This woman, my guardian angel who swooped in to my rescue, has such a gift for color and pattern.
I bought this piece from a shop in Northampton, Massachusetts about five years ago. It has come with me to London and every time I look at it I think about the coast of Massachusetts and diving beneath the cold clear water of home.
Phoebe Sheldon…
“I have been making pottery for over 30 years since I attended art school back in the 70’s. Along that long way I grew increasingly interested in color and pattern and increasingly frustrated with glazes. About 15 years ago I began to experiment with inlaying colored slips into the surfaces of my pieces, a Korean technique called ‘Mishima.’ One thing led to another and now this is what I do exclusively. Each piece is one of a kind and takes many hours to do. The first step after throwing or building a pot out of porcelain or white stoneware, is to etch a design into the surface using a steel point. After that I paint layers of colored slips into the cut areas, then scrape it down, then do it again, etc, until the surface is relatively filled and even. Then the pot goes through the usual bisque and glaze firings to cone 6. The pieces are high-fire, lead free, and functional, though I discourage putting them in the dishwasher. I work by myself in a studio at home and don’t mix much with other potters or craftspeople. I don’t have a gallery at present and don’t want one because they take such a bite out of the price of a pot that it doesn’t make sense financially. So, I sell my work myself to family, friends, and friends of friends and its going fine just like that. As long as I can make enough money to keep going I’ll do it because I love making pots and I’m always curious about how the next one is going to turn out. My inspiration comes from nature, especially water, and music. I seem to be surrounded by musicians in my life, just some lucky karma I guess.”
-from her myspace page
