Richmond – Hardwick Handmade pottery

October 6, 2019December 21, 2019

Soda firing

A friend let me use his soda kiln to fire my work last weekend. Here is the open kiln as I saw it a couple days after the firing. The firing was a little cold, but I learned alot from it and hope to use many of the pieces in my shows this coming spring.

Hottest part of the kiln. Bottom shelf – front about cone 9 down with heavy reduction

What I learned the most was how my glazes work in soda. Some did not turn out how I wanted them to, but some came out great. My core 3 glazes looked great and I can’t wait to use them again. there were maybe three other test glazes that I will mix up again. Also, there were several glazes that did not work and I hope to sieve them to get the materials to mix better in the firing and perhaps work next time.

Middle shelf front- About cone 8 down with medium reduction, but some carbon trapping.

I’m looking forward to firing soda again, though I dont’ know when that will be, but I hope to do some tests again soon to see if sieving a glaze will improve how it looks.

Copper and cobalt glaze slightly underfired and unsived

December 5, 2017February 13, 2018

Wood Fired Pots

Yes, the annual firing was done the week after Thanksgiving and I went and picked up my pottery last night.

I am so thankful for Mike and Alex firing my pots at Tree Hill Pottery, here in Richmond, VA. My work turned out great and I’m excited to show you the results.

I reformulated my clay body to create a red flashing clay body. Unfortunately, I failed again. I researched and studied flashing bodies in Graduate School and lost the recipes I created, so now I’m working to create a new body with less expensive and readily available ingredients.

I have 4 glazes that are really looking good in the firing. My favorites are the Tenmoku, Amber, Cobolt and Pumice. I have a great Oribe, but didn’t use it in this firing. My next glaze will be a white.

I hope you like these as much as I do. They are an Asian aesthetic. The cups are small holding 5-6oz. The trays are 14-16in long.

🙂 Matt

November 17, 2017February 13, 2018

Smooth Afro-Cuban Jazz

My friends Hotel X just jammed out again at Legend Brewing Co. on the south side of Richmond, VA. I took pics and they turned out extra special. Let me know what you think.

I love the blur that to me, depicts motion and fits perfectly into the jazz ideal. Also, I tried to darken the pics as there was tons of light streaming in the room.