Pots for a gentleman...

As a bonsai potter, making commissioned pieces for customers can be a challenging, yet rewarding way to stay afloat between shows. I thought I would share a few lines here in the blogosphere of my experience with this last custom order of pots...

The client chose a couple of designs from my web page and added unique dimensions to fit his trees. The first pot is an oval of medium width with rope feet and trim. The second is a hard edged design with  similar width and depth in its interior.

Here are some shots of me working on some of the different stages of construction...

wedging the clay to prepare for throwing

centering and opening up to form the walls on the oval

cutting slabs for the rectangle

Well, here is how the pots turned out. I was quite pleased with the subtle character of each piece.  By now they are enjoying their new digs up in the northeast, probably awaiting a bit of spring fever!

The hard edged rectangle was styled from one of the pieces still on my website. It was constructed entirely from slabs.

Both pots have the same glaze; one that features a lot of visual interest when fired in a reduced atmosphere in my kiln.

The client told me he was very pleased with his latest shipment and I am glad my pots have found a happy home!