In 1990 I saw in Toronto’s Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art their collection of early South and Central American ceramics by indigenous peoples. Inspired by those works, I made some bird and bug sculptures (thrown forms altered). On a couple of them I added ‘stirrup handles’ as some of the museum figures had. Most were burnished to a high sheen, then carbon-fired, unglazed, in saggars.
A saggar is a lidded container, which can be packed with organic material (straw, grass, sawdust, even paper) around the clay pieces. When the saggar is heated in a kiln, the organics, deprived of oxygen, imbue the clay with carbon, turning it black.
(Note, the loon, message bird, dollar bird and rocking bird were made later and not in the exhibition. They were experiments with painted slip which didn’t work.)
sgraffito bird, 1990, 24 cm h
This form was thrown and altered, burnished then the design was scratched through (sgraffito, then saggar fired to ∆04.
sgraffito bird, 1990.
The neck protruded above the burned materila in the saggar and wasn’t embedded with carbon.
pointed tail bird, 1990, 20x26x18 cm,
burnished terracotta, saggar fired, ∆04.
proud bird, 1990, 21 cm h,
thrown, altered, burnished porcelain, carbon fired, ∆04.
pterodactyl, 1990, 36 cm h,
thrown, altered, burnished terracotta, saggar fired at ∆04.
pterodactyl, 1990.
the designs on the body were made by painting a wax resist on the burnished clay before it was saggar fired.
flared cap bird, 1990, 30x34x29 cm.
thrown, altered, burnished porcelain, saggar fired, ∆04.
flared cap bird, 1990.
In this case there was no attempt to control the carbon patterns, which were all gratuitous, thanks to the grasses, etc. which were burned with it in the saggar.
‘bronze’ bird, 1990, 25x25x15 cm.
burnished terracotta, sgraffito design with glaze, fired to ∆04.
petroglyph bird, 1990, 28x25x23 cm.
thrown, altered, burnished terracotta, saggar fired, ∆04.
petroglyph bird, 1990.
here the images were applied using a high temp glaze over the burnished surface. The glaze didn’t melt in the firing, thus protecting the clay from the carbon to show the ‘cave paintings’.
petroglyph bird, 1990,
thrown, altered terracotta, 28 cm high, burnished, saggar fired ∆04.
soaring hummer, 1990, 42x32x18 cm
thrown, altered, burnished porcelain, saggar fired, ∆04.
soaring hummer, 1990, 42 cm h.
this one was highly burnished and the carbon sank deep for a velvety black sheen.
flyingbird ewer, 1990, 27 cm h.
thrown, altered, burnished terracotta, fired to ∆04. The design of ‘flying birds’ was achieved by applying melted sugar to the surface, which was then carbonized (burned in) with a blowtorch.
raku dove, 1990, 26 cm high
thrown, altered, burnished terracotta, some raku glaze applied, then saggar fired at ∆04.
lady, 1990, 25 cm long
thrown, altered clay, burnished, saggar fired, ∆04
lady, 1990, 25 cm long
thrown, altered clay, burnished, saggar fired, ∆04
hunter, 1990, 44 cm long,
thrown, altered clay, burnished, carbon fired, ∆04
hunter, 1990, underside,
much work carving and burnishing all the detail on both sides.
rooster, 1990, 35 cm high
thrown, altered, burnished terracotta, selected glazes on comb and tail, low fired, ∆04. (not in the exhibition)
loon, 1990, 35 cm h.
thrown, altered, burnished clay, brushed stain, unfired at time of photo.
dollar bird, 1990, 24 cm h.
thrown, altered, burnished clay, brushed glazes, unfired.
