altered face jugs

I began altering the wet clay of face jugs in May -- I'd been turning for six months at that point. We'd just gotten back from several shows in Georgia, where I had the opportunity to talk with a few potters about composition methods. The face jugs I found most interesting had been shaped while the clay was wet. The potters hadn't just added clay, and sometimes hadn't added any clay at all (or nearly none). They shaped the face in the wet clay, then added details as necessary. (One potter said he'd throw the jug up to the neck, shape the face, then throw the neck. . . .)

When Greg and I got back in the workshop, we started experimenting with the technique. It seemed to fit our general aesthetic, whatever that might be. :)

Pretty soon, Greg came up with the Fat Ghoul jug, pictured at left. I really like the shape -- the bulbous head combined with the strong features, and the fairly deep-set eyes and sharp browline. The poured-on ash glaze completes the look. (At the edges of ash glaze, there's a wet-looking area that's darker than completely unglazed clay. It's more pronounced on the Lizella than the redstone that's in this picture, but it adds to the creepy effect of a piece like this one.)

While Greg was coming up with this monstrosity, I produced a few pieces in Lizella (which was a new clay to us at the time -- Greg still hasn't really had the chance to give it a go). I found the wetness of the clay perfect for this sort of project. The Lizella also took the ash glaze even better than the Highwater redstone clay we usually use.

I've continued to experiment with shaping the wet clay of jugs, occasionally going so far as to add no details except the eyes. I've experimented with a couple different ways of shaping the face: I've thrown bottomless jugs, or cut off the bottoms, and I've cut a poking stick that has just the right curve to press out from the inside of a jug. I've also used a few classic works of art for reference.

One of my favorite pieces so far is a bust face jug of an old man, pictured at right. I used a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci as a reference, which gave me new ideas for the shape of the face as well as which details to emphasize. I was quite happy with the final product. . . even though it looked nothing like the source material. On the plus side, I can probably use the same piece for reference again. . . .

(And even as I was working on my sculptural skills, I let my potting skills slide. I made the bottom too thick on this guy, and it suffered during bisque firing.)

We've been trying to keep things new in the workshop: new glazes, new techniques, new clay, whatever new ideas occur to us. We hope it's interesting to viewers. It certainly is to us.