Buoys and Light Fixtures

Next on my timeline is Haystack 2012, TA for Sarah Jaeger. I got the scholarship again, for which I am very grateful. Different from the first two times at Haystack, this was a one-week workshop, instead of two. This particular workshop was my second choice when applying. Lesson learned, don’t give them a second choice, and you may be more likely to get your first… That said, I still learned a lot and it was good all-in-all. It was mostly geared towards wheel throwing, which was a good refresher in that, and Sarah is an incredible and highly skilled potter. Her work is finely made and she is a true master, every step of the way. She was great to work with, and I was reminded a lot from her demos about mechanics of throwing and designing specific functions in pots. Her experience making a living as a studio potter for thirty years is truly admirable, and was very valuable for me to hear her talk about. Also, as usual I met lots of great people and the other TAs were great potters who I learned from as well (Nicole Aquillano and Billy Allen). The slide lectures from all the instructors, and sometimes Haystack staff, were indeed impressive as usual. Hoss Haley, Stefanie Rocknak, Joyce Scott, and Collette Fu, Kiristina Logan, and Monica Wood, are all amazing artists. 

"Buoy Bowl" Porcelain, H. 3.5", Shoham Arad, 2013. 

Two other projects I would like to mention as part of my ceramics journey are the Buoy Bowls and the infamous ‘chandelier.’ The Buoy Bowl is a design idea created by a NYC based designer named Shoham Arad. She approached me a couple years ago with the deflated, rubber nautical buoy and asked if I could make it in porcelain… Eventually this happened, and now there are some at Steven Allen in New York and on the web. Interesting experience here - certainly worth my while if looked at as a learning experience, however not as a way to get rich, so far anyways. The form is hollow cast in porcelain and fired to cone 10. 

“Untitled Chandelier”, Copper, porcelain, brass, LEDs, sockets, electrical wire, H. 78’’, W. Josiah Glover &
Austin P. Smith, 2013.

This gives you an idea of what time of year we are in here.

And what kind of an electrical situation we were faced with.

The chandelier is a collaboration/custom/commission/learning experience with J Glover Designs, which was finally completed this past winter. Long story short, it is currently for sale, so please contact me or Josiah if you or someone you know is interested in showing or purchasing it! A beautiful piece - industrial yet abstract, refined, and highly functional. The design and skilled craftsmanship of Josiah Glover is something to be noted for sure. Copper tubing bent to perfection, hand spun copper caps for the porcelain fixtures, and an ingenious mechanism for securing the fixtures and wiring the bulbs (dim-able LEDs) to the apparatus. The egg shaped porcelain globes stem from design ideas and preferences of the former client, as well as numerous brainstorms between Josiah and me. We settled on a simple, non-pointed form, including structural compound curves for maximum strength, ideal for high-firing such thin, porcelain castings. We incorporated mold parting-lines into the design, to be revealed only when the lights are on. It is only when the lights come on that each globe exposes its uniqueness. The flawless, smooth, celadon glaze compliments the copper very nicely during the daytime hours.