Sometimes Things Just Happen

Spring found me sending out new Communion Sets and a Flagon and bowl. These are to be a graduation award for new graduates from seminary schools all over the country. One special person from each college gets the award. The schools are in the all over the country, East coast, West coast, Central, North and South.
Just as I was finishing up the last of the Communion Sets, I was approached by an very good friend to make a burial urn for her mother, whom I have known for several years. So it was back in the shop for that, which took about a 1 1/2 weeks. Talking about it in a private club to one of the managers brought another job in . . . a burial urn for him and his 3 bird dogs, still not yet finished.

However, I do have many of the pieces mentioned above for display here, beginning with the Award sets for the Seminary Schools.  I have often done bowls for this for those people in Seminary that are not going to become ministers. This is the first time I have been requested to do a flagon and a bowl.

I have also included several Communions sets, with close ups of images I believe to be of interest.Each of these is shaped and decorated and assembled individually so as to be one of a kind. All of the patens are stamped with the logo of the non profit group that contracts the commission.

Flagon and Bowl Honorary Award

Bowl with stamp for organization

Flagon(pitcher) to the bowl set.
Decoration done with commercial
rolling stamp and silicone hot pad
before shaping.

Serrated plastic rib carved from credit card around and arc

Decoration detail of chalice bowl, which was thrown off the
hump, trimmed and joined to the stem.

detail of above paten showing stamp
and decoration detail

Funerary Urn

The pieces here are using a commercial roller stamp for the decoration before shaping.



The funerary urn was thrown from seven lbs of clay with the two lids thrown off the hump for the body of the pot. The cylinder was raised, and then decorated with the commercial rolling stamp of pine needles, and a silicone kitchen hotpad with a hexagonal pattern in it.

The lid was also stamped after soft trimming with a commercial rolling stamp.

Inner lid with full name and dates for genealogical purposes

Lid to complete form, cover and protect the inner lid
.

This bowl set was created for a wife's retirement from nursing. The husband had seen some other bowl sets that I had done and asked me for a set for his wife. So again one job led to another. The bowls are shown in order, and the first is from 6# of clay for the Mixing bowl, then 4# for the large serving bowl, and 3# for the smaller bowl and the batter bowl. the flared rims and cut feet have pretty much become a signature attribute to the bowls for me.

Batter bowl for ret

The last jar is something that just happened as I was throwing all of the other jars that I have been doing. This one was from 4# of clay, including the lid. I have a tendency of throwing lids off the hump of the piece of clay I am throwing the pot with. When throwing jars, lids come first off the same clay, as with teapots, lids and spouts come first then the pot itself. This seems to keep me focused, and at the same time the clay used is of the same consistency for each piece.

As you can see from this view, the foot for the jar is carved using the brass pipe as I have been doing in many of the bowl forms. I believe this gives a more elaborate effect to the lift of the form.