thaddeus powers functional forms

June Open House

2011-06-12T09:18:00.009-04:00

This weekend there is another Open House at The Shirt Factory, and my studio is again open. I am finally back in the studio and trying to get some work cycled through. If you are around today between 10 and 5, stop down and check out all that the building has to offer.
(The following photos are courtesy of Lise Fuller.)

The Gallery

The Gallery

The studio

Making bowls

A 3 foot wide platter

Throwing bowls

The large jar is a collaborative piece that measures 24" wide and 26" tall. To load it into my kiln, I will have to take the kiln apart, lift the jar onto the bottom shelf of the kiln, then stack the kiln around the jar.

Throwing bowls

Bowls

Throwing bowls

Glazing Mugs

2011-01-09T21:41:00.003-05:00

I have been doing a lot of drawing with underglaze pencil lately so I don't lose that detail during the firing. Here are some shots of the pieces getting wax resist applied before being dipped in clear.

Holiday Open House

2010-11-28T14:48:00.004-05:00

Last day of the Holiday Open House at the Shirt Factory. The gallery side of the Potting Shed is newly updated with restored beams and a freshly laid floor. If you missed this great event, there is another Open House the weekend of December 11th & 12th.

The next two weeks

2010-06-09T12:49:00.000-04:00

This weekend the artists and shop owners of The Shirt Factory open their doors to the public Saturday and Sunday 10-5. I will be open for the weekend, so stop in and say hello.

I will also have a display set up at Scoville's Jewelers at the point in Glens Falls, NY for the Third Thursday Art Walk on Thursday June 17th 5-8pm. For more info: http://www.glensfallsartwalk.com/

Teaset

2010-04-20T15:36:00.000-04:00

I was recently commissioned by a friend to make a teaset for a wedding gift, so I thought I should take photos throughout the process to show how I work...and here they are:

The body of the teapot is thrown. For this size teapot I start out with around 4 pounds of porcelain. Once I make the body, I take measurements and then make the lid.

I trim the lid and body, then attach the spout and handle. The assembles teapot is then dried slowly to make sure that no cracks form.

Once the teapot is out of the bisque firing I can lay out my pattern. I first start with the grid.

Different size fleur de lis are drawn onto the body...

...and then the spout and handle.

The set has four cups with pattern that pours over the lip to the inside of the cup (the inside pattern will be a glossy and satin white). This photo shows the glossy white glaze applied.

And then the satin white.

The outside pattern of the cups is applied next.

Here is the teapot with the glazes applied.

Spout view.

And here is a shot of the finished teaset...ready to be packaged and mailed out to Los Angeles.

Pots in the studio now

2010-03-05T22:18:00.000-05:00

I had to take some quick photos of the pieces I have available in the studio right now, so I figured I'd share some of them with everyone. I will be started a new cycle of work tomorrow...lots of orders to finally get taken care of.

What I'm Up to Now

2010-01-14T14:11:00.000-05:00

Well, the show has finally come down from the TMG, and the Holiday Open Houses are over. The gallery portion of the studio is filled with pedestals and shelves, and its now time for me to finish up the orders received during the past month. I just finished throwing a canister set, and I will be making mugs, plates, vases and tiles as well. Once these orders are out of the way I can start playing with form again! Stop in and check out my progress (regular hours for the winter are coming soon!).

Review of Group Show

2009-12-01T17:00:00.000-05:00

The following is a review of the group show at The Tom Myott Gallery that was recently posted on Nippertown.com.

ArtBeat: Thaddeus Powers, Meg Oliver, Kyla Toomey and Stacey Esslinger @ Tom Myott Gallery

Thaddeus Powers, Meg Oliver, Kyla Toomey and Stacey Esslinger deliver a tasty feast of energetic new pottery at an exhibit at Tom Myott Gallery in Glens Falls. These four young artists, classmates while enrolled The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, have stayed in touch and in tune with much of the lively content within the field of utilitarian ceramics.

Thaddeus Powers, the initiator of this particular collaborative show, with a studio located on-site at the Glens Falls Shirt Factory, has circulated in the region for the last several years since graduating from Alfred in 2003. Apprenticing with Regis Brodie at Skidmore College, assisting with ceramic wheel-throwing classes in South Glens Falls and setting up shop in the renovated Shirt Factory facility, Powers has been developing a presence in the region. His finely crafted work has drawn attention from local potters, aficionados and consumers of handmade tableware.
For this exhibition Powers has called in some fine friends to deliver a welcome shot of vitality to the local scene. Each of them employ forms, color bursts and various layering strategies indicative of a strong background in historical ceramics and complimented by an eye for contemporary design.

Powers’ pieces are handsome and bold with variations of strict pattern and loose brushwork. These simple, generous forms act as strong palettes for extensively patterned surfaces of deep gold, russet orange and light blue. The fleur-de-lis motif repeats throughout much of the work and Powers states, “Pattern has the ability to transcend cultural and lingual barriers”. Power’s personal vision stands out most clearly in his fat-spouted teapot forms.

Stacey Esslinger earned her BFA in 2005. Studying ceramics in China in 2002 and participating in a post-graduation residency in Woodstock, NY at the historic Byrdcliffe Artist Colony in Woodstock, NY have added significant enrichment to her formal educational training. Esslinger’s approach to pottery-making is vastly different than her fellow exhibitors. She uses ‘a variety of fabrics, textiles, and molds of knitting; pressing the fabric into the clay. Using techniques similar to sewing, the seams and darts are joined together creating a three dimensional form’. The artist’s deft handling of this technique creates soft voluminous forms embossed with subtle patterned textures. The forms range from trays, butter dishes and espresso sets to mugs, spice jars and flower bricks.

Kyla Toomey, a current graduate student in the Ohio State University Department of Ceramics, stands as the most experimental of this group. Her two year residency at The Clay Center in Port Chester, NY and an assistantship with Ayumi Horie have placed her at the center of contemporary cutting edge studio pottery and tableware design. In one series of pots she uses cameos and colored clays to reinterpret classic Wedgewood Ceramics. Another series of pots plays with clearly referenced ‘candy dots’ pressed masterfully into soft porcelain pots. A third series finds her decorative floral shapes pressed into pots and springing onto the wall creating a dense ceramic ‘wallpaper’ pattern. It creates a fine visual shift from the three-dimensional object to a two dimensional image.

Meg Oliver, currently residing in Woodstock, NY, serves on the general staff of the Hudson Valley Pottery, Rhinebeck NY. Her interest in handmade pots stems from ‘their quiet revolutionary nature’. Water lilies and tiny, bright woodland flowers are called to mind in the best of Oliver’s work though much of it suffers from technical self-consciousness and lack of design cohesion. More time, experience and attention to details of craftsmanship can remedy these issues quickly.

Located in the Glens Falls Shirt Factory building, The Tom Myott Gallery is a beautifully designed and installed exhibition space. All aspects have been carefully conceived and finely executed on par with, though much smaller than, standard Chelsea galleries in NYC. The high-quality current show offers local audiences a sample of current, original work in contemporary studio pottery.

Take advantage of this fine pre-holiday exhibition while supporting a gem of a gallery today; you will be greeted by a warm, friendly local doing his part to keep Glens Falls thriving.

Tom Myott Gallery
Exhibit Dates: October 30th – Dec 23rd
Gallery Hours:
Thursdays thru Saturdays 12pm ~ 7pm or by appointment

Review by Liz Howe, a Saratoga Springs artist who was recently featured in Ceramics Monthly.

2009-11-29T17:15:00.000-05:00

While getting ready for the show at The Tom Myott Gallery, Kyla Toomey had mailed me some of her pots to glaze as a collaboration...well, here are the end products. They can currently be seen as part of our group show at the TMG through December 23rd at the Shirt Factory in Glens Falls.

Live from the Open House

2009-11-28T13:16:00.001-05:00

It's been a busy Saturday morning at the Shirt Factory. The halls are packed with shoppers, and the pots are going quick. Be sure to stop by today before 5pm, or tomorrow 10am-5pm.

Open House & Holiday Showcase

2009-11-22T06:15:00.001-05:00

The 8th Annual Open House and Holiday Showcase at the Shirt Factory will take place this coming holiday weekend. Such a great opportunity to do some holiday shopping away from the hustle and bustle of the mall, and find some first rate handcrafted items! In addition to the great shops and studios in the building we also set up outside vendors in the hallways -- a chandler (candlemaker), weaver, beadweaver, stained glass, pottery, wire- wrapped stones, polymer clay crafts, fresh pine wreaths and boughs, and so much more! This is Thanksgiving weekend 10am-5pm on both Saturday and Sunday, with a preview (not so many hallway vendors) on black Friday 5pm-8pm. Hope you'll be able to join us! If you wish, click on the image for a clearer picture.

This year we will also be having a Shoppers Advantage drawing (we'd like to call it a basket, but there's just too much stuff in there!). Have your daily Open House receipts from any of the shop or vendors in the Shirt Factory verified (you keep the receipts of course). Each $25 worth of receipts gains you a entry for the Shoppers Advantage drawing (one on Saturday, one on Sunday) The prize is a variety of goods from the Shirt Factory vendors, such as a $50 gift certificate from SensibiliTeas, a gift certificate from Adirondack Quilts, a Thaddeus Powers mug, a Kate E. Austin giclee print, gift certificates for classes (painting, textile art, yoga) ... just too much to list! Each drawing is valued at about $500. To win the basket would mean your holiday shopping is done!

(Text Courtesy of http://www.sensibiliteas.blogspot.com/)

What I'm up to...

2009-11-14T16:13:00.001-05:00

So....things have been just a little bit nutty lately...

The show at the Tom Myott Gallery is going great! I have several new pieces still available, so stop by and check things out when you get a chance. All of my shelves and pedestals are up in the gallery, so I've been building new ones to display all of my work for the Holiday Open House. My work for the Open House is in the bisque kiln right now, and I will begin glazing tomorrow night! (Photos from the opening courtesy of Tom Myott Gallery.)

Show Opening

2009-10-24T12:11:00.000-04:00

Meg Oliver, Kyla Toomey, Stacey Esslinger and myself will have our most recent work on display in the Tom Myott Gallery starting Friday October 30th. There will be an opening reception from 6-9pm, and the show will be up until December 23rd. Our use of pattern in the functional genre will make this a very cohesive show.

nodophotography

2009-10-05T22:10:00.000-04:00

Here are some great shots from one of my best friends, Jacob Bergmeier. Jake recently gave away the teapot to the 1001st commenter on his blog. Jake shows us an incredible view of the world through his photos. Check out his work at nodophotography.com

Greenware S&P's

2009-09-28T19:29:00.003-04:00

Here are a couple of quick shots of some Salt & Pepper sets I'm working on for the October show. These pieces are thrown closed at the top, and then allowed to dry until they are a little wetter than leatherhard. I throw a chuck, and flip the shaker over so that I can throw the foot. I then do a little trimming to define the shape. The taller foot not only allows for clearance of the cork stopper, but also makes it a little easier to fill the shaker without spilling.

Kyla Toomey

2009-09-14T20:18:00.000-04:00

These are some great photos of some of Kyla Toomey's new work. Kyla is one of the invited artists that will be showing with me in the Tom Myott Gallery (opening Friday October 30th). Kyla is currently in the grad program at Ohio State University, before which she was the resident artist at the Clay art Center in Port Chester, NY. Her new work deals with pattern and color before it is ever fired. The dots are colored clay that once glazed and fired appear almost candy-like. The interior space is energized through the process of pushing and stamping.

I'm extremely excited to see what she brings with her this upcoming fall.

Live from the open house

2009-08-01T10:16:00.000-04:00

Stop in to the Open House this weekend at the Shirt Factory. I will be demonstrating how to throw large (24") platters throughout the weekend. Come check out all the new work from the last two firings! The open house is Saturday August 1st & Sunday August 2nd, 10-5.

Open House

2009-07-23T21:21:00.000-04:00

Saturday August 1st & Sunday the 2nd the Shirt Factory in Glens Falls will be hosting an open house in conjunction with the Degas in Music show at the Hyde Museum. Studio and shops will be open from 10am - 5pm. I will demonstrate throwing 2 foot wide platters throughout the weekend, as well as displaying new finished work. Stop in and see where the Glens Falls Art District begins!

Glazing Again

2009-07-09T08:28:00.001-04:00

Here are some in process shots of the glazed pieces I have been working on for about a month or so. A few of the pieces have patterns over patterns, which can get a little confusing. I am especially excited to see how some of the fleur de lis patterns come out of the firing. I hope to get a firing in this weekend, and at least one more in before the August 1st & 2nd Open House at the Shirt Factory. Check back soon to see the finished pieces!

Finished Pots

2009-05-28T15:12:00.001-04:00

These are some pots out of my most recent firing. The bowls are 12-14" wide. The teapots are around 7" wide. The jar was thrown in 2 sections, and is around 18" wide. It's pretty incredible to see how much the glazes change from before they were fired (scroll down to May 2nd's post to see the changes).

Patterns for Glazing

2009-05-28T15:03:00.000-04:00

This is what I have been up to since the Spring open house at The Shirt Factory. I have about a months worth of glazing to be finished. I have patterns laid out on most of the pieces that have been bisque fired. Some pots have layered patterns, and I have used underglaze pencil on others. The underglaze pencils allow my drawing to be preserved after the firing process...the graphite pencil burns off. I hope to start applying glaze early next week.

Glazed Work

2009-05-02T14:11:00.000-04:00

Here are some shots of the pots glazed ready to be fired. The large jar in the second photo took about 4 hours to glaze (not including the time it takes to draw on the grid and pattern). The blue haze around the rims of the bowls and around the handles & spouts of the teapots is wax resist. The wax is applied so that when I dip the handle in a glaze it only sticks to the places I want it to. More shots to come of the finished pieces.

Glazing

2009-04-22T07:42:00.000-04:00

I've finally started my glazing process for a kiln load of work that I'm trying to finish before the May 2nd open house at the Shirt Factory. It's going to be a mad rush to finish the work in time...why is it that artists always try to get more done than possible in the amount of time that they have? I have another kiln full of work that needs to be finished after the pots in the photo.

How I Make Handles

2009-04-07T14:48:00.001-04:00

A slug of clay is scored, as well as the part of the cup where it will be attached, a little slip is applied, and they are stuck together.

The slug is then firmly pressed onto the cup and wet down with water.

Now comes the actual pulling. The clay is gradually stretched until it is the right thickness and length.

The handle is then cut to length and the bottom is then attached to the cup just as the top was.

The shape of the handle is further refined with a wet finger along the inside of the handle.

Here is the finished cup.

Another type of handle is the single finger style. Here, the process is much the same. I have attached the bottom of the handle first, and I pull it upside down.

The handle is cut to length and then doubled back on itself.

It is then attached just above the bottom of the handle.

The clay is then pressed back on top of itself. And the shape is again refined along the inside of the handle.

Here is the finished single finger handle. You can see how the clay really needs to be very plastic in order to get such a fluid shape without cracking.

These are the 24 finished cups drying, and waiting to be bisque fired.

Cups, Cups, and more Cups!

2009-04-03T09:15:00.000-04:00

2 short days in the studio...24 cups...42 pounds of porcelain...each cup is different. I left a bit more clay under each cup to get a deeper foot.

20 of the cups are trimmed and waiting for handles. I make my own glazes and clay body from scratch (from dry raw materials), so my clay is usually pretty short when it comes right out of the bag. Handles need the most plastic clay possible to be smooth and fluid. I put all of my trimmings in a 5 gallon bucket, over saturate them with my throwing water, and mix is up to the consistency of a thick milkshake. I then pour it onto a plaster slab to suck out some of the excess water. Once done, this process makes incredibly plastic clay...perfect for handles. I'll be sure to post pictures of the handles being made...check back soon!

Cups & Bowls

2009-03-31T08:43:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I threw a dozen mugs that I plan on trimming and pulling handles for today. I have been playing with slight variations in the rim detail. I am trying to produce a good amount of work to be available for the May 2nd Shirt Factory Open House.

I have also been working on some large bowls lately. The largest bowl was made from 10 pounds of wet clay. These bowls work great for salad, punch, or (what we used them for in Alfred) popcorn!

In the Studio Today

2009-03-16T14:39:00.000-04:00

A shot of a mostly loaded bisque kiln. The last shelf will be loaded over the teapots on the right side. I am finishing up a long narrow platter that will just fit on the last shelf.

This shadow of the fence in front of the Shirt Factory came through in the afternoon sunshine. I'm thinking that these shadows will appear in the glaze pattern on the long narrow platters.

Teapot Sketch

2009-03-03T09:37:00.000-05:00

This is the sketch of the teapots I've been working on lately. My next series will have the over lid style of handle. I'm interested in the simplicity of the teapot body and the scale of the form. I like the somewhat small size of the pot, and the chance to embellish the form with glaze decoration.

Latest Teapots

2009-02-26T15:16:00.000-05:00

Here are some shots of the latest series of teapots that I've been working on. I've been playing around with a much more traditional spout shape. I've sketched the design for these teapots several times, but I haven't quite gotten the spouts just right yet...they're getting close though. I've tried slab built spouts on this form, but I think that the thrown spout is definitely the way to go.

Panorama

2009-02-19T10:32:00.000-05:00

Here is a better view of the gallery side of the studio. The main portion of the gallery is 14' x 16'. The overall dimensions of the studio are 28' x 25.5'. It really is an amazing place to be making pots.

Fall Show in the Works

2009-02-09T23:22:00.000-05:00

The Tom Myott Gallery at the Shirt Factory will host a functional pots show in the fall of 2009. The show consists of three of my best friends from college & myself. The invited artists are: Stacey Esslinger, who works with slab built pots, lives in Corning, NY. Meg Oliver is a potter from Woodstock, NY. Kyla Toomey is currently a grad student at Ohio State University. I am really excited to see all of our work together after years of making pots in our own environments.

Shots from the studio

2009-02-06T10:03:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of shots from the studio. The first few are from the gallery side. The studio is on the Garden level of the Shirt Factory. The space is in the northwest corner of the building and gets incredible afternoon light through the six huge windows.

Teapots

2009-02-04T14:27:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a couple series of teapots recently. Here are some shots from the studio.

The thrown spout on the wheel.

The teapot body with the strainer holes drilled.

Three Teapots awaiting handles.

5 Greenware teapots ready for the bisque firing.

The Shirt Factory

2009-02-02T23:20:00.000-05:00

The McMullen-Leavens Company

Designed by architect Ephraim Potter, the building was constructed in 1902. The McMullen-Leavens Company was known for its shirts and eventually expanded into dressmaking. In 1939 the company acquired the label of Troy Shirt Makers Guild from a competitor in Troy, NY. The Troy Shirt Makers label would eventually account for almost 70% of domestic shirt sales in the United States. A retail outlet was located at the Cooper street entrance. One can still see the marks, grooves and indents in the wooden floors of the building from the sewing machines and other equipment.

The factory continued operations until 1996 when globalization of the textile industry took its toll on domestic textile manufacturing. In 1999 the building was reborn as a location for art galleries, studios and other small businesses and has become a popular destination.

My studio & gallery is located in what used to be the cafeteria of the Troy Shirt Makers Guild. The building has an incredible diversity or artists; jewelers & metal artists, quilt makers, painters, potters and sculptors. There is an acupuncture studio, an herbalist, as well as an amazing teashop with hudreds of loose teas. It's a great old building to get lost in for a while.

All New Website

2009-02-01T21:25:00.000-05:00

I'm extremely proud to announce the launch of my all new website: www.thaddeuspowersart.com. You can now check out a large portion of my work from current pieces to work from the past six years. Many thanks to a great friend and photographer Jacob Bergmeier for creating and maintaining the site. I am also excited to let everyone know that I have regular hours at the studio. Stop in to see what I'm working on now.