Mastodawn

@potterybyosa I still smile every time I see #WildClay now. You have no idea how healing that convo was for me. 🥰

I’m making a custom clay body for my upcoming workshop using #WildClay I collected just south of where I live, and combining it with a midrange commercial clay to give it the durability it lacks on its own. The sample on the right was fired to over 2100°F, just under its melting point, and is still fragile and easily broken. The color transformation is lovely, though. I’m excited to give workshop participants a unique opportunity to work with local clay.

Pottery by Osa Mar 1

I’m making terra sigillata from the clay I collected from my birthplace last summer. I’ve been invited to a show called “Clay as Place: The Transient Object” and it reminds me that my #WildClay collection is a mirror of my experience with transience—moving, touring and visiting. But when I went and collected that clay from the duck pond in Virginia, I could be certain that it’s the same earth that was there when I was four years old, throwing the birds stale bread.

Pottery by Osa Feb 16

In the before picture, the mug has been painted with terra sig (from Louisiana, Virginia and Ontario) and is unglazed. This is one of the pieces I decorated at the dining room table when it was too cold to be in my studio. #BeforeAndAfter #ceramics #pottery #WildClay

Pottery by Osa Jan 14

Today, I got an order from an interior design co requesting two lamp bases using my #Florida crackle surface. I’ve only ever used it for the pieces I’ve made for local gallery shows to share my #WildClay experiments with the general public. I mark them NFS and never thought of the pieces as sellable because of the fragility of the surface. I’m pretty excited that the designer accepts the fragility and wants me to use this surface on functional objects.

StrangeRock Dec 22

basking in the SAD lamp light, thinking about how to make my #glazes pop on our new #wildclay body

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Pottery by Osa Dec 22

It’s tough to make #pottery with this type of clay that we would deem functional. I’ve attempted to do so by combining it with commercially mined materials that help decrease porosity (or encourage vitrification.) In the end, I decided to honor its natural qualities instead of trying to force it to be something it isn’t. (Beautiful life lesson, right?) This is a sculptural vessel I made last year with minimally processed #Florida clay. #WildClay

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Pottery by Osa Dec 22

I tested the #clay the surfer gave me and it turns out to be very similar to many other samples I’ve found in #Florida. The gray-to-yellow/off-white transformation, the high porosity even when fired to high temps—this is the most common type of clay I’ve found, not just in SW FL, but even in central and NE FL. #WildClay

Pottery by Osa Nov 22

Twinning in the sun 🌞 with my favorite mug from this collection. I did not consciously dress like the mug but considering the fact that I mostly wore neutral tones before I started working with #WildClay sig, it’s safe to say that the clay is speaking through my outfits these days. The pink, orange and olive green on the exterior are all natural clay tones. This mug is going to a home in Gainesville, Florida. A few pieces are left: www.potterybyosa.com
#pottery #ceramics #handmade

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Pottery by Osa Nov 13

Here is the original #clay. We found it in a construction site in Venice, just south of us. They were digging a retention pond beside a new road. The construction is now complete and the pond is filled with water, but for a moment the site was kind of like a playground for fossil hunters and clay diggers.

I've had a pretty difficult time working with this clay and incorporating it into my work, so I'm glad it could successfully serve another purpose. #wildclay #Florida