred dollar to $125 items tend be OK and after that there is resistance.






My large garlic pots sell well for $48 and so I decided to work on some, using as before the people in the window theme - (my "parade" pots) - and seeing if I can update them a bit. Before I would make them squared off with several windows and lots of people as in the top photo of the glazed one. (Has Rhdoes 32 on it).

This time I tried various oval shapes. I put on a slab base and threw the lid and then stretched it as Steven does. I gave the pot a wack with a stick for hopefully a more contemporary look. In order to tie these in with the rest of my appliqued and stamped work I made a stamp of a window frame and used it on the pot and then cut out the window inside the frame.




With another, I appliqued the frame and the back door - all this trying for a more unified look.




I also like effect of the wack which shows the end of the stick. This resulted in a corner and horizontal line impression. I will cut the stick at an angle next time so that the line is truly horizontal and see how well the window fits into that.

In terms of function the pots with a wider top are better as your hand fits in more easily than the one with the narrowed top.
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4 comments:

  1. Sister Creek PotterApril 12, 2009 at 10:24 PM

    These are really great! I enjoy knowing your thoughts around your design process. The 'journey' is very stimulating. Thanks for sharing. Gay Judson

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  2. Newfoundout PotterApril 13, 2009 at 4:41 PM

    Thanks for your comment. Actually writing down my thoughts about design etc is really helping me. In fact one of my followers told me that a conference that he attended on business for crafts people it was suggested that one blog as it helps one understand one's work and it helps to see where you are going. I really have to agree with that.

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  3. CreativewithClay: Charan SacharMay 20, 2009 at 5:49 PM

    These garlic jars were so precious. The design is so well thought of. I like them better with fewer windows and less people.
    Excellent!

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  4. Newfoundout PotterMay 20, 2009 at 6:39 PM

    With the popularity of garlic, large garlic jars sell well. I really got the idea from Dan Hill who soda fires at cone 6 about an hour from here - he makes large garlic pots, but just puts in regular holes.

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