About Me and My Work
Lou Raye and Grandson Henry
After exploring many avenues of producing ceramics I have settled on working in porcelain and trapping carbon in shino glazes. The beauty of the effects created by this method can be breathtaking. Their unpredictability can be humbling . I had to change the way I make pots and produce much simpler forms because of the complexity of the glazes. However, I am always pushing to see how much is too much.
Atmospheric effects:
The exciting world of atmospheric effects was opened to me with salt firings at Penland. I loved the way salt picked out lines, changed glazes, and dropped kiln buggers. I was later introduced to Gay Smith’s soda fired porcelain and the beautiful flashing she achieves. Her work was the impetus for my beginning to work in porcelain. Then a friend contacted me about a firing workshop with Malcolm Davis on carbon trapping. We went, and the rest was history for me. Here were the atmospheric effects that I was hoping to achieve with salt or soda, only more dramatic.
Training
B.S. (Hons) in Ceramic and Metal Design at Manchester Polytechnic, Manchester England. Plus numerous workshops at The Arts and Crafts Association, Winston-Salem, NC, Penland, Shakerag, La Meridiana and a one-on-one firing workshop with Linda McFarling.
Atmospheric effects:
The exciting world of atmospheric effects was opened to me with salt firings at Penland. I loved the way salt picked out lines, changed glazes, and dropped kiln buggers. I was later introduced to Gay Smith’s soda fired porcelain and the beautiful flashing she achieves. Her work was the impetus for my beginning to work in porcelain. Then a friend contacted me about a firing workshop with Malcolm Davis on carbon trapping. We went, and the rest was history for me. Here were the atmospheric effects that I was hoping to achieve with salt or soda, only more dramatic.
Training
B.S. (Hons) in Ceramic and Metal Design at Manchester Polytechnic, Manchester England. Plus numerous workshops at The Arts and Crafts Association, Winston-Salem, NC, Penland, Shakerag, La Meridiana and a one-on-one firing workshop with Linda McFarling.
Photographic Transfers
My husband Brian Nichol is a photographer. Several years ago, I was inspired by one of his portraits to put his images on my pots. But I didn't know how to do it. Last year Penland offered a one-week course run by Kate Missett on photographic transfers. I jumped at it, and learned the process I needed in the first day. It was easy - but not simple. My main concern was that if the pots were re-fired in an electric kiln to fix the photograph, they would lose carbon. I was delighted to find that the carbon - while changed, was not lost and was sometimes enhanced.
I have been having great fun experimenting with different photographs on plates and oval vase forms. The biggest challenge is to get the right photograph in relation to the carbon patterns. Ironically I have been having difficulty with oval forms getting too much carbon to accommodate the photographs.
Teachers
I have been fortunate to have some great teachers at just the right time.
Cynthia Bringle in 1973 at Penland challenged me in a number of ways. I learned to be less precious about my pots and to alter forms. She got me throwing much lighter pots (told me my pitcher was heavy as lead). I learned to throw feet – which with rare exceptions is the way I make feet now.
Stephen Rolf A wonderful teacher who spent a lot of time talking to us about our ideas. He challenged us to deepen our critical eye and think in terms of what works as opposed to what we like. I developed ideas that are central to my current work.
Neil Patterson Extended my horizons with handbuilding from thrown work. I learned so many tricks of construction, and for the first time made teapots that fit together visually.
Malcolm Davis Carbon trapping. What more can I say, except that Malcolm was one of the funniest men I know, and at the same time profound. His slide presentation was the only one I have seen in which the potter shows the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Affiliations:
Three Friends, Pots and Potters
Seagrove Pottery
ClayWorks Guild
Triangle Potters Guild
If you would like to visit my studio, see more of my pots, or get on my email list for shows, contact me below:
Photographs by Rebecca Ashley