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T H E C O N T E M P O R A R Y D I S P L A Y
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W O O D F I R E D
C A R V E D R O U N D Contemporary Unglazed RANDY DOUGHTY
BENT PINE POTTERY Pennsylvania, USA 2023 3.12 x 7.75 x 7.75 inches Standard Ceramics Stoneware, Wood Ash Wheel Thrown and Carved Wood Fired, Cone 11-12 (~2359-2394ºF) "While working within the bonsai pot tradition is rewarding and provides enough space to explore many ideas, sometimes you need to take a step away from tradition to pursue other ideas. This pot is one of those. After a trip to Zion National Park and other areas of Utah, I was captivated by the sheer cliffs and the way the rock has broken away. The cascading evergreens on those cliffs made me want to recreate this look in clay for my own cascades and I began carving up pots. Not wanting to simply recreate the exact cliff look, I went for a more abstract route. I quickly realized my love of Road Runner cartoons clearly made its way into my work. Am what I am, I reckon.
This pot is made with wheel thrown brown stoneware. Thrown thick for carving after trimming the pot. Carving with the idea of sheer rock faces. Wood fired unglazed hoping to highlight the fire's path around all the edges of the carvings. The dry matte ash build up on the one side of the pot further enhances the stone feel of the pot. The ash fades around the pot to the bare backside (side away from the fire) where the reduction cooling of the kiln brings out a rusty iron color in the clay. Of particular interest to me is the bottom were the flame movement in and around the drain hole a foot ring cutouts is very evident. Tree pairing would be a rugged evergreen. Something to enhance the clinging to the cliff look the pot is trying to create." - Randy Doughty |
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A B O U T R A N D Y D O U G H T Y
I began making pots in college. Working on the wheel and the realization that there could be fire involved had me hooked. The early pots were functional porcelain tableware. After a friend introduced me to bonsai my pottery focus quickly changed. For almost 20 years i now i have made bonsai pots almost exclusively.
Working within the bonsai pot tradition provides the perfect framework for me to pursue my favorite parts of working with clay. The wheel and how small changes to a form can change the character of the pot. While many of the forms are similar throughout the bonsai potter generations, how the details of those forms are treated provide infinite possibilities and insight to the potters eye. My versions of these familiar shapes feature graceful curves with clean and crisp lines. These tight and controlled forms are glazed with a single glaze per piece and fired in ways to promote random and serendipitous results. Each firing gives different results, and often a single piece can have multiple versions a glaze depending on the firing. Each firing another step on the quest for the perfect pot where the form and glaze result in something bigger than I could ever plan. Follow Randy Doughty on these platforms: Facebook: www.facebook.com/randyspots Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/bentpinepottery?ref=search_shop_redirect&fbclid=IwAR3tOIVAVLyt1zKA40dCBKq3TJeqmxoQk-AbzQIOpdZS0Au7f8mcOdunVV0 |
T H A N K Y O U T O O U R S P O N S O R S
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D I S C O V E R P O T T E R S I S P R O U D T O S P O N S O R T H E 2 0 2 5 N O R T H A M E R I C A N B O N S A I P O T T E R Y C O M P E T I T I O N
