Alex Cluck Pottery

Huge Pitcher

2012-02-02T16:36:00.000-05:00

Wheel thrown about 20lbs, 14 inches I think.

Mail order porcelain.

2012-02-02T16:08:00.000-05:00

Received some clay and slip from Matt and Dave's clay a while back, going to use it soon :).

organic menorah?

2012-02-02T16:06:00.000-05:00

Here is an attempt at a menorah. Carved out of a block of stoneware. Kinda turned into a motorcycle.

work from early 2011

2011-12-29T20:08:00.000-05:00

Two bottles on the right were donated to the Baltimore Clayworks
wood kiln rebuild Fundraiser sale

business card holder

2011-12-29T18:14:00.000-05:00

This turned out nice in the glaze firing, I'll post a pic of it
when I take one.

Sadly the handle broke off during cooldown of glaze firing.
I was not really impressed by the glaze either
so I'm not super sad about it breaking.

new vessel designs

2011-12-29T03:39:00.000-05:00

one vessel above, alternate angle

Tall and Short Handleless Pitchers

2011-12-29T00:49:00.002-05:00

New design I've been working on.

Finished, fired cone 10 gas. Phoenix stoneware

Small Root Pitcher

2011-12-29T00:39:00.000-05:00

Geometric vessel

2011-12-29T00:36:00.000-05:00

2011-12-03T02:11:00.002-05:00

Temp show @ the hager arcade/mall went well. Unforseen electrical problems in the shop cut had first friday dec. 2nd being the last day. thanks to everyone who showed up and thanks to people that bought things :) (sorry to people that showed up and no one was there during reported hours :( )

Showing At Hager Arcade in Lancaster City

2011-11-01T16:11:00.001-04:00

I have pottery for sale at the Lancaster Clay Studios Holiday Sale @ the Hager Arcade Mall, 25 West King Street, Lancaster PA 17603 (across from central market, where the chestnut house was)
Holiday opening sale will be Friday, November 25th. 10am-6pm
and will be open for First Friday, December 2nd. 10am-9pm, and saturday 10-6.
Open Tues., Fri., Sat., November 25th - December, 10th

37th Annual Mount Gretna Outdoor Art Show

2011-07-30T21:00:00.000-04:00

I'm going to have a booth at the Mt. Gretna Outdoor Art Show August 20th & 21st, 9am - 6pm, 9am - 5pm. I'm in the Emerging Artist section E5. $8 entrance fee, come on out :)

NorthStar of Lititz Pa emerging artist show

2011-05-08T15:56:00.001-04:00

Tree lookin' thing.

2011-02-25T20:49:00.000-05:00

I was playing around and made this. It's hollow. I made holes in branch areas so after it is glazed I should be able to make spun wire extensions. Looks good in my head :).

Jellyfish Bottles

2011-02-25T20:44:00.001-05:00

Another bisqued bottle group.

Pitcher

2011-02-25T20:42:00.000-05:00

Photo of pitcher still with mostly solid base and then of it carved.

2011-02-20T19:53:00.000-05:00

I'm going to add my backlogged images gradually on here every other day or something. Here are some more. This is one bottle, a picture of each side. I spent a little more time plotting and drawing the jellyfish/octopus images before carving on this, definitely shows a lot more detail. I still have to coat this one in porcelain engobe, I'll retake images of this after that.

the long winter..................................................

2011-02-19T22:05:00.000-05:00

You'd think being cooped up all winter I'd post more, guess again lol. So here is part one of some of the things I've been working on. Also for my fellow doctor who fans that have been waiting patiently for me to post about my painting, I have about 1/10th left to paint of version 2 which I will put up for sale soon (not 6 months again I swear...). :)

New photos of new pots and a couple old ones.

2010-10-30T01:28:00.000-04:00

Most out of my most recent wood firing. :) this link will also be in my portfolio section.

Art on The Farm 2010, November: Sat. 6th & Sun. 7th

2010-10-27T12:19:00.000-04:00

Art on the Farm 2010

Chiques Creek Farm

2995 Shenck Road Manheim PA 17545

Saturday November 6 : 12-8p
Sunday November 7: 12-5p
Free Admission

Most likely will be in the basement in Lancaster Clay Studio area.

jellyfish bottle carvings

2010-09-23T23:36:00.000-04:00

Not quite done carving yet, got some detail cleaning up and adding more porcelain. Here's my progress so far, there are only 4 bottles but I have carving on both sides. Hope you aren't confused looking at the two images of either side. Now I'm not really sure what the contrast is going to be when they are fired but I'm hoping that the b-mix shown will be darker than the porcelain on top.

bottle bottle bottle..... vase?

2010-09-13T19:22:00.000-04:00

Been working on some bottles I started making with b-mix. Some from last week, and some from this. The plan is to coat these in a layer of porcelain and carve in some images I've been drawing. These aren't thrown, I've been hand building recently. . . enjoy.

2010-09-13T19:17:00.000-04:00

works in progress this week

2010-08-17T18:09:00.000-04:00

Using B-mix. These are the blanks I made a post ago with some carving done.

B-mix and a lot of carving

2010-08-16T14:04:00.000-04:00

Started with a new clay, it's called B-mix. It is a lot less gritty than the clay I was using before, it has a lot more options in terms of glazes and carving should be somewhat more precise. These were some forms I had sitting around in my sketchbook, they will look completely different after I am done carving them. I like it so far, I plan on making some bottles out of it later this week. Spent the weekend working on surface designs in my sketchbook, they lean heavily in the Art Nouveau. Alphons Mucha was definitely a large influence.

even more bottles

2010-08-16T13:36:00.000-04:00

I made these forms before I went to michigan but did the carving when I came back. It's a little different than what I've been making previous, but it doesn't hurt to try something new. I spent a lot of time in the hospital room wishing I was making pottery, about all I could do was draw. So now my sketch book is filled with many designs and ideas for future projects. I'm still procrastinating doing glazing but I glazed and fired a bunch of test pieces in the electric kiln a while ago but I still have a ways to go in finding the right combination for my bigger pieces. The pictures of these aren't so great, I'll try to take better ones when they are bisqued.

more bottles

2010-08-16T13:19:00.000-04:00

Here are some more bottles I was working on before I left for Michigan for most of July.

Bottles

2010-06-21T15:17:00.001-04:00

Here are some bottles I've been working on while testing glazes. I like the simpler version better than the

more intricate. I made blank bottles on the wheel, manipulated them, then carved. Before they were fired I painted a black clay slip onto the recessed areas. So whatever glaze I put over the entire piece, it will react just a little differently.

Doctor Who

2010-06-21T15:07:00.057-04:00

Here is my second painting of The Pandorica Opens, done in oil, I'm pretty satisfied with it. I might do a little here and there, it is still drying. Sorry I took so long :P. This is gonna be $700 USD. + tax + shipping (shipped flat preferably). Whom ever decides they want it, I will work out the details. I can get it framed the same way as the first one below, for $150 more (it was $250). (Oil painting 18 x 24 inches )

Here is the first painting, done in oil. I got it framed, and took a better picture. I don't really want to sell it but if someone wants to give me $1,000 USD, I might think otherwise. (Oil painting 18 x 24 inches )

(old post) -So I haven't painted in a while. Watched the most recent Doctor Who episode on saturday night, The Pandorica Opens. The pretty much started working on this as soon as it was over. It's my interpretation of the painting by Vincent Van Gogh (really by someone who works for the tv program). So 12 hours later. . .

Show tonight

2010-06-04T02:31:00.002-04:00

Lancaster Clay Studio is having a show opening for pouring vessels and serving platters Friday June 4th (today) at 5:30pm to 7ish or so. I'll be showing some pitchers and dishes, and you'll be able to see some of my works in progress and the rest of the studio. Wine and cheese and some other food will be availiable. 329 Main Street, Landisville, PA.

Roots

2010-04-27T15:10:00.004-04:00

So here's what I've been working on the past few days. The first image is of two forms I started with, the piece on the left is 70% carved out, and the one on the right is at the point where I mark out the initial roots. The next images are of both pieces 90% completed. All I have left is to let dry, do some more detail cuts, then sand and sign.
I have several more applications drawn out in my sketch book, which I'll be working on once I complete these.
I really like where I'm going with these, the design is pretty time consuming but I think it's worth the effort.

Vase?

2010-03-29T22:01:00.002-04:00

I had this idea in my sketchbook for a while, roots, growing into some sort of wood, then growing into wood planks. I really like how it turned out. I'll be using it as further inspiration to make other pieces. I took a pic of the pot upside down because I think it even looks good upside down.

Pitcher 2

2010-03-29T21:45:00.004-04:00

Here is the second pitcher. The handle looks and feels a lot better than the first pitcher's. You can't really tell in these pictures but the sides are squashed inwards more so it takes on more of a shoebox shape. It has a classical shape to it I think. The cut out areas I made to go with the spout's curve.

I didn't try to do too much with the base, I wanted the whole form to be more simple looking compared to the last pitcher.

Pitcher 1

2010-03-29T21:38:00.003-04:00

Here's the first pitcher I made. I haven't really done much with handles, but I think this turned out alright. The form has two different sides, one more wing-like, and the other some sort of grotesque muscle texture. The base is in the same style as some of my other carved out root pieces.

ART ON THE FARM

2009-11-06T18:26:00.000-05:00

I am showing some pottery pieces at "Art On The Farm" this weekend. Sat 12-8pm, Sun 12-5pm. Admission is free, lots of other great local artists. (Chiques Creek Farm, 2995 Shenck rd., Manheim, PA. www.artonthefarmlancaster.com ) (my stuff is in the Lancaster Clay Studios area.)

First showing

2009-10-23T19:26:00.001-04:00

I'm having a table show in the Borough building on 15 East High street in the Manheim Square on Saturday the 24th. It's next to the small park. I'll be there from 9am to 3pm.

facebook page and new photos of newly glazed pots

2009-10-01T21:59:00.000-04:00

New Gas Firing done

2009-09-26T21:36:00.004-04:00

Finally all of my pieces for this last gas firing are done. I am pretty pleased with the outcome, not what I expected on some from how I glazed them. I know what I did wrong, so next time I should be able to get more of what I want. I will take individual pictures very soon.

2009-09-26T21:33:00.002-04:00

Almost done my last two pieces, now working on these sort of large (for me) pieces.

2009-09-26T21:30:00.000-04:00

2009-09-15T22:16:00.002-04:00

Couple new things I'm carving.

2009-09-07T20:13:00.003-04:00

Here is a new piece I've been working on, basically the same style except for the base, more of a geometrical wood design. I plan on making more of this type and expanding on the idea and see where it takes me.

Working on stuff for gas fire

2009-08-20T21:03:00.003-04:00

There is going to be a gas kiln cone 10 firing the first week of September that I will be putting a lot of pieces in. About 3 of my big pieces wont be going in due to that mineral chipping that happened a while back, so they are at risk for exploding. So I'm making some more things and gathering pots that have been in my basement collecting dust from not making it into the last gas firing. Mid September I should have many more pots in my inventory and be more comfortable selling at shows. There is going to be a show that my studio is taking part in called "Art on the Farm" in Manheim, which I will make a post about closer to the date, it is the first weekend in November. I will definitely have pieces in that. So here is a picture of some of the pieces that will be going into the gas firing coming up. I need to do a ton of glazing this week.

2009-08-20T20:54:00.003-04:00

Threw more today, spent about 6 hours at the studio. I made one hollow ball thing and put spikes on it while i was waiting for some clay to set up. One pretty big vase type and two small vase dealies that are going to be similar to the pots in the next post that are already bisqued.

2009-08-20T20:48:00.003-04:00

Trimmed these today and just waiting for them to dry more so I can sand and sign them.

2009-08-12T23:59:00.003-04:00

Made 3 things tonight, two vases, and then the other a flower pot. They don't look like much here but they always look better after trimming =]

2009-08-11T23:39:00.000-04:00

Made a handle out of twine for this. Enjoy~

2009-08-11T23:21:00.002-04:00

Here is what I spent all day working on today. enjoy!

Lots of carving

2009-08-06T17:05:00.002-04:00

Currently what I have been working on for the last 3 full days. I threw it on sunday night and have been carving it mon-wed. Taking a break today. I'm almost done carving, taking a lot of the weight out, but it is going to be atleast 7-8 lbs. I might do a scholar stone base for it, we'll see.

Cutting weight out

2009-07-09T00:02:00.003-04:00

Cut about 5 lbs of weight off, I know you can't really see it, but it happened. Then did some more trim work. Next step is to dry and sand it.

Lot of work done tonight

2009-07-08T00:07:00.002-04:00

Probably spent 5 or so hours working on this tonight. I like where it is going.

Big swirl thing

2009-07-07T14:40:00.002-04:00

Just made this at like 12am. Probably 15-20lbs of clay, I had a ball twice as big to do next, but I decided to just keep it to one. I was pretty exhausted. Going in later today to start to trim and dry it.

Made some glaze testers

2009-06-30T23:07:00.002-04:00

As the topic says I made some new glaze testers. Pretty much just a piece of clay with some texture that you cover with either one glaze or two to see how they turn out before you put it on a piece you actually care about.

Two new pots I am working on

2009-06-30T22:56:00.005-04:00

Here are a few before and after pictures of two pots I threw on monday and carved today.

Weird

2009-06-30T22:45:00.002-04:00

Made and fired this pot atleast a month ago, I had mixed in some Franklin NJ fluorescent mineral chips which are mostly calcium carbonate. That doesn't melt or frit at bisque temperatures but apparently this stuff does? So one hot and humid day I go to look at it and about 50 or so chips popped off and in the center were the graphite looking rocks I put in that shouldnt have done what they did. They must have absorbed the moisture from the air and expanded. There doesn't appear to be any structural cracks on the pot so it should still be salvagable. I'm definitely not mixing those large chunks into any more clay though. I am going to let it sit for a while on the shelf to make sure all of the rocks expand. Wouldn't want any explosions when I glaze it.

My teacher was curious about the rocks also so she took a bunch and put them in the last bisque firing in a bowl. I think we are going to explore glazing possibilities with the minerals at some point.

ready to bisque

2009-06-30T22:39:00.003-04:00

All finished carving and sanding this. Ready for bisque firing.

more work done

2009-06-21T18:27:00.002-04:00

did a bunch of carving to the base of this. should be done this week.

working on new thing

2009-06-18T00:03:00.003-04:00

Worked on new pot tonight, got some carving done.

Current Projects

2009-06-17T13:43:00.004-04:00

The three things below are bisque fired but are the most recent things made and fired in the new place. the small bowl was a group effort by my lady and I. The two pots in the one image are still greenware, the really big one i just made last night, i havent done any trimming/carving on it yet. Might be done that next week, we'll see. and the smaller one is pretty much all done, I am just waiting for it to dry more so I can sand it and put my name on it. Then it will be ready to put on the bisque shelf and into the kiln.

New Studio

2009-06-17T13:33:00.006-04:00

Here are some shitty pics I took with my phone of the new studio space. I really like it.

some new and old pics from phone

2009-06-12T15:28:00.008-04:00

new studio in top photo, i will paste more when i take more, the new place is awesome. storefront, lots of windows.

2009-04-04T14:13:00.003-04:00

So I took all new pics of most of my stuff, even old stuff. Here is the link to my photobucket, I might put them up on here sometime. http://s662.photobucket.com/albums/uu344/Acluckpottery/

yay pots

2009-04-02T01:07:00.003-04:00

Ok so I ended up glazing all of the pots in the post below, but only half made it into the kiln. No idea. So the rest will be coming in a month or so, whenever the next gas firing is. A few pots not in this photo got messed up pretty bad, a lot of glaze bubbling, I may or may not take a pic of them to show ya'll at some point, but those will get refired next gas firing. I am pretty satisfied with how these turned out. Hopefully if I feel up to it, in the next few days I will take actual pictures of each pot separately and put them up, along with my other pots from previous firings. Enjoy!!!

huge task

2009-03-17T00:12:00.004-04:00

So over the last couple months I've been making a ton of stuff to get fired in the cone 10 gas firing, and I just finished cleaning these up and I am going to glaze them tomorrow, and put them in their boxes to go out to the firing. The firing is in a few weeks, I really hope these turn out well lol.