Black Fish Pottery - in Grad School

If New York State splits, who wins?

2010-09-09T06:35:00.000-07:00

Take this survey!

BCG Matrix

2010-03-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

Cool Motion Chart Tool

2010-02-05T06:09:00.000-08:00

Trend CompassMotion charts: a bit nerdy, but really fascinating.

Tanzania

2010-02-04T13:03:00.001-08:00

Neema Crafts

Clothesline Festival

2009-09-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

I am excited to be taking part in an upcoming art show:The Clothesline Festival in Rochester.My booth space is # 323, which you can find by looking at this map of the Memorial Art Gallery parking lot and booth spaces layout.Included below are links to albums of some of the work I will be selling. More images can be found on my picasaweb photo gallery.CupsFish Mug ProjectTea Sets and

Somali Pirates

2009-03-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

In the fall of 2008 I had the opportunity to sit in on a community organization and development class at Houghton. I especially enjoyed the sections on artisan fisheries. So when I started reading about the increase in piracy in Somalia on the news, I decided to read a little more.According to one report, the piracy began to be a problem about 10 years ago when, due to the lack of government

Fish Aggregating Mugs

2009-01-21T06:54:00.000-08:00

From Fish Mug ProjectHere is an opportunity for sustainable international development to intersect with culturally eclectic art forms. In the fisheries industry, the term "Fish Aggregating Device" relates to a kind of human-made alternative to a coral reef, which provides shelter for small fish, and in turn attracts schools of pelagic species like tuna. A little over ten years ago I had the

New Tea Set

2009-01-17T09:54:00.001-08:00

I finished this tea set in the spring of 2008. The glaze is a light iron blue celadon applied over a cobalt and iron-bearing stoneware slip. From Tea Sets and Stuff

Fish Mugs - January 2009

2009-01-17T09:45:00.000-08:00

Recently I've been working on these fish mugs. What, you may ask, is the significance of fish? Well... Jesus ate them, so they must be good. I read it on the internet.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-29T07:09:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Houghton's 125th

2008-09-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

I just finished up a commission of special mugs for Houghton College's upcoming 125th anniversary.

My Book: Bottles to Beads

2008-09-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

I just wrote a book! Ever since returning from Iringa I knew I needed to write up something to collect my impressions, thoughts and reflections on my experience at Neema Crafts. Well, I did it. First edition has just been sent to the printer. Writing it has made me realize that there is so much more that I want to say than can be said, so there might be a second edition, eventually. But for

Fall 2008

2008-09-07T12:58:00.000-07:00

I'm spending the months of September and October making pottery again, working in the studio as a research assistant, and building up an inventory of materials, and working on a few commissions.While working as a research assistant for the Houghton Art Dept, I hope to produce a good self-glazing clay body recipe that can be made from simple ingredients readily available to any organization like

What's New?

2008-07-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

This summer I've taken a bit of a break from production pottery and am teaching Swahili for Upward Bound and taking some business courses on the side in preparation for graduate studies in international economic development. I'm interested in microfinance and microenterprise, especially related to arts and crafts industries in the developing world. Perhaps one day I'll be doing back in Indo

Shanga za Chupa

2008-05-06T20:45:00.000-07:00

One of the finished products that came out of the Bottles to Beads project at Neema Crafts. Currently we're working on getting distributors and marketing the finished jewelry.

Deep Calls to Deep

2008-04-30T07:38:00.000-07:00

"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the seas into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses." - Psalm 33:6-7 This is a piece I've been working on. It's cooling down in the salt kiln as I write this. Can't wait to see how it comes out. It's size removes it from the realm of utilitarian vessels, but its form

Back in the Studio

2008-04-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

Upon returning from Tanzania in February, I have been volunteering as a studio assistant again in return for facilities access. To get back into the groove of throwing again I began with a series of mugs and a few larger bowls. A little later I received a commission to do some customized mugs with sprig molds. Some of the work was fired in the gas kiln but I also did a salt-firing. Most went

Bottles to Beads in Review

2007-11-21T06:16:00.000-08:00

In retrospect I did not blog well from Tanzania. Neema Crafts is a very successful development initiative and with continued good management it will continue to do the good work well. Volunteering there was challenging, thought provoking, and a source of personal growth. I've never been in a work environment quite similar to it, and the people there are full of life and joy. Don't let the

Kiln

2007-10-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

We've been working on the kiln a lot this week.As Hosea said, "Imepinda kama nyoka," but I think she'll stand.Also, I've included a picture of some of the kiln-formed beads the Bottles-to-Beads workshop has produced.

Cool Bike

2007-09-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

By the way, Black Fish Pottery is on the road again--this time by means of a pretty Cool Bike. Well, kind of a piece of junk really, but she gets me around.

Working on the Kiln

2007-09-21T22:14:00.000-07:00

We've started working on the kiln and I took just a few photos of it. When it's done, hopefully the oil-drip burners will be able to run off used motor oil, hopefully eliminating the need for firewood. In this picture Jeremia and Hosea are working on the kiln.Here is a detail of the metal plates where the oil willl be burned.

Kiln Plans.

2007-09-19T05:27:00.000-07:00

Been drawing up some kiln plans for Neema Crafts. It's a small oil drip kiln for low-temperature firing purposes. It has to be able to melt down soft glass (bottle glass) in molds for making beads. To make the holes in the beads, the guys at Neema take the beads out while they're hot and soft, and punch holes in them with awls.

Coral Cup

2007-02-26T14:18:00.000-08:00

Ah, matey! Dredged up something from the bottom of the ocean have we?After the salt firing, some of the thinner threads of slip-coated fiberglass either burnt, melted, or dissolved away.Worth trying again? Definitely.

Celadon and Tenmoku Dinner Set

2007-02-26T06:08:00.000-08:00

A dinnerware set I finished recently.The glaze combination is an iron-rich Tenmoku Glaze applied over an Iron-Blue Celadon glaze. The celadon recipe I used was Elain Coleman's recipe as published in Ceramics Monthly.If you click on the picture it will take you to my Flickr photos, where there are more pictures available for viewing and download.

Triaxial Blend

2007-02-20T07:49:00.000-08:00

Finally, a published glaze test.Interested in using natural materials, I've been experimenting with wood ash and clay from a local creek, and a feldspar (Canadian Nepheline Syenite).My greatest surprise was in the tile in the bottom right corner, which had the largest percentage of nepheline syenite. To see a larger image , click on the picture. Here is a second set of tests. Click to see a

Work in Progress

2007-02-07T13:22:00.000-08:00

Sculptural MugCup thrown with fiberglass wedged into cone 10 B-Mix, fiberglass cloth dipped in slip and applied to exterior of form, various slips and engobes applied when leather hard.

Upcoming Glaze Tests

2007-01-24T07:52:00.000-08:00

Currently working with glaze tests using local red clay and wood ash, fired to cone 10 in reduction.Will post photos after the firing.

Blue and Tenmoku Tea Set

2006-12-08T14:49:00.001-08:00

Blue and Tenmoku Tea Set Originally uploaded by Nyong.This is a tea set from the recent salt-firing. I glazed it with a blue engobe and a Tenmoku glaze, then fired it to cone 10 in a salt kiln.