|
|
The Clay Body: The first urns we made in the '70s were all thrown on the potter's wheel. Eventually, with concerns that all the remains wouldn't fit in an urn, funeral homes wanted exact volume guarantees. In response, the original of all our shapes are thrown, molds of the shape are made, and subsequent shapes are cast. The cast shape is refined on the potters wheel, dried and low fired prior to glaze application and decoration.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Airbrushed scenes: Since the early '80s we have been airbrushing scenes on urns. For this technique we cut stencils and profiles from original drawings out of a clear plastic material. Stencils are used for all the animals. Complicated images are achieved using multiple stencils on one image. Profiles are used to create the mountains, trees and grass. When decorating the urn, colors are first freehand airbrushed, the background is built up using profiles.
Finally the animal or flower images are added using stencils. The final decorated urn is high fired (2400° F.) in either a gas or electric kiln.
|
Crackle Glazes: If a clay body and the glaze don't contract at the same rates, during the firing tiny cracks form in the glaze. This is called crazing, an easily remedied glaze fault. If it is used as a decorative technique, it is called "crackle". This is an ancient Chinese technique appearing on Sung dynasty pots and refered to as Ko ware. A small, tight crackle pattern is called "fish roe", while a wide spaced pattern is called "crab crawl". We assume, crab crawl is named after the pattern a crab leaves when it crawls along the ocean floor.
 |
 |
Using modern day technology, we replicate the crab crawl pattern on urns. A carefully calculated white or stained glaze is applied to the pot and high fired. After removal from the kiln, the crackle pattern slowly starts appearing. It usually takes a week or more before a good crackle pattern appears. For emphasizing the pattern, early eighteenth century Chinese writing suggest "boiling the pot in a fat broth and placing it in a foul sewer for a month or more". We find rubbing the pot with waterproof India ink faster and more appealing. |
