Green Man: Winter

Green Man - Winter: Gene Pluhar

I think most of us have heard (or, perhaps, even used) the phrase "Old Man Winter". While the face I used for Winter in my Green Man/Woman series is not of what I would call and "old man", it is definitely the face of an "older" person, a quality further conveyed by the face's beard. I was able to acquire a facial cast of my first pottery teacher, Gene Pluhar, who - at the time (and likely still the case now, although I'm not certain) - had a full beard and mustache. I had originally planned to use his face for a wall fountain idea I had (and may someday return to) featuring a face of Poseidon, Greek god of the sea. Using his face for Winter was a logical progression.

I used a couple of techniques to convey the sense of the coldest season in this mask. No ladybugs, obviously, and instead of having no acorns or immature or ripe acorns, I made some acorn caps to add to the tips of the three "branches". I made a small acorn nut, which I then fired and keep in a safe place (it's very easy to misplace) and I form the caps over it, as the wet clay will not stick to the still-porous bisque-fired "nut". The caps are carefully attached (remembering they can easily collapse if pinched too tightly) as the full acorns were attached in the Summer and Autumn masks, by gently scoring one section of the cap, slipping it and then attaching it securely.

Detail of acorn caps

When deciding where the branches go on all of these faces, I often use the mask's brow as a guide, using the branch to "echo" the eyebrow or the brow ridge. I usually only use two branches in these compositions - one on either side of the face, one of them arching up over the eyes onto the forehead - but because there are no leaves to "fill in" the Winter composition and it looks excessively bare with only two main branches, I decided to include an additional "sub-branch" to fill in some space high on the forehead. The placement of the branches in relation to the hanging holes is more critical in this design, as there are no leaves to further mask them; in this case, I used a cluster of acorn caps to help conceal the hanging hole and wire on the left side of the face, while a branch was sufficient on the right.

I also wanted to create the sense of "frostiness" on the face, including the facial hair (beard, mustache, eyebrows) and the upper surfaces of the branches and caps (frost usually hits the top side of an object first). In the first few iterations, I used Amaco Sierra High Fire Glaze White, but was not entirely satisfied with the results - they weren't quite "frosty" enough. In working with Crackle White raku glaze, I had learned that most white glazes are not at all opaque but are, rather, translucent, so that they pick up some of the color of the underlying clay body. Because I was using a reddish clay body (to give the faces some natural warmth), the white really wasn't coming up "white" but kind of pinkish.

Detail of eyebrow and branch

My eventual solution was to brush white stoneware slip on the places I would want to be frost after finishing fabricating the piece before it was dry. The downside of this is I must make some of my glazing decisions before the piece is even bisque fired, but it has worked well: the "frosty" areas actually look pretty white and... frosty!

Once again, I use Burnt Umber to stain the branch and caps. I am very careful in applying and sponging it off so as not to get it on the "frosted" portions; it's nearly impossible to remove all stray oxide should that occur, thereby minimizing the impact of the "frosting". (Additional white slip cannot be successfully applied to the piece after bisque firing - it will not adhere.) As with the other masks in this series, this piece can be glaze-fired on a raw, untreated shelf, as there is no glaze near the bottom edge to vitrify.

Although it took a few years and several experiments to get this design "right", I've been very happy with my solution to the "frostiness" issue and, having resolved that issue satisfactorily, I later went on to create one piece incorporating aspects of all four seasons.

Green Woman: Autumn

Green Woman - Autumn: Cheryl M. English

Although I seldom use my face in my work, I decided to use it for the "Autumn" mask in the Green Man/ Woman series because the scale is similar to that of the face used for Spring (my friend Tia Nero) and I really like the Fall palette of colors - I am definitely a "Fall" in terms of my coloring, so I suppose there's a certain degree of synchronicity at work here as well.

One issue with the mold for my face - it has deteriorated a lot in the last 15-plus years and I can't make another. In that time, I have developed a sufficiently severe case of asthma that I am no longer comfortable having my entire face encased in plaster, forcing me to breathe solely through two straws inserted in my nose, although I'm entirely capable of breathing exclusively through my nose under "normal" circumstances. My friend Catherine tried twice to make a new cast and, after our second attempt, swore she was never going through that again! The cast I have is the cast I have, despite its decline; I've simply learned some strategies to minimize the evidence of its deterioration.

Detail of "knot" at base of chin

For the Autumn mask in the Green Man/Woman series, I decided to use Red Oak (Quercus rubra) leaves, to play on their relatively intense Fall color. I follow my general routine in preparing the mask in terms of casting, cleaning up and making holes for hanging the mask once complete. You'll notice on a lot of these that the portion of the mask above the forehead is often roughly broken or torn, in keeping with the naturalistic aesthetic I follow in much of my work, in which I try not to "overwork" the clay; I am, however, very careful to make sure the sides of the face and the chin are trimmed in such a way that they should lay roughly flat against the wall (or other surface).

I prepare the branches, rolling out coils and adding texture, then affixing them to the mask with a "knot" where they are joined under the chin. I find the pad of my thumb or one of my fingers is effective in not only making the final "join" for this step but also make for a very naturalistic appearance; I have often been asked how I put the "wood" on the clay, so I am successfully conveying the "idea" of an actual wooden branch in the pieces in which I use this technique. (Some folks react to the manner in which I drape my clay in some designs by thinking I must be working with leather!)

Detail of acorns

I select, fabricate and apply the leaves as in the other Green Man/Woman masks, using Red Oak leaves I easily find in my Detroit neighborhood. (Quercus rubra was one of the five trees the city used as street trees before the onslaught of the Emerald Ash Borer essentially extirpated all the ash trees in the city; now they are planting a greater variety of trees in a more random arrangement, rather than having whole streets plante with an arboricultural monoculture.) These can be a little tough to work with in the glazing process with their pointed lobes but I think, between their form and color I use to stain them, that they make an excellent contrast to the White Oak (Quercus alba) and Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor) leaves I use for Spring and Summer (respectively).

For the acorns, I use the same process as I use for the "immature acorns" I make for the Summer mask, just making the actual nut a bit larger to convey its maturity and proximity to ripeness. The acorns are plump and the caps don't fold down around the "nut" as much in the Summer acorns. They are fabricated and attached in exactly the same manner, just using more clay for the "nut". 

Detail of ladybug

I also usually include a ladybug on these pieces as the ladybugs are still active well into the Autumn. I also really like the contrast between the glossy glaze I use for the ladybug and the matte finish on the rest of thee pieces, including the untouched clay of the faces, which can show every "blemish" and "imperfection", which I think only serves to make these pieces even more visually interesting. I do admit to following some of the 17th century in placing the ladybug, such that it fulfills the role of a strategically placed "beauty mark".

Once the piece is bisque fired, I finish as with the other masks, using Hazelnut Mason Stain instead of Spring Green or Green-Ivy on the leaves. I like the warm reddish quality to this stain, which makes a great complement to the greens of Spring and Summer and the even more subdued palette I use for the final, Winter, mask in the series.

Libation Bowl

Spiral Libation Bowl

Just as I had had a table made by a welder I used to know, he had also made a Large Bird Bowl stand. The initial design he came up with consisted of a tripod formed from slightly bent stock (so it would look more organic) with curled feet. (The curled feet minimize the risk of damage to the surface on which the piece rests.) Subsequent designs were altered to more completely complement my Large Bird Bowl designs, leaving this stand to languish.

I decided this year to design a bowl specifically for this stand, incorporating spiral elements to complement the curved feet. This was an offshoot of my "Starry Night" Deluxe Sunflower design, translated and adapted to a new format.

Making these large bowls can be challenging. One key is to make sure it is consistently thick enough to minimize risk of warping through the drying and firing processes. It is also helpful to allow it to dry as slowly as possible to reduce the chances of cracking - I sometimes cover these pieces or was them, as appropriate, to make sure the clay has the opportunity to shrink consistently.

Detail of Spirals and Circle Cut-outs

Once I had fabricated the main bowl in the mold, I used my Kemper Klay Gun with the half-round die to make the "spirals" to decorate the inside of the bowl. (I use the triangular die to make the spirals on the "Starry Night" sunflowers.) I have discovered the best way to obtain long, continuous sections of extruded clay is to point the Klay Gun downwards; this way, there is less stress on the clay so it is less likely to break off and will be less inclined to spiral on its own, making it easier to manipulate.

Spiral Libation Bowl with Stand

I do not score the inside of the bowl because I don't really know how the spirals will be arranged in advance but I do slip it thoroughly - this way, I can nudge the pieces of clay making up the spirals around to adjust the curves to my satisfaction. I attach the wider base of the half-circle section to the bowl and gently curve them around, making large and small loops while retaining an undecorated area of consistent width around the rim of the basin.

Once all of the spirals are finished, I roll out a thin slab of clay and, using a half-inch round Kemper Klay Kutter, I cut out a number of circles, which I then score, slip and attach in the centers of the spirals and other interstices in the design, as with the "Starry Night" sunflowers, to add the final touch to the composition. The piece is allowed to dry slowly until leather hard, then removed from the mold and allowed to slowly dry until bone dry. I sand the form with synthetic steel wool, then fire slowly to Cone 06.

I wanted to combine a metallic finish with a more conventional glaze selection so, after thoroughly rinsing the piece to remove any dust, I first brushed on three coats of Amaco Potter's Choice Saturation Metallic on all of the spirals and flat circles making up the design in the basin. After these were completely dry, I brushed on a coat of wax resist. Once this had thoroughly dried - I find it best to wait six hours after application for optimal results, I poured Amaco's Potter's Choice Indigo Float over the entire piece, dabbing off the beaded-up glaze from the spirals and flat circles. I then fired it slowly to Cone 6 on three large stilts spaced around the center to minimize warping. (Placing one large stilt at the center doesn't seem to work very well on these large pieces, resulting in unfortunate and inconsistent warping of the pieces.) I could have avoided using stilts if I had waxed the bottom of the piece but, as I intended it to go into a stand such that the bottom would be visible, I opted to glaze the entire basin.

Dora assists

Once fired, I always allow kilns holding large pieces of this type to cool down below 200 degrees before even popping them open, thereby (theoretically) reducing the risk of fracturing as a result of thermal shock. (The kiln can be vented immediately after the firing is completed.) Once completely cooled, I use a Dremel to grind down the stilt marks.

Dora generously assisted us in shooting the Spiral Libation Bowl when we finally got around to photographing it. The piece actually sold shortly thereafter at my 2012 Holiday Open House, albeit with a different stand - so I guess I'll be making another one soon!

Green Man: Summer

Green Man - Summer: Jose Vasquez

In creating the Four Seasons Green Men and Women, I had decided I wanted to use various faces to make up the series, faces representing different genders, different cultural background and different ages. I opted to use the cast of Jose Vasquez for Summer. Jose was one of my friend Jeanne Galloway's stock brokers who bravely allowed us to make a cast of his face. I like working with Jose's face because, although his features are very, very strong (as compared to the delicacy of Tia's features), they are, once again, completely balanced, from a strong brow and full, sensual lips to a unique aquiline nose, helped along by a stint as a bouncer.

Jose's face is, like many men's faces, much larger than Tia's so it could handle larger masses easily. I opted to use leaves from the Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor) for the Summer Green Man, with less deeply-cut lobes. In order to distinguish it from the other faces, I used a deeper green and added small, immature clay acorns.

Detail of Acorns

I follow the same process as for the Spring mask in terms of preparing the piece - casting; placing holes; applying branches; selecting, fabricating and applying leaves. To create the acorns, I roll out a rather thin slab of clay and, using a half-inch round Kemper Klay Kutter, cut out an odd number of circles, which I roll into balls. I lay a piece of burlap over the rest of the slab and roll it in to make some texture, then cut out an equal number of "caps" using a half-inch rosette Kemper Klay Kutter. Scoring and slipping the underside of the "caps", I secure them to each of the acorns, pushing the outer edges of the rosettes down securely. I then score and slip one section of each of the caps and attach them to the mask at the ends of the branches. I also sometimes include a ladybug on these pieces as well, as they are "seasonally appropriate".

Once bisque fired, I glaze the piece in the same manner as the Spring mask, with the exception that I use Green-Ivy (a deeper green) for the leaves and for the (immature) acorns, staining the caps with the same Burnt Umber used for the branches. The piece is fired as usual, the wire attached and it's ready to go!

Hanging Bird Bowl

Although my "first" love outdoors is probably the plants, it is tempered by the profound awareness they they are but one part (if, perhaps, the most critical part) of an overall web which includes the members of the animal kingdom. The relationships between plant and animal species are significant and, sometimes, exclusive, as the species evolved together in an intimate dance of interdependence. Every plant has at least *a* function in the natural world - the world in which it evolved - and often has many roles, none of which evolved for our particular benefit.

I am also profoundly aware of the degree to which we have altered the environment here in the continental United States, especially to the East of the Mississippi River, where less than five percent of the land mass can be characterized as "undeveloped". Just as our plant species have lost ground and, in some cases, have been extirpated from their native range, the animal species have suffered in turn, including everything from native insects through our birds and our mammals.

I am familiar with the fact that a bird will not get into a birdbath that is too deep for it. Furthermore, birds don't have pads like humans and many other mammals but must cling  solely with the help of their nails; sticking to a slippery glazed surface would not be an easy task. It was with an eye to providing something beautiful as well as highly functional that I designed my Hanging Bird Bowl to address both of these concerns.

Detail of Ladybug and Branch

I start out with a slab of clay which I slump into a mold, using an elephant-ear sponge and a rubber kidney to work it well in. I tear the edge of the clay bowl to create an irregular and naturalistic edge. Rolling out a coil of clay, I texturize it with a wooden tool or roll it on a textured surface to give it the appearance of bark as well as to give a more complex surface which will be easier for a bird to cling to. I then score and slip the coil and apply it to the bowl in an irregular, naturalistic fashion - smooth curves tend to look contrived whereas subtle bends seem to convey more the idea of a real wooden branch.

Rolling out another, thinner, slab of clay, I scrape away the canvas texture with the flat side of a metal kidney. I roll a large leaf into the clay and cut it out with a sharp tool. Scoring and slipping the underside of the leaf, I attach it to the bowl in such a way that it is cantilevered over the bowl, providing a secure perch for a bathing or drinking bird. (A small sponge or wad of newspaper can be used to prop a "floppy" leaf up until it dries sufficiently to stay in place on its own.)

Using a half-inch round Kemper Klay Kutter, I cut three holes in rim of the bowl, reserving one of the cut-outs to make a ladybug, as described in my previous post about the Spring Green Woman. AFter the piece is dried, I carefully sand the edges of the bowl and the leaf cout-out with synthetic steel wool so they are all smooth. (A sharp edge, once glazed, can become sharp enough to inflict a small cut.) The piece is then bisque fired.

Glazing is a seven step process. The "branch" is stained with Burnt Umber and the excess removed with a damp sponge. A Mason Stain of choice (in this case, Titanium Yellow) is applied to the leaf in the same manner. Three coats of Amaco Celebration Series Scarlet Red are applied to the ladybug's body and two coats of Amaco Sahara Black to the head and spots. Then the branch, leaf and ladybug are all coated with wax resist. Once that is completely dried, I glaze the entire bowl and fire on a stilt to Cone 6.

Detail of Branch and Lark's Head Knot

Once the piece is out of the kiln, I use a diamond grinding attachment to smooth the stilt marks on the bottom of the piece. (I could just as easily not glaze the bottom and not have to use stilts but, because the piece is designed to hang, I prefer to glaze the bottom as well.) Three five-foot lengths of leather lace (available in various colors, including Black, Beige, Tan, Medium Brown and Dark Brown, at Michael's stores) are folded in half and looped, one through each of the holes, and secured with a lark's-head knot. The three are joined together at their ends using an overhand knot. Your Hanging Bird Bowl is ready to hang from a small tree. Be sure to use a non-abrading hanging arrangement that will not injure the tree's cambium.

I also have a welder who makes custom-designed ring stands for these pieces for those folks who don't happen to have a convenient small tree.

Green Woman: Spring

Green Woman - Spring; Tia Nero

When I first started working with pottery, I had already had some studio art experience during my undergraduate days, when I did an Honors College project on lost-wax bronze casting. One of the pieces I made during that project was a mask of my boyfriend at the time, made from a plaster cast I had made after my friend Tim Mason showed me how. Although I am no longer with that boyfriend, I have kept the mask as it was actually quite successful

When I started the pottery in 1993, I soon returned to the mask motif, often influenced by my background in Art History and Archaeology. Natural motifs were also an important influence - as the offspring of a family of gardeners, plant themes and forms were a continual inspiration to me. I made some masks in which I pressed the clay into the mold, having placed leaves or flowers in it first; others involved applied decoration made using leaves. These last eventually evolved into my four-season series of Green Men and Women using leaves from native oak tree species and the faces of friends and acquaintances.

I wanted to retain a certain degree of botanical "truth" with these pieces, using seasonally-appropriate details and colors. I also wanted to have a certain degree of variety in the faces used, including gender, cultural background and overall features. The faces I enjoy working with most seem to have fairly balanced features, as well. There is also a definite synchronicity to my work, relating to everything from the leaves I associate with certain seasons to the stains and glazes I relate to different plants. This all comes into play with the Green Man and Woman faces.

When deciding which face to use for Spring, I found the delicacy of my friend Tia's features made for a rather fragile strength, which seemed to me perfect for the image of Spring. I opted for White Oak (Quercus alba) leaves stained in my own proprietary "Spring Green" Mason Stain (50% Titanium Yellow plus 50% Green-Ivy). I also decided to include a strategically-placed ladybug for a little additional color.

When creating these masks, I follow the same process for making the life cast and pulling the clay cast from it. I trim the back edge to get the desired "angle" for the way the face will hang and put holes for wire at about the point of the outside corner of each eye. Then, I roll out coils of clay for branches and, slipping and scoring these, apply them, wide end at the chin, framing the face, one usually ending above the eye on one side, the other up onto the forehead and over most of the brow. I join them together under the chin in a twisted "knot", making sure they will not pull away from the mask.

Detail of leaves.

Having selected a number of leaves (I try to use an odd number over all and select extras to allow for variations and to have a choice in the process), I roll out a relatively thin slab and, having removed the canvas surface with the flat edge of a metal kidney, roll them into the slab and cut them out with a very sharp tool. I try to have a range of sizes, keeping in mind that a smaller face needs smaller leaves overall. Having cut them all out, I start to play with arranging them on the branches on the face, working from largest at the bottom of the branches at the chin to smallest at the tip of the longer branch. Once I arrive at a satisfactory arrangement, I score, slip and attach them so larger leaves overlap smaller ones.

I sometimes use half-inch posts to support the leaves so they don't drop down to the plane of the kiln shelf on which I'm fabricating the piece, thereby minimizing the risk of breakage further on in the process. If I'm producing a number of these pieces, I'll often do so on large kiln shelves, creating two or three on a single shelf with an individual piece of newsprint under each one, so I can easily move them around without disturbing the individual pieces used to create a given work. I apply the leaves and branches so as to make sure the wire used to hang the piece will not be visible when it's completed.

Detail of Ladybug

I use four tools to make my ladybugs: a half-inch round Klay Kutter to cut the piece of clay out, which I then roll into an oval shape and then press lightly onto a flat surface to flatten the bottom; I use the curved end of a Kemper B-3 Clean-up Tool to make a line differentiating the head from the thorax; I use the back of a fettling knife to separate the back into the two wing cases; and I use the circular end of a small, inexpensive paint brush to put a spot on each wing case. I score and slip the underside and then attach to the mask.

After bisque firing, I apply water-based burnt umber solution to the "branches" and pull off the excess with a damp sponge. I then apply Spring Green Mason Stain to the leaves, following the same process. Three coats of Amaco Celebration Series Scarlet Red on the ladybug's thorax are followed by two coats of Amaco Sahara Black for the head and spots. Because there is no glaze on the piece except on the ladybug, it can be glaze fired on a clean, untreated shelf, to Cone 6.

I really enjoy these pieces, although they are a great deal of work, from collecting the leaves to the intricacies of the fabrication and glazing processes. I actually sold a set of four to one person who planned to hang them from the trees along her horse-back riding path - I thought that made for a great idea!

2013 Calendar of Events at Black Cat Pottery (Tentative)

Clematis pitcherii

Clematis Pruning Workshop


Saturday, April 27, 2013, 10:00am-12:00n

Long perceived as “difficult” or “temperamental”, Clematis are actually proven performers that can give years of gardening delight. Join us for a hands-on workshop to learn about the care and culture of these garden gems and specific pruning techniques and concerns for various species and hybrids. Bring your favorite (by-pass) pruners and a chair. $10 pre-paid/nonrefundable registration includes one hour of instruction, an hour of supervised hands-on experience, refreshments and a comprehensive hand-out . Pre-enrollment required, including your name and contact information in case of inclement weather. Limited enrollment. Two hours of education for Master Gardeners. Contact Cheryl at cenglish@blackcatpottery.com for additional information and to register.

Chris Hopp of Farmbrook Designs leading

the hypertufa planter workshop at the

2012 Summer Garden Tour

Annual Spring/Summer Garden Tours

Saturday, June 1, 2013, 10:00am-2:00pm

Saturday, August 17, 2013, 10am-2:00pm

Free and open to the public!

Cheryl's life-long love of Clematis and more recent obsession with native plants are both immediately apparent as you arrive at her garden.  Designed as a teaching and learning space rather than a design show-stopper, her garden includes over 50 Clematis, representing over 10 species as well as large-flowering hybrids, and over 180 species of native plants, ranging from Spring ephemerals to large trees.  Take advantage of this opportunity to become acquainted with some of the lesser-known small-flowering species Clematis varieties and the beauties of our native flora.  Cheryl's garden was featured in the July 2009 issue of Michigan Gardener and she penned the first article on native plants to appear in that publication, in May 2012. She has an upcoming article on Clematis in 2013 and another article on natives slated for 2014. We also feature local garden art, live music and refreshments, possibly chair massage "samples", as well as at least one hands-on workshop - last year's hypertufa planter workshop, led by Chris Hopp of Farmbrook Designs, was a huge success, so we'll be offering it again; we may also be offering the opportunity to work with local artist Christine Laikind to create a botanical monoprint or cyanoprint using plants from the garden. (There is a charge for the workshops. The rest of the event is free and open to the public.) The 2012 Summer Garden Tour was a great party, with over 100 folks enjoying the gardens, art and programs. Stay tuned for further developments! Contact Cheryl at cenglish@blackcatpottery.com for additional information and to register for the workshops.

Hot Pepper Tile Table with
Black Cat Pottery Manager,
Pandora Grace Diane ("Dora")

4th Annual Holiday Open House

December 7, 2013 (Saturday), 10:00am-4:00pm

Free and open to the public!

Join Cheryl English’s Black Cat Pottery and other Michigan-based artists for a day of holiday cheer. Meet the artists, enjoy holiday goodies and take care of your last-minute gift-giving needs with handmade art for the home and garden! In addition to Black Cat Pottery's garden-inspired creations, we’ll be sharing our studio space with five other local artists, including Don Schulte of Notable Greetings with his line of exquisite note cards and prints (many of them featuring images photographed in Cheryl English's garden) and Chris Hopp of Farmbrook Designs with his beautiful hypertufa lanterns, fountains, planters and other garden accoutrements, as well as a local author joining us for a book signing. Locally-sourced refreshments and musical accompaniment round out the day. Join us for some holiday cheer, get to meet and chat with the artists and take care of those last few special folks on your list with unique locally-made creations!  Bring a friend and spread the word! Contact Cheryl at cenglish@blackcatpottery.com for additional information.

Workshops

Various projects and dates to be announced
We are also planning a series of creative workshops throughout the year featuring not only pottery projects but also other art forms, led by local talent. Stay tuned for further developments! Contact Cheryl at cenglish@blackcatpottery.com for additional information.