κεραμική Archives

There are many times that I am out of words regarding pottery & clay. I try speaking about our connection with this material which is actually a piece of us as humans, about the effortless way one can work with it, provided that they “listen” to it, that they show devotion to it. However I am not sure whether my message comes across or that the listener can relate and connect to my words. Today, as I was looking at the pictures you will see below, I thought of something that hadn’t crossed my mind (at least consciously) until now. It’s something that I think everyone can relate: PLAY! Yes! It’s so obvious, pottery is playing! You play with mud, water, dirt and that’s so amazing! And everything, either bad or good, comes from playing.

So I think that that play, found it’s way to sneak into some of my pottery object.

Like in a dream. like it’s drawn in the pages of the most dreamy book. That’s the brief I gave myself when I started making this mug. It’s the first of a collection called “Just Dream”.

Everyone who knows me and reads this blog, know how crazy I am about Tim Burton. It was Tim Burton and his aesthetics that inspired me to make this one. Something dark but happy, something black but also white, something melancholy but pretty.

Something simpler. A big mug for Christos to drink his coffee with Ikaria Island on it. When not at the island, why not have the island on your mug?

This is “The Fish”.

And below, the most amazing candle holder, which I did not make, but I wish I had. The are made by my friends Sylwia & Yorgos, a couple who started pottery together about a year ago, absolutely loved it, and with hard work they are now almost pros! I am so jealous guys! Way to go! (BTW, I call them dragon eggs, but i don’t know if they would agree <3 )

So that’s about it about clay and play! Don’t forget to play! It’s just too important to forget.

I couldn’t give any other name to this blog post. It’s just clay and it is the most perfect material in the UNIVERSE. Maybe it’s because it’s a natural material and that’s why I feel I understand it so good. Maybe I just found the most perfect teacher and she is the one who makes it all simple. Maybe my fellow students at pottery class are just amazing and give me inspiration. Or just maybe it’s all of the above combined.

Anyway, this post is not a “how to” but I can show you what I made. And I must admit that I am really proud! (so please, don’t judge to harshly!)

So, this box was actually an exercise for us to learn how to make clay joints. Yes, the wheel is not the only way to make pottery (something like Ghost and stuff!). There ARE other ways! It’s like making pizza dough, you cut it at the pieces of your preference and then you stick them together.

This is how it looks before the oven.

After the oven (the lines are some tests I did, but I didn’t like it in the end)

And then, color!

And a saucy detail!

Now let’s see my plates! These were simpler, but the details are quite challenging.

And now the glazing with liquid glass remains. Anyway, it’s this glazing process that makes pottery OK to drink or eat from. Very impressive but you need to be precise and really know what you’re doing. When they are 100% ready I’ll photograph them again to show you.

PS. As you can figure, this is not air dry clay. It’s a totally different thing, harder, more interesting, with history and tradition (And Greece has a tremendous tradition in pottery!)

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Clay. Don’t forget to play

Clay