There is a lot that can go wrong in pottery. Pots can go wonky on the wheel, crack during drying, get bumped by little kids that share the studio, or get subjected to a misbehaving glaze. And if a piece survives all that, it can simply blow up in the kiln. Its a crazy, stressful process to put yourself through again and again. To quote a good friend and fellow artist, "Hey, I really like this thing I just spent 40 hours on! ...I think I'll light it on fire now."
With all that uncertainty on the fate of our art, we Ceramicists share a common religion: we PRAY to the pottery gods. There are many of them; the god of water, the god of clay, the god of the humidity in the room. But most importantly, there is the KILN GOD who makes all this magic possible. I pictured him as a dragon like smoke creature with eyes that are useless in a usually dark kiln room. Pots MUST be sacrificed to him regularly. It is very important to keep him distracted...
This sketch is in pencil and then Photoshop. I wanted to make it much more complicated, but it's my bedtime. I also have lots of ideas for the other pottery gods. Eh, I'll get to them someday I guess.
HEY! Did you know I have a gallery show opening in 3 weeks?
He's just toying with that mug!
ReplyDeletenom nom nom nom nom
DeleteAwesome work. Loved hearing your thought process behind the whole thing too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ben! Can't Wait to see yours
DeleteI love it...I'm a sucker for gray tone work. Are the textures done on the piece or PS?
ReplyDeleteThe god of the kiln is an angry and vengeful god, one who I have angered many times, it's nice to finally put a face to the deity that causes so much suffering.
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