Spin out on a whim

December 17, 2014

As 2014 starts to shut up shop, its time for some contemplation, possibly on a zoetrope pot, or maybe some reflection with some clay doodling. The above image is of Russian potter Mikhail Sadovnikov, doodling in the clay, to create captivating mandalas on his pottery wheel. Guaranteed to get the creative juices fired up, while maybe provoking a hypnotic trance from staring at the motion of the wheel for too long.. The prolonged focus and concentration is a meditation in itself. I’m sure for some, the act of manipulating clay on a wheel is a therapeutic and relaxing pastime. Conversely, if a stressful episode with the clay ensues, try unwinding by placing a pot with zoetrope animation on the wheel, and observe the graceful imagery unfolding( see video below ) I couldn’t think what else a zoetrope pot would be useful for as you need a spinning wheel for it to be effective.

Alternatively, from the world of wabisabidom, most whimsical forms of delight tend to favour an asymmetrical form, emboldened with colours but also can be symmetrical shapes with abstract decorations. Occasionally, purely symmetrical forms also capture a subtle hint of whim and character, usually from the mood of its creator. Featured is mainly handbuilt, whimsical, wondrous, enthralling art pieces from the inexhaustible creativity of numerous clay artists and sculptors.

Zoetrope relaxation ( minus the squeaky wheel )

Experimental animation meets pottery from Crafts Council on Vimeo.

Zoetrope 2

Katya , Cyprus

Contemporary porcelain, wheel thrown, hand carved vase by Lynne Meade

13″ height 9″ width

Alice in Wonderland statues – Greenwood Gardens, NY

tilesinnewyork.blogspot.com.au/

The guests in Robert T. Freeman’s Black Tie seem to be wondering what Katherine Lane Weems’s Striding Amazon (Revolt) might be up to.

Museum of Fine Arts Boston

AntyDiluvian – flickr

Art Deco building, Helsinki, Finland

Art Deco Cat Jug – Ditmar Urbach, Czechoslovakia

Large scale vases – Elizabeth von Krogh, Norway

Barcelona Art Nouveau – Hydroelectric Antigua de Catalunya

Ceramic wall art by Blue Rainbow

Constantin Brâncuși Bird sculpture

Sara Paloma duck egg blue stoneware bottles

‘Chasing the Djinn Teapot’ by Marylin Andrews

Craft Alliance – Hot Tea

Leukocytes – Sasha Bakaric

Firehouse Gallery at Genesee Pottery, NY

Cintha hand building a vessel

Heron Ceramique, France

Lidded vessel – Heron Cermaique

Art Deco wall relief – Commonweath Edison Substation, Chicago, IL

Photo by Man Ray

1931

Scott Bennett cup and teapot

Craft Alliance

Altered Bottle Form – Keiko Coghlin

MudFire Gallery

Erin Furimsky

Teresa Girones pottery busts and figures

Greg Scott

Anu Penttinen

Mid-Century Bird Sculpture By Sascha Brastoff

swanbox-etsy

Helen Konig Scavini – Lenci elefante figurine

Roger Capron street sculpture, Valbonne, France

( Near Nice in the Alpes-Maritimes )

1982

Temple guardian statue – Indaia

Abstract camel sculpture – Naoshima, Japan

Lidded box – Joanna Howells

John Maltby

Lenci – Torino, Itlay

Linda Styles 2005

‘Face to Face Totem’ – Liza Halvorsen

halvorsenclay.com

French sculpteur céramiste – Mélanie Bourget

Monika Jeannette Schödel-Müller

Zsolnay jug – 1950

Crystalline Glaze Vase – Paul Adams

Elegant contemporary teapot – Ragnar Naess

Guinea Fowl – Gabrielle Lindemann, UK

Art Nouveau gate – photo by Raymond Dejong

Isamu Noguchi 1904 – 1988

Vase from Muuto – Closely Seperated

Scandinavian design tradition of interpretation with a new perspective emerging as a result. This sculptural vase refers to the beauty in the dissonance, a piece with a unique form and exclusive style. Designer: Michael Geertsen

mutlumikrop shop

Vases designed by Stephen Burks. Made from scraps of Missoni knitwear-—-cast off’s from the fashion industry, these vases are covered in a knit patchwork and sealed with a resin.

Gilbert Valentin- mid-century vase-Vallauris, France

João Abreu Valente

John Bedding

“My work now is mainly low fired. The clay body is a white talc body that I mix myself. It has low thermal shock properties that allow me to use raku techniques, and a blowtorch if I feel the need. Some of my pots I fume with metal salts of iron, cobalt, and chrome. Another technique I have recently developed is to raku fire pots with a copper slip-glaze and apply paternating chemicals to the fired pot. This starts an erosion process in the glaze, which completes the cycle that a potter starts when he reconstructs eroded materials into pots.

Melanie Ferguson

Melanie Ferguson Ceramics, “Coastal stones rolling ashore, crashing waves, eroding hillsides, the swirling ripple on water’s surface, and the vibrant colors and rhythmic patterns of the ocean’s flora and fauna provides me with endless intrigue and inspiration. My hand-build earthen and stoneware vessels are influenced by this symbolic gesture of how energy moves in and around organic objects to reshape their form, bounce light and crush the old to cast anew.”

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