Pottery

Paul uses contemporary ceramic techniques to bring a primal and nature inspired feel to his creations. He uses two basic methods, cone 10 high-fired and low-fired.

His cone 10 fired stoneware vessels and sculptures are usually glazed in earth tones or copper red, some with sgraffito designs which are left unglazed.

The low-fired pieces fall in three basic categories. The first and most primitive are the pitfire pieces which are fired in a shallow pit with organic materials, copper carbonate and rock salt. These pieces have an organic earthy look and feel to them.

The second method and simplest of the low fired techniques is horsehair fired. The piece is brought up to about 1600°F and removed from the kiln and horse hair, feathers or other similar material are applied as the pot cools down.

The third method is Raku fired. Using some contemporary Raku glazes and the basic Raku process is something that Paul enjoys playing with. The pieces are pulled from a hot kiln and placed in a metal container with combustible material in it. The opportunity to witness pieces being born from the fire is a joy.