Another Step Closer
I finally have the first indications that defying gravity is just around the corner. Months ago I envisioned incorporating cool colors into my work that are scientifically impossible. Because I fire my work in an oxidation atmosphere, at temperatures approaching 2350 Fahrenheit, most bright colors burn out. In this atmosphere, the stable colors are generally greens, browns, and blues. This is why the colors you see most frequently from ceramic artists are variations of these three colors. While those colors can be very beautiful, they simply are not enough for me.
For a few years now, I have been creating work in reds, yellows, purples, oranges; along with the traditional colors mentioned earlier. This project, however, has been about incorporating these colors in deeper, richer hues. It has also been about adding a medium to my work that will add these rich colors with the look of glass. The tiny little problem has been that medium I am adding is completely fluid until it firms up. But I am getting closer.
Last week, I pulled new work out of the kiln and finally began to defy gravity. Tiffany blue and the deepest purple married in this piece and fluid medium lived in a vertical state.
