Pottery

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Workshop with Mark Errol and special guest Kathy King

Greetings from Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts!

I just wrapped up an amazing workshop learning from two of my pottery heroes (Mark Errol and Kathy King).

group photo of happy students posing in the Arrowmont clay studio with superstar teachers, Mark Errol and Kathy King.

It has been a dream come true meeting them and seeing Mark and Kathy’s work in real life. –sorry, photos on the internet just aren’t the same.

artist ken swinson posing in front of a salt fired kiln with a pile of bisque pottery displayed inside it

I have been on a pottery break, and can’t tell you how good it felt to have my hands back in clay for 5+ whole days. i ended up making 34 pots (that’s a lot in comparison to my normal speed)

Every workshop I have taken at Arrowmont has been an incredible experience. It’s a perfect environment to push my creativity to places I could never reach by myself. The bears of Arrowmont make it a magical and special place.

two baby bears playing in a tree. A human bear (artist Mark Errol) watching from the kitcher porch at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts.

If you are in the Knoxville area, Mark and Kathy have a group exhibit, “Zero Lucks To Give” on display at the Arrowmont Gallery in Knoxville for the month of August. I was really thrilled to see their work in person and add these two cups to my collection!

photo of two cups by mark errol and kathy king. they are displayed in front of a mirror, so you can see a few sides of the pottery. A poster promoting their exhibit is also in the background

My heart is bursting, i’m so grateful to those who have made this experience possible for me!!! Thank you! Thank you! thank you! Stay tuned, i’ll have more to share soon.

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Kiln firing 24 January 2023

I just opened the mini kiln, and welcomed 8 new cups to the world.
Some of the cups are decorated with an experimental woodcut transfer process.

This is a significant firing, because it is the FINAL FIRING for this season. I won’t be making any more pottery until Summer 2023.

swipe or use arrows to see all the pottery

  • handmade cup with woodcut underglaze transfers of goat
  • handmade cup with woodcut underglaze transfers of goat and sheep
  • handmade cup with woodcut underglaze transfers of goat and sheep
  • handmade cup with folk art style cardinal surface design
  • handmade cup with folk art style cardinal surface design
  • handmade stoneware cup with folk art surface design of a horse and country house
  • handmade stoneware cup with folk art pig and flowers surface design. there is a heart inbetween the two pigs
  • handmade cup with folk art style decoration of goats and plants

If you’d like to see them (and more) in person. They will be on display this friday (jan 27th) at the Pendleton Art Center – Cincinnati.

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2023-01-21 Kiln Opening

I had a small kiln firing last night (8 cups – 1 plate)

Here are the results!
Use the arrows or swipe to see them all

  • handmade stoneware oval plate with sheep dog chasing sheep surface design
    Sheep Dog Plate
  • handmade stoneware cup with bear taking photos of bunnies design
    Bear and Bunnies Cup
  • handmade stoneware cup depicting fox taking photos of sheep
    Fox and Sheep Cup
  • handmade stoneware cup with bear having a tea party design
    Tea Party Bear Cup
  • handmade stoneware cup with fox and hound surface design
    Fox and the Hound Cup
  • handmade stoneware cup depicting chickens with yellow background
    Chickens Cup
  • handmade stoneware cup with dog making pottery surface design
    Pottery Dog Cup
  • handmade stoneware cup with terrier and yellow cat surface design
  • handmade stoneware cup with goat woodcut surface design
    Goat Woodcut Cup

It’s really hard to get an idea of what a 3d cup looks like from a photo. A video with a 360 view is a little bit better. Seeing them in person-and being able to pick them up and drink from them is still best.

For your reference, I sell cups for $45 and plates for $75. They are only available in person NO ONLINE SALES. You need to pick them up to ‘know’ if it’s the right pot for you. You can find them either on my front porch, or at my studio at the Pendleton Art Center on Final Fridays and by appointment.

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Friday Night Throwing pots

First time I’ve been in on the wheel for 2023. (yes, this is my idea of a wild and fun friday night)

I’ve been working removing pots from the wheel with my hands-instead of using bats. Still smooshing some of them, but getting better!

Will trim and add handles tomorrow. Hope you all have a great weekend!

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screen print clay transfer fail

photo of a screen print studio

The new year isn’t starting out the way I had hoped.

ceramic screen print underglaze transfers

Spent the day making screen print underglaze transfers based on two of my block prints, only for them to be a disappointment. Oh well, will try again another time.

screen print transfer on an unfired stoneware mug

Hope your year is going better than mine!

UPDATE:

Sorry for being a crybaby earlier when my project did not work on the first try. In my experience, neither pottery OR printmaking work perfectly on the first try. Not sure why I thought combining the two would be easy.

After a little more practice, The transfers are a little bit better. Will make more pots and try again later. Thanks again everyone for the encouragement!

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last kiln firing of 2022

I had a very small kiln firing to wrap up 2022.

2022 was a great year for pottery. I learned a lot and made a lot of pots. To end the year, I had a very small kiln firing. Here are the results!

  • sheep dog photographer cup
  • sewing bear cup
  • old washington cup
  • fox pitcher
  • sheep dog pitcher
  • us 62 cup

click arrows or swipe to see all the photos

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2022 – a year of pottery

oh my gosh! WE MADE A LOT OF POTTERY THIS YEAR!

I think a few got away without getting their picture taken, but here’s most of 2022 squeezed into less than 2 minutes.

Thank you ALL for your support and friendship +making them a part of your home. Especially *you*know*who*you*are -who is responsible more than anyone for this wonderful journey into ceramics.

Watching the year flash by, it was interesting to see the quick flash of time, that was summer at Arrowmont–and then the following months — to see the evolution of a new clay, and new surface design.

Thanks always for making this possible! Yes, the artist is part of the creation of ART–but ART also needs patrons–i believe these pots are OUR team effort!! Thank you all so much!

Looking forward to a wonderful new year!!! Happy New year to you all!!

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Pottery At The Pendleton Art Center Dec Final Friday

Well, shoot!!!

After a flock of early birds flew through my studio yesterday, I don’t have nearly as many new pots to choose from. But there are some good ones still on my shelf (including the one i am tempted to keep for myself). I’m very grateful for all the support of my work–this ‘problem’ is every artist’s dream.

Before you make a special trip to our event at the Pendleton Art Center Cincinnati, Here’s a photo of my pottery shelf with it’s current inventory. If you see something you really want, make sure to come to my studio #400 on the 4th floor first. The event starts at 5pm and lasts until 9pm.

Hope to see you tonight!