Category Archives: Uncategorized

Carl Judson runs Judson Pottery, a commercial ceramic studio located on the Phantom Canyon Ranch 20 miles north of Ft. Collins, Colorado. Carl mines his own glaze materials from mineral deposits on ranch property. He offered to show me where he found his materials and how he prepares them for glazing. “It’s not difficult toContinue reading “Mining Glaze Materials in Colorado”

I ran into Juan Barroso’s ceramic art in a recent copy of Ceramics Monthly. I reached out to him and asked if he would be interested in a discussion about his work and influences. Juan was gracious enough to spend some time answering my questions. Juan’s labor-intensive artwork is intertwined with his family story andContinue reading “Juan Barroso – Artist Profile”

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Disclaimer: this post is definitely high on the nerd-ometer scale. In an earlier post, I described how clay tokens found in ancient Mesopotamia were used as religious souvenirs. I got interested in these early tokens and did some research, ultimately stumbling into a book entitled, “How Writing Came About” by Denise Schmandt-Besserat. The thesis ofContinue reading “Clay Tokens and The Origin of Writing”

Anna-Marie Magson is a ceramic artist living and working in York, England. Originally trained as a painter, Anna-Marie has over the years moved a lot of her creative focus to ceramics. You will see, however, that her ceramics retain a lot of painterly qualities. Anna-Marie also continues to paint and to work with collage. IContinue reading “Anna-Marie Magson – Artist Profile”

I purchased these three clay souvenir tokens outside a religious shrine in Thailand. I’ve seen similar clay souvenirs in other Asian countries and in Latin America. I’ve used them as press molds in larger ceramic pieces that I’ve built. They exude a certain aura of the divine, subtle yet unmistakable. When using one of theseContinue reading “Religious Souvenir Tokens”

Yana Payusova was born in Leningrad, USSR. She was trained as a painter at the St. Petersburg Fine Art Lyceé, and received her MFA from the University of Colorado at Boulder after immigrating to the U.S. Yana exhibits her work nationally and internationally. Her paintings and ceramics incorporate symbols of folk art, Russian icons, graphicContinue reading “Yana Payusova – Artist Profile”

After listening to a webinar on Mimbres Pottery, offered through the Crow Canyon Archeological Center on June 11 (available as a YouTube recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKReeOR_6e8), I contacted Dr. Lekson to ask some questions about topics he discussed. Dr. Lekson referred me to the Mimbres Pottery Images Digital Database (MimPIDD), a digital collection of Mimbres potteryContinue reading “Mimbres Pottery Database (MimPIDD)”

In May 2019, I attended the “Big Pot Workshop & Pig Roast” at Judson Pottery in northern Colorado. Master potter Dan Toberer demonstrated his construction of large clay amphora which he sells to craft breweries. Tim Barry, a partner with Dan in Omaha, NE’s “Hot Shops Art Center” lead a discussion ranging from technical topics onContinue reading “Big Pot Workshop”

The Kumortuli district of Kolkata (previously known as Calcutta), India, is famous for manufacturing clay gods and goddesses for Indian festivals. The district is large and houses multiple workshops where clay figures, decorative motifs, and platforms to transport finished clay idols. Villagers in towns throughout the region carry these painted gods and goddesses through theContinue reading “Kumortuli District of Kolkata”

Crow Canyon Archeological Center will offer a webinar on June 11, 2020 entitled, “Mimbres: Dimples, Slip-Slop, and Clapboard – What They Are and Why They Matter” with Dr. Steve Lekson. Dr. Lekson, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Colorado in Boulder, will discuss the art and techniques of Mimbres potters who thrived in southwesternContinue reading “Mimbres Pottery Webinar”