FYI- How the pots are carved

Start of a carved bowl. This will be a band of pomegrantes and leaves with the background filled in with carved marks. The inside of the bowl has a similar pattern around the side and bottom.

Series of carved covered jars. I have made knobs/finials of a dark red clay body that will fit inside of a hole in the lid. Thought I would try using glaze to connect the two together. This is a white stoneware for the body and lid of the piece.

I have been doing a series of pots that have three different sizes marks on them for a couple of years. I put the biggest mark in first in a spiral or wave pattern. Then the next size and finally I fill with a very small mark. The inspiration and original title of the series was "Rainwater" because the marks reminded me of the impression of raindrops on the surface of water. A lot of folks think the pattern has a snake or reptilian look. I think it looks more like sea corals.

Weird Clay Fact: A very unusual thing that I enjoy about carving pots is the little pile of rubble from the bits that you remove and the sound they make as they plink on the table or floor. When I was younger I would help my grandmother shell crowder peas and there is something in carving leatherhard clay that is very similar to that feeling of releasing the peas from the pods and the sensation of coolnesss and aliveness as you run your fingers through them in the bowl. With the peas it was the pleasure of knowing how I would enjoy their taste with fresh baked cornbread and fried okra. With the clay it is the pleasure in revealing the pattern and images that the glaze and firing will accent.

Well...that's how it's done folks! Look down the road in a couple of weeks for the finished products. There is nothing in clay that is immediate gratification. Teaches you patience, grasshopper.