About Me and My Work

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 – pots that I thought of as throw-away have turned out to be the most successful. 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.

My 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, and a one-on-one firing workshop with Linda McFarling.

Of importance to me:

Accidental effects: The exciting world of accidental effects was introduced 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.

For several reasons, I did not want to do soda or salt Then a friend contacted me about a firing workshop with Malcolm Davis on carbon trapping. Both of us went, and the rest was history for me. Here were the accidental effects that I was hoping to achieve with salt or soda, only they were more dramatic.

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 forms. I learned to alter forms in a controlled way. She got me throwing much lighter pots (told me my pitcher was heavy as lead). And I learned to throw feet – which with rare exceptions is the only 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 identify what works or doesn’t work, no matter if we like the pot or not. I developed ideas that are central to my current work.

Neil Patterson Expanded 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 is one of the funniest men I know, and at the same time profound. His slide presentation is the only one I have seen in which the potter shows the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Mastery and Continuous Growth

I had a gap of about 20 years in which I did not pot. When I returned to potting in 2006, I realized how important it is to keep myself energized and excited with what I am producing and the ideas I am exploring. Consequently, my hope is that my pots will grow, change and improve over time. Technically, I am not quite where I was 20 years ago, but I am getting there. Esthetically, I have improved. I hope you enjoy my work as much as I do.

If you are interested in seeing my studio or more of my pots, or being on my email list for open studios and other events:

Contact Lou Raye