Featured Artist, Erin Slauson

Erin Slauson is our featured artist for the April First Thursday ArtWalk in 2 days.

In May Erin Slauson will be graduating with her BFA in studio arts from Austin Peay.  Although her concentration is ceramics, she also loves photography, painting and jewelry making.  Erin has a passion for creating functional bowls of all sizes, "I find myself making bowls more than any other form, they seem to calm my soul."  You will also find a selection of sculptural bowls in Raku style as well as high fire glazes.  She aims to continue growing and developing her forms and sculptures, as for right now she is simply enjoying working hard and creating art.  Erin says, "Ceramics is alot about process, it has multiple steps, so being patient is key.  Luckily I love the process and am quite patient."  Also on display this month will be a selection of her recent oil paintings.

You may ask – What is Raku????  Well – here is the best description I have seen for it  - “Raku firing is unpredictable and volatile, but produces exquisitely beautiful results.:

“In Raku, a ceramic piece is quickly heated to approximately 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. A Raku piece will be brought up to temperature in 40 minutes, whereas other forms of firing will take hours or even days. Raku firings are most often created in a gas or propane kiln. The gas flame is enhanced by an electric blower, which provides more oxygen to the flame making it burn hotter. This is similar to what is done in a metal forge.”

Hope that helps!  I can tell you that I find the pieces amazing and the color and the texture of the pottery is exquisite!  I have sent pieces as gift to friends and have purchased some for myself.  Erin’s pottery just amazing!  Come see!

Cheers!

Aigilean Designs - Featured Artist for August

Aigilean Designs, by Erin Slauson, is our featured artist for August. I really enjoy Erin's pieces - I love the raw look and feel of the raku pieces. Do you know what Raku is? I didn't either until Erin moved into ARTifacts. She explained it to me.

Here is a lesson for you! Taken from www.wisegeek.com:
"Raku pottery is created with a specific ceramic firing process that uses both fire and smoke to create unique patterns and designs. With raku pottery, the piece is first bisque fired. Then, it is glazed and undergoes a raku firing process. The raku firing process requires a special raku kiln that is fueled by propane and reaches temperatures of about 1800°F (about 982°C).
In order to complete the firing process, the raku pottery must remain in the kiln for approximately 30 minutes. The raku pottery is then removed from the kiln using specially designed raku tongs. While the raku pottery piece is still hot and glowing, it is placed inside a metal can full of combustible materials. The heat emitted from the raku pottery causes these materials to catch on fire. "



You can imagine the amount of work involved in getting this kind of pottery art mastered. I just love Erin's results!

She also features her wheel thrown and handbuilt works in both the raku and stoneware.

She offers all these items and more:
Nonfunctional bowls, food safe bowls, cups, vases, mugs, sculpture and masks.

These photos don't do her work justice. Come in and see for yourself!

Cheers!