Each sculpture, relief mosaic and
individual tile is individually crafted in low- and mid-fire clays and glazes.
Animal and human sculptures are
created using wheelthrown bodies, which are allowed to dry
to leather-hardness before additional clay appendages, hair and features are
added, then re-carved to highlight special features of each sculpture. When
completely dried, a cleaning tool is used to remove any final unwanted clay from
the sculptures. Because of varied thicknesses of these sculptures, they are left
to air-dry for several weeks before slowly bisque fired.
Relief mosaic tiles are made from
clay slabs, then carved into palm-sized pieces to kiln fire, glaze and fire
for a
second time. The tile pictures are then reassembled, using cement or board
backings, tile mastic and grout to fix and complete the mosaic tile.
Glazes are studio and commercially
produced and are sometimes layered over underglazes and slips and fired several
times to achieve desired effects. More hand built work can be viewed in the
"Clay Gallery" of this website.
"Kokopelli", a
relief mosaic tile, made from low-fire terracotta clay, underglazes and studio
glazes, reassembled with mastic and grout on a wooden backboard. Approx.
20"h.
Pictured above,
hand built and incised tile, "Moon and Stars", made from terracotta clay,
underglazes and glazes.
Maureen's
pottery is individually created, without the use of molds, jigs and
clay presses. She produces most of her functional pottery -
cups, dishes, casseroles, etc. - by "throwing" vessels on a potter's
wheel. Hand built work, such as the carved casserole (left) is
created by incising wheelthrown work and by building vessels from
slabs, then using carving tools to create a three-dimensional design
in the clay. All glazes used on food-ware are no-lead,
commercial glazes. More work can be seen on the "