muddypyro

[muddypyro]

not sure how other folks get physically/emotionally/whateverly recharged but this is how i do! went to my lifelong favorite local natural wonder this morning, Zoar Valley!

was hoping to rummage the creek shores for fossils, crystalline rocks and local clay/minerals for upcoming work... unfortunately the creek access is closed for construction! of all things! but when a beautiful place becomes popular, a naturally dangerous getaway can become deadly. in the years past, this has sadly been the case, and while i am fully supportive of safer access for as many individuals to enjoy the simple purity of nature as possible, it's terribly sad to see concrete slabs thrust into the last few untouched natural places here. the majority of coming here through the years was the reward of visual slender accessible through a precariously rigorous hike up and down the gorges. a tough situation for sure, and i will be looking for alternative locations to creek hike 🤷

that said, this is from my second favorite part of the area, north of the winding creek. this brings a roughly 5/6 mile hike and is such an uplifting place to soak in the earth around. truly a forever source of creative inspiration too.

#hiking #spring has sprung #spring #lichen #recharge #forest

[muddypyro]

see you there!

#sale #pottery #wheelthrownpottery #ceramics #full time artist #functional pottery #muddypyro #crystalline #porcelain

[muddypyro]

IDK about any of you but i couldn't be more excited about the total solar eclipse tomorrow! feeling extra fortunate that my studio has front row seats for over 3 minutes of totality 😎

now it's all about the cloud forecast, which is usually overcast thanks to lake weather plus springtime... but that's ok! cloudy or not, it's going to be a powerful and rare experience that's greatly affected humans and wildlife throughout history. being part of sharing a special rare celestial moment is quite humbling.

to celebrate, i will be hosting a sale on my website next week when all the festivities are over and those traveling can safely return home. So stay tuned for an official announcement on that and hope everyone is ready for a really fun day tomorrow!

wishing safe travels for those on the move to witness this, and same for those staying put within totality like me where an insane influx of tourists are expected to create gridlock!

#pottery #ceramics #eclipse #path of totality #sale #april 8 2024 #wny

[muddypyro]

the March 28th firing was really great, and here's the indisputably best teapot to come from it

it's the one that broke and haphazardly repaired while loading into the first bisque firing! ha!

the glaze turned out so wonderfully. gorgeous macro and micro crystals in envious shades of greens, yellows, blues and all the pond scum to pass around!

#teapot #pottery #ceramics #clay #wheelthrownpottery #porcelain #crystal growing #chemistry #blue #green #yellow #crystalline #crystalporn #functional pottery

[muddypyro]

another firing commenced last week and the crystal development temp holds managed to coincide with a series of strong solar flares!

therefore, let's say that made this batch all the better;

haha oops! just not for that one teapot.

to be fair the affected handle had fallen off twice before bisquing and hadn't been given much hope to survive while the remaining problematic parts did.

but there's some sweet iridescence to make up for it

more detail shots and fancy photoshoots coming this week. then back to the wheel for making the next batch...

#pottery #ceramics #wheelthrownpottery #porcelain #crystal growing #glaze testing #chemistry #functional pottery #iridescent #crystalline #crystalporn

[muddypyro]

Have you ever considered making ash trays? I think they would look really cool

the thing is, back in school i heard a lot about how making ceramic ash trays was akin to cooking a steak well done, as in being a major disrespect to the "art" of it. seeing as i am all about trying to replicate sewage, pond scum and bacterial/fungal effects in crystalline glazes, i think this is a great idea! best part is they could be made not only as an ash tray but also to test new recipes (not requiring ultimate corrosion resistance or be safe to eat/drink from)

plus it's still functional and used quite often, so pretentiousness be damned!

I like this idea, thanks!

and thinking with the stable glazes to make matching pipes/bongs/bubblers/etc. should be explored too.

#ask #pottery culture #suggestion

[muddypyro]

new work is now live on the webshop, go take a look!

#smallbussinessowner #pottery #ceramics #wheelthrownpottery #porcelain #crystal growing #artists on tumblr #functional pottery #tea bowl #bowl #yunomi #cup #vase #iridescent #crystalporn #muddypyro

[muddypyro]

taking pics, organizing things, measuring measurements... all to be ready for the webshop update tomorrow!

so here's some closeups of crystals grown just this past week

this recipe much prefers the new firing schedule!

[these are hanging out on cups and teabowls for sale tomorrow]

also this

the Nuclear Fallout_Radiation Haze recipe likewise prefers the new and longer temp holds. and these are hanging out on two vases included tomorrow that will be waiting for a new forever home.

can you taste the fucking rainbow?

#pottery #ceramics #porcelain #glaze testing #crystal growing #chemistry #iglazeperiodically #iridescent #rainbow #functional pottery #webshop #new work

[muddypyro]

didn't realize until halfway through the day that it's the spring equinox for us northern hemisphere folk, despite being quite snowy outside! entirely ready for nature to bloom back into life soon and get some serious hiking in to nourish the mind and soul 🤗🏞️

know what else is cool? just unloaded the best damn glaze firing to date. still wrapping my head around how well the new firing schedule and recipes went. here's a lil peek of 3 new recipes!

😭😭 i am not worthy of such beauty.

oh and a few new cups/yunomis, bowls and vases from this firing did so well they'll be included with the shop update this Friday the 22nd!

check it out! 👇

#pottery #ceramics #clay #porcelain #glaze testing #crystal growing #chemistry #crystalporn #iridescent #iglazeperiodically #🌈 #iridesence

[muddypyro]

do the thing 💯

poll results were far less active than hoped for, but regardless gives some nice direction when transitioning from glaze mode back to making sometime next week. thanks for your input!

also;

without question the most colorful batch of raw glaze tests to date. thrilled to see what effects and colors these turn up. loading up the kiln for a new crystalline schedule that will start this evening [just wrapping up glazing of good work!]

also also gave myself an overdue mental holiday yesterday by visiting a museum near me with my awesome nephews, sister and brother in law. spotted this show stopper and was instantly swoon. did some research and found a chemical analysis of a similar version of this original glaze that can be used as a foundation for replicating with modern components. got a recipe sorted out that *may* compare with some theoretical tweaks to best perform in an oxidation-based setting. will test that out for today's firing if there's enough time to weigh it out, or in the very least will see how it goes during the next glaze run the following week.

look how pretty it is 🤩

#pottery #ceramics #clay #glaze testing #crystal growing #full time artist #chemistry #iglazeperiodically #🌈 #song dynasty #celadon #porcelain

[muddypyro]

there's still time to maybe steer destiny, do the thing and vote the good vote!

while you do the easy part, here's my end 👇

everything from the bisque survived including all 12 teapots! currently weighing out ~42 new test recipes, some featuring fun new oxides like erbium and molybdenum! gonna grow me some moly crystals 🔮. plenty of tungsten and bismuth as well! also a couple SiC-enhanced copper reds (localized reduction in an oxidation environment), some manganese gold brews and quite naturally several new recipe tweaks and entirely alternative crystalline attempts. half of what is pictured above will be glazed first, most likely this weekend?

lots of new coming soon i am so pumped 🌈

~march throwdown challenge~

looking for inspiration to make a new challenge for this month. last month set a goal for new teapot designs.

also, i would love to know what you all find most appealing and desirable in handmade pottery and decorative ceramics!

and as always go have a nice visit at

muddypyro.com/

#pottery #ceramics #wheelthrownpottery #artists on tumblr #glaze mixing #iglazeperiodically #porcelain #crystal growing #functional pottery #teapot

[muddypyro]

if anyone happens to be in the Boston, MA area between March 28 th and April 13 th, and you love pottery, stop over at the Mudflat Studio for the Cup Show that will be selling work from fantastic functional ceramic artists, juried and selected by a favorite artist of mine since school, Martha Grover!

added bonus it includes two pieces i made 🤗

go give these a new forever home, buy every last lovely cup available there and may your thirst forever be quenched 🥤

or not but at least stop by my running poll and be one of the fates directing my next pottery throwdown challenge. [tbh this may be a thing from now on because it just makes sense! it encourages me to discover new designs and also that you, future faithful consumer, is who gets to truly enjoy what's being made so it should be something you want. let's do this right 👍]

#pottery #ceramics #wheelthrownpottery #porcelain #crystal growing #artists on tumblr #crystalporn #functional pottery #cup #yunomi #art contest

[muddypyro]

got the kiln loaded up and it's now slowly climbing for a nice, easy going rise to 1945 °F

would like to have fit more in, as it would help everything cool more slowly/safely through quartz inversion and provide more glaze firings/save on cost of running the beast... but with the delicate appendages on these things, stacking them this way was the best bet.

continuing the trend, i managed to lob off a knob on one handle and super half-assed it back together with sodium silicate water, placing it back in like it never happened... too much time spent repairing these when they should have been scrapped to remake long before. definitely not expecting miracles but hey, why not still try?

also the hand thing in there is one of my lil shepherds joining the firing. they've survived multiple bisque and glaze runs, keeping watch over the flock during the inferno 🤗 made these back in '13 for a mold making project. a hand-sculpted hand that was cast in plaster to slip cast my hand for sculpting.

well here we go 🫳🔥🫖🤞

#pottery #ceramics #wheelthrownpottery #porcelain #teapot #handmade

[muddypyro]

~march throwdown challenge~

looking for inspiration to make a new challenge for this month. last month set a goal for new teapot designs.

also, i would love to know what you all find most appealing and desirable in handmade pottery and decorative ceramics!

and as always go have a nice visit at

muddypyro.com/

#pottery #ceramics #wheelthrownpottery #porcelain #clay #full time artist #functional pottery #throwdown #art challenge #artists on tumblr

[muddypyro]

psa:

gravity is real and is everywhere and does this

well more like it was me. i just dropped Tripod Teapot 2.0

revised PSA:

i am constantly clumsy plus this is a great example of the joy that making pottery brings 🥰

now an even dozen are in final stages of drying before the first inferno.

... and that's ceramics, folks!

[curtain falls, breaking something else]

#ceramics #fail #pottery #teapot #clumsy #wheelthrownpottery #porcelain #clay #sometimes things just happen and it doesn't always need to be defined as good or bad or need a greater meaning and that's ok too

[muddypyro]

so much repair effort in half of these fucks but everything is just about good now and it's all patient drying for another two or so days before the first stay in the kiln!

and now that I can actually count there's 13 of them, not 12, and they can't wait to cause more headaches to glaze but hey that's ceramics for ya.

oh and I acid etched these tests and uuugghhh it just got better

~~~~~~

shortly after that [next week?] i'll do a glaze run including about 50 new recipes to test and a new firing schedule so idk about you but that's very exciting.

🫖

#pottery #ceramics #wheelthrownpottery #porcelain #artists on tumblr #teapot #🫖 #new work

[muddypyro]

long story short teapot challenge: failed.

oops!

did make 12 of 20 though and finally played around with magic water mending things far too dry.

update on that later though.

now is the time for crystals;

all from the same glaze. good variety in this one.

but these...

two newer ash-based glazes from the Ash Lust line are provoking lots of potential

#pottery #ceramics #glaze testing #crystal growing #chemistry #i glaze periodically