Last year, I sent some #clay that I collected to the University of West Georgia Archaeology Dept and they just sent me the results of their experiment. They tested how the addition of sponge spicules (or fired sea sponge) affects the strength of the fired clay. This method of tempering clay isn't common but evidence of its use can be found in pottery shards throughout the world, including here in SW #Florida. Anyway, how cool to be able to assist in scientific #research.

Here is the original #clay. We found it in a construction site in Venice, just south of us. They were digging a retention pond beside a new road. The construction is now complete and the pond is filled with water, but for a moment the site was kind of like a playground for fossil hunters and clay diggers.

I've had a pretty difficult time working with this clay and incorporating it into my work, so I'm glad it could successfully serve another purpose. #wildclay #Florida

Last year, I sent some #clay that I collected to the University of West Georgia Archaeology Dept and they just sent me the results of their experiment. They tested how the addition of sponge spicules (or fired sea sponge) affects the strength of the fired clay. This method of tempering clay isn't common but evidence of its use can be found in pottery shards throughout the world, including here in SW #Florida. Anyway, how cool to be able to assist in scientific #research.

@potterybyosa bodhrans are cool and that’s amazing about making coils without the wheel!

Would love to learn more about Zulu art. Loved what you said about your recently hosted virtual class “Crafts connect us with our basic human nature and #clay is free”

Was thinking in this new world of AI, we need to reconnect with playing (hand drums) and working with our hands (clay/
sculpture) to connect us to old ways of healing and creative joy 😊

I started with another Ringling College of Art student a couple of weeks ago. They don’t have a #ceramics program at their school so whenever a student approaches me with an interest in #clay, I provide a free 6 week studio intensive where they get the entire experience from beginning to end—forming pieces, making their own slips & glazes, and firing. #education #skillshare #communityed #communityeducation

I started with another Ringling College of Art student a couple of weeks ago. They don’t have a #ceramics program at their school so whenever a student approaches me with an interest in #clay, I provide a free 6 week studio intensive where they get the entire experience from beginning to end—forming pieces, making their own slips & glazes, and firing. #education #skillshare #communityed #communityeducation

Saturday's "Clay Is for Everyone" virtual class went really well. I think it was a revelation for some to realize that the once-a-week community class model is not ideal for advancing your skills over time and can feel quite limiting. $200-300/mo is a lot to spend just to be able to put your hands on clay for two hours once a week.

Crafts connect us with our basic human nature and #clay is free. I hope to keep offering these virtual classes and I'm planning some local opportunities too.

Saturday's "Clay Is for Everyone" virtual class went really well. I think it was a revelation for some to realize that the once-a-week community class model is not ideal for advancing your skills over time and can feel quite limiting. $200-300/mo is a lot to spend just to be able to put your hands on clay for two hours once a week.

Crafts connect us with our basic human nature and #clay is free. I hope to keep offering these virtual classes and I'm planning some local opportunities too.

This vase was a custom order for a couple’s 9th wedding anniversary. They wanted something they could pass down to future generations and thought a ceramic piece would make a good commemorative heirloom. They mentioned their love for terracotta amaryllis, a variety I’d never heard of. Terracotta literally means “baked earth” so I was excited to render the flower in clay tones using a mixture of pink Alabama #clay and a clay called Newman Red from California. #pottery

This vase was a custom order for a couple’s 9th wedding anniversary. They wanted something they could pass down to future generations and thought a ceramic piece would make a good commemorative heirloom. They mentioned their love for terracotta amaryllis, a variety I’d never heard of. Terracotta literally means “baked earth” so I was excited to render the flower in clay tones using a mixture of pink Alabama #clay and a clay called Newman Red from California. #pottery

I’m offering this #VirtualWorkshop for the second time on Saturday, October 25. If you’ve ever had an interest in working with #clay, I hope you’ll join me. #Ceramics used to be a free creative medium but has become an expensive hobby. In this workshop, I will explain exactly how to take advantage of the therapeutic benefits of working with clay, but at minimal cost. The workshop is sliding scale beginning at $10. Recording available. More info & signup: https://potterybyosa.com/products/virtual-workshop-clay-is-for-everyone

I'm overwhelmed by the response to this piece. Thank you for all of the thoughtful, heartfelt comments.

I managed not to document any of the carving and slip decorating phase, but I did get some video of the coil building process. I made a short video that shows the technique, but it's more about my thoughts behind the process.

https://makertube.net/w/screFEXjuoGsUTKBWJ9wtE

#pottery #ceramics #clay #art #fractals #studio #handmade

I’m offering this #VirtualWorkshop for the second time on Saturday, October 25. If you’ve ever had an interest in working with #clay, I hope you’ll join me. #Ceramics used to be a free creative medium but has become an expensive hobby. In this workshop, I will explain exactly how to take advantage of the therapeutic benefits of working with clay, but at minimal cost. The workshop is sliding scale beginning at $10. Recording available. More info & signup: https://potterybyosa.com/products/virtual-workshop-clay-is-for-everyone

"One model is the North African zeer pot: two nested #clay pots separated by wet sand. As air moves across the surface, evaporation chills the inner pot enough to preserve vegetables for weeks... Using local clay and a ceramic 3D printer, the team built porous column modules packed with sand and water. Like a scaled-up zeer pot, air cools as it passes over the moist surface."

https://atmos.earth/the-future-of-cooling-was-invented-thousands-of-years-ago/

#atmos #climate#IndigenousWisdom#AncientTechnology

"One model is the North African zeer pot: two nested #clay pots separated by wet sand. As air moves across the surface, evaporation chills the inner pot enough to preserve vegetables for weeks... Using local clay and a ceramic 3D printer, the team built porous column modules packed with sand and water. Like a scaled-up zeer pot, air cools as it passes over the moist surface."

https://atmos.earth/the-future-of-cooling-was-invented-thousands-of-years-ago/

#atmos #climate#IndigenousWisdom#AncientTechnology