Forest Tree Face Sculpted From Clay

This face was so huge it took almost a month to dry.

I formed it over a plastic covered bowl so it wouldn't be too solid. The bark features were made by adding clay and forming ruts with my fingers.

The leaves were individually made, scored, and placed with slip.

The hardest part was transporting it, freshly made, home from the cabin in a car filled with dogs. I never thought it would survive but it somehow made the trip intact, didn't break in the kiln, and avoided being nabbed by the art thieves that plagued Nissa's class. We lost a surprising number of items.

Slice Carved Pottery Bowl

The wheel thrown bowl was generously sliced with a scooping motion using the loop tool.

Bowl Carved With A Zig Zag Cake Decorating Tool

You take the zig zag surface tool from Wilton's cake decorating line and heavily incise the surface. You need to do this before it's leather hard but not too soft or you'll cave in the sides.

A Platter of Clay Heads

Nothing says a party like a plate full of clay heads. A few of them are waiting for antlers, hair, and a rather stylish Mohawk.

The bottoms have a hole so that they can have a supported inserted inside.

Pottery Mustache Man Vase

Fredrick has a huge mustache and ears that Will Smith would love. He kept begging; but I told him you need to show me you can handle pens before I move you up to Sharpies.

Clay Tree Spirit

The tree spirit is made of leaves with a bark nose, eye brows and lips. His eyes are acorns. Next spring he'll be moving to the woods by our cabin so he can keep the Nisse in line.

Clay Mermaid With Copper Hair

Lorilei has copper wire hair embellished with sea glass beads.  I thought about the smooth, silky hair that you always see on mermaids but have you seen what salt water does to your hair?

Monster Face Pot With Horns

Henry started out as a vase. I built up his cheeks, cut out his smile and left a gnarly tooth. I particularly like the lopsided horns.

Loch Ness Monster Plate

I attached Nessie to the plate and used a metal brush to brush on a rough wave pattern.

Wavy Textured Pottery Bowl

I had a mishap while this bowl was drying. I went to move it and broke a chunk out of the top. I almost tossed but sometimes accidents make things better.

I cut the top edge in a random wavy pattern and used a wire brush to texture the outside of the bowl. The bowl looks better after the mishap than it did before.

Assorted Carved Pottery Plates

The pattern was done with the tip of a church key. The piece has to be soft leather hard, if it's too dry the tool doesn't press in smoothly.

These were both done with the curved side of a flexible metal tool.

The same metal tool was used here but the cut was deeper and closer together.

The tip of the loop tool was pressed in lightly, then deeper, then lightly.

I used a small melon baller to scoop out the clay.

This surface resembles an orange. The surface was leather hard and I gently cut out small random bits with the smallest part of the loop tool.

Carved Pottery Hand Shaped Soap Dish

I took a thrown pottery plate and free hand cut out a hand shape.  I put in palm creases but some of the lines filled in after glazing.

I planed on it being a soap dish but it shrank to the point where it would hold guest soaps, now it holds rings.

Bark Carved Pottery Pot

I have a few pots drying before the first fire. Many of these have carving, some are plain.

I used a veining tool from a wood carving set to incise this pattern which reminds me of tree bark. You could probably do something similar with the tip of a vegetable peeler.

Carved Pottery Bowl With Stone Like Pattern

This pot was was so thick I wanted it to resemble a boulder, so using the loop tool, I randomly cut chunks off. 

I enjoy the smooth interior with the hewn exterior. It's pleasant to touch.

Deeply Carved Pottery Bowl

This pot was very chunky so I took the loop tool and carved into very deeply. The edges were a bit too sharp so I used the loop tool to smooth it a bit after it was drier but not totally dry.

Carved Clay Rose Petal Plate

This design was so much fun to do.  I started in the center, bent the flexible metal tool, and gently flicked out chunks of clay.  I think the pattern resembles an open rose. I used kiln space at my daughter's school so my glaze choices were limited, I basically did everything in blue or celedon.

Carved Pottery Plate

 I've become quite enamored with carving clay pieces. I throw the pots on my daughter's wheel, let them dry to leather hard and carve them with simple tools.

The silver one is a flexible piece of metal that you can bend to cut shapes. The yellow one is a plastic cake decorator.

Carving suits me well since unlike Nissa, my pots are on the sturdy side. I can carve away a lot of clay to try to achieve a more elegant shape.

The leaf shape was created by heavily bending the flexible metal and you use a slight twisting motion to cut out shapes.

Here is the plate glazed. The blue glaze has a left an interesting color variation that gives it lots of depth.

Cappuccino Mug

Nissa made me this pretty mug, it holds 2 cups of espresso plus foam. Coffee tastes so much better when it comes in a mug made with love.

Hand Thrown Tea Pot With Twining Vines and Leaves

My daughter Nissa makes all sorts of items out of clay. She prefers the wheel to slab work and this tea pot is only 5.5 inches high.