Functional Stoneware Pottery
This lens is all about the Functional Stoneware, which is food safe. This means it is oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. Not only is it functional but it is beautiful and easy to use.
We are celebrating 35 years here with lots of pottery events. We love making pottery that people use everyday and we love that people tell us how much they love our work. Making something by hand for just one person is one way we teach people how important hand made crafts are important to all.
We are celebrating 35 years here with lots of pottery events. We love making pottery that people use everyday and we love that people tell us how much they love our work. Making something by hand for just one person is one way we teach people how important hand made crafts are important to all.
Table of Contents for Lens
Some interesting bits about Diane
and how I got here
I am a self taught potter and artist, a writer, retired dairy farmer (twice), mother and grandmother, wife, sister, business owner, friend, doubter and questioner, open to all different kinds of art and learning, My partner in this biz, John, has been potting for over 41 years and thinks he's finally getting the hang of this. We live in northeast Wisconsin in Door County, a fabulous place to live and visit.
Goblet
Gold, tans and blues
We specialize in goblets. These are hand thrown, in one piece, and then trimmed after getting to the correct leather hard stage. Each a one-of-a-kind work of art and useful to boot! Ellison Bay Pottery Blog
This is our studio and gallery blog. I like taking photos and writing about the pots, writing about my artistic and creative process, writing about the fun and struggles in the studio, and sharing all things pottery. It's also a way to send people over to our etsy.com site.
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byWhat are other potters doing and saying
even if it only has the word in the title, it's got something to do with pottery, so it's cool
We aren't the only good potters in the world, and since I love learning about what potters are doing everywhere, I wanted to share that with my readers.
- The Gardener's Eden - Art Inspired by Nature: The Colorful ...
- After moving to Vermont, Virginia continued to create pottery while teaching art full time in a New Hampshire elementary school. She shows her stoneware pieces in Springfield, Vermont at The Vault Gallery, and in Brattleboro, Vermont at Cai Xi Gallery. ... Through our afternoon conversation, I discovered that Virginia is particularly interested in modern Chinese ceramics. She has taught herself some Chinese through independent study, and hopes to travel to Beijing. ...
- stripes and dots: Sarah Archer of GHP Essay for "Obamaware"
- Mid-century functional ceramic masterpieces of lyric simplicity by potters such as Hans Coper, Lucie Rie, Gertrude and Otto Natzler or Eva Zeisel (a ceramic designer, not a potter) are well-represented in important collections and museums. .... Garth Clark writes that as newly fashionable delftware and stoneware became established in England, potters in the more traditional slip-decorated earthenware ramped up their creativity and produced some of the most vibrant pots of ...
- Joe Casey: Joe's World, and Family Heirlooms, Art by the Westhues ...
- Betty's husband Walt Schmidt is a well-known potter who creates functional stoneware ceramics and forged ironwork at his studio located in the hills near Bloomington. Each piece of pottery is handcrafted of indigenous Indiana stoneware ...
- Kennington News: Obituary: Ruth Duckworth: potter and sculptor
- The work was modern and radically different from other functional studio pottery being made at that time. Duckworth had become inspired by seeing the ancient Mexican pots in the British Museum and decided that she wanted to handbuild. About 1960 she began making large, coiled stoneware pots. These were unlike anything seen before in British studio ceramics. Her heavy asymmetrical cylinders, or ovoids, had rough, dry surfaces and defied conventional notions of beauty. ...
Teapots for January
Brand new! Still cooling off! Learn More About Door County and Wisconsin
- Door County Visitor's Bureau
- This is the official Door County site to learn about lodging, restaurants and what to do and see.
- Fun in Wisconsin
- This is a great resource for planning your Wisconsin and Door County trips.
- Peninsula Pulse
- Door County's only independently owned local newspaper, this is chock full of all the local politics, arts, and community news anyone could want.
- Door County Advocate and other local newspapers
- Local newspapers: Door County Advocate and The Door Reminder, plus local magazines DC Magazine and the Peninsula Arts Guide.
Pit Fire Contents
Steps in the making of the Big Fern Vase
Centering the Clay
The first step to throwing the sections for the very tall vase (32"), and then he squeezes the heck out of it. It looks like he is pressing hard, but he's not. Using gentle pressure on the clay he can cause it to move where he wants. As John says, "clay has to go somewhere, and you can 'suggest' it goes in one direction or another."We must remember, though, that clay does have a mind of it's own, and taking that into consideration helps the potter work with his/her clay. Like a partnership.
The First Pull
He throws sections of clay, like big clay 'pipes' in this case. Then, after it has dried and firmed up a lot, he can throw the next section, dry that, and attach them. John uses a heat gun to speed the process. Finishing the next section.
You can see the vase in front of John ready for the next section. He's finishing the third section before using his heat gun on it to speed up the drying process. John Needs to be Taller
John had to build a platform to put the chair he sits in while throwing on. The vase is growing and he had to build up his wheel, too. It helps that we have a workshop and stacks of scrap lumber! Third Section is on
He's done attaching the third section and disappearing the join. Two are done and he is working on the third
These two tall (32") vases are drying in our studio, while John is working on the third. He completed four tall vases for our pit fire in September 2008. One was commissioned, one broke in firing, we sold one a month later and we have one left in our studio. A closer look
These were the first to be pit fired. Share your thoughts and comments
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Reply
- dianemcneil dianemcneil Nov 8, 2009 @ 6:40 pm | in reply to christine loughran
- Hi Christine: Here are a few suggestions for you to think about. Get out the yellow pages and look through them for a classes in an art center or by a potter, or better yet, a local 2 year college can sometimes offer classes for people to learn something without working towards a college degree. Sometimes local potters will exchange labor for teaching, which is good for both. If you have the desire, you have the most important part of learning this or anything, actually. Good Luck. And, if you have any other questions, please contact us again.
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Reply
- christine loughran christine loughran Nov 8, 2009 @ 6:21 pm
- im only in high school and i cant make the things you do i so want to learn how.
Amazon Spotlight
by dianemcneil
I live in Wisconsin...I am presently a writer/potter/artist. In my past lives I was a dairy farmer, (twice); a waitress, hostess, housekeeper, front d... (more)
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