Tim Christensen – fine drawings on porcelain pottery

 

The detailed sgraffito pottery of Tim Christensen :

 

Tim works exclusively  with black and white drawings on porcelain pottery with the motive of conveying a message for the times. Christensen claims his work reflects his environment, and the rhythmic, meditative movements of throwing the clay, shaping the vessels, sanding and carving them, give him time to become even closer to the woods, the sea and the night sky.

Tim’s story :  ” I have been making black and white pieces since 2003. I am getting better as I get deeper into this technique of sgraffito. My work is narrative, specifically illustrated, sometimes spiritual, often funny, and understandable. “

‘Emptyboat’

  ” I make pots about the times in which we live, and the challenges of living in a time in which we are divorced from the natural world around us. I make my work to be appreciated by those who know a lot or a little about porcelain or art, and make it with the hopes that some of these pots will survive longer than me or the culture in which we live, and will still be as pertinent and relevant then as now. ”   Sgraffito porcelain 'Hardwork' - Tim Christensen  Abstract wave form ceramic vessel with etched sea life surface

‘Hardwork’ – Tim Christensen

  ” I live in an off-grid cabin near the ocean in Roque Bluffs, Maine. My studio is the woods when the weather is fair, and in the cabin when it isn’t. ”       Ovoid black and white porcelain vessel - 'Squidcircus'  - Tim Christensen

‘Squidcircus’  – Tim Christensen

 

  ” To me, more important than the immediate political or social issues of the day is the greater struggle of humans to find a way to fit back in to the natural pattern of life on earth. This is the defining struggle of our time, and I feel compelled to illustrate this on my pottery. ”     Swimming octopus plate by Tim Christensen

‘Octopusplate’

 

  ” I make my forms on a kick wheel nestled in a hollow in the woods, draw where I please, usually in front of a small camp fire, and fire the work in a gas fired kiln, to which I have attached a bread oven. This arrangement allows me to be in very close contact with all of the natural rhythms coursing around us all. The ocean is about 300 yards away, and I often pack up my tools and a few pieces and draw on a very small island named “Despair”. “When I’m drawing, I portray things I’m really interested in, I feel like they are a photograph of my thoughts. Almost like an illustration of my dreams.  If  I can pull my conscious mind out of the process, I find greater insights than I would ever be able to put into words.”     Porcelain sgraffito of a herd of moose by Tim Christensen

‘Herd’  – Tim Christensen

    Porcelain vase with dragonflies in flight - Tim Christensen

‘Lotus’ – Tim Christensen

  “Across a channel is the island “Hope”. Seals, a family of eagles, my girlfriend Jenna, and our two dogs are constant companions whether I am working on our land or at the water. ”     Ovoid porcelain vessel with sgraffito art - Kingfisher bird diving

‘I saw a kingfisher’  – Tim Christensen

 

 

Creating porcelain sgraffito art - Tim Christensen

Scratching through the surface on a piece of porcelain

 

 

Making a sgraffito vessel on the veranda - Tim Christensen

Sgraffito work on the porch with Tim Christensen

 

 

 

swordfish+and+mackarel+11 inch ovoid vase high -Tim Christensen

‘Swordfish and Mackarel’ – Tim Christensen

11 inches height

 

 

winter+clam+digger+8+in+high Tim Christensen sgraffito art

‘Winter Clam Digger’ – Tim Christensen

Height 8 inches

Tim Christensen sitting outdoors scratching the surface of an ovoid vessel

Tim Christensen

Tim uses the sgraffito method to draw pictures on his porcelain vessels. Each vessel is made with layers of contrasting clay colors and he carefully carves a drawing into the top layer, revealing some of the layer beneath.

 

Tim Christensen Porcelain lidded box-  Woodswalk - A man walking his dog in the woods with a flock of overhead birds

‘Woodswalk’ – Tim Christensen

 

 

 

merganser-Tim-Christensen  sgraffito figurine of a duck

‘Merganser’ -Tim Christensen

 

 

 

octopod+sculpture by Tim-Christensen in black and white porcelain sgraffito

‘Ocotpod’ – Tim Christensen

 

 

 

sea+wall+tile+11+inch+high  Sgraffito ceramic wall panel with sealife  - Tim Christensen

‘Sea Wall Tile’ – Tim Christensen

11 inches height

 

 

 

wrens+and+grass+10 inches high Black and white sgraffito vase by tim-christensen

‘Wrens and Grass’  – Tim Christensen

 

 

More on Tim Chistensen here.

 
 
 
 
 

 

4 Comments

  1. nikki
    Posted April 3, 2014 at 6:36 am | Permalink

    these are the best works i have ever seen. thank you.

  2. Jeff Bell
    Posted October 5, 2016 at 8:14 am | Permalink

    I’m just putting it out there (into the universel) that this guy WILL be in my classroom come spring when all this magic will happen. He’s that good! Now to make all this happen. Dreaming it into reality my friends.

    Jeff Bell, art teacher
    Windham High School

  3. Liz
    Posted December 11, 2021 at 12:28 pm | Permalink

    Hi Tim love your work, is the octopus plaque for sale?
    Thanks
    Liz

  4. Andrea Harding
    Posted June 25, 2024 at 2:51 am | Permalink

    Winter Clam Digger. Mr. Christiansen, I just sent you a messenger note about a beloved piece of your work that I have had for years which was accidently broken by my daughter. It is on your website and listed as Winter Clam Digger. If you have one in your inventory, I would like to purchase it right away; if you do not, may I commission it? Please let me know as I await anxi

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