H A M M E R   T E X T U R E
​B L A C K   O V A L
Traditional Unglazed

JOHN SWANSON
NORTH BRANCH BONSAI
Illinois, USA
​2025

3.75 x 12.5 x 10.5 inches
Aardvark Carmel Stoneware
Wheel Thrown, Slab Base, Hand Carved Feet and Texture
Electric Bisque Fired, Gas Reduction, Cone 10 (~2345ºF)

"This piece was made from Aardvark’s Carmel cone 10 stoneware clay body. The making process includes wheel throwing the rim and marked in the 4 directions NSEW to line up with the base that was slab rolled and marked with perpendicular lines. These markings enable an even oval when the rim to be cut from the throwing bat and modified by pushing the firm rim to the center from two sides. Once correctly situated the slab and rim are attached by slipping and scoring, the drain holes are cut, foam supports are inserted into the pot and the piece is flipped onto the rim to refine the slab and wall connections with a rasp and rib and attach the hand carved feet.

​After the bisque firing, Western’s red iron oxide wash was applied to the surface and the piece was fired to cone 10 in a gas reduction kiln. The oxide wash was used to enhance the texture. The total making time was approximately 5 weeks including approximately 3 weeks of slow drying under plastic prior to bisque firing."
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- John Swanson

A B O U T   J O H N   S W A N S O N

John Swanson, founder and artist behind North Branch Bonsai in Chicago, is an environmental engineer by day and a potter by night/weekend/every chance he gets. John began his ceramics journey in January 2023 with a beginner wheel class at a studio in his neighborhood and bonsai pots quickly became the focus. At first, it was a way to save money and enable his bonsai addiction, but developing skills and encouragement from his studio family and supportive husband began to expand his thinking related to his ceramics future. In January of 2024, North Branch Bonsai was born.

John’s passion is creating one of a kind, handmade, high-fired bonsai ceramics that blend masculine and feminine design elements that evoke the complexity of great bonsai trees and the humans who create them.​


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Follow John Swanson on these platforms:
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​Instagram: www.instagram.com/northbranchbonsai/?hl=en
Facebook: www.facebook.com/john.swanson.922958

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