Tuesday, January 26, 2010

FACE JUGS

















Face Jugs can be frightening, grotesque even devilish.



But face jugs aren't scary when their tradition is revealed.




A brief history;




When the first Africans came to the New World, they were introduced to Christianity and adopted the Christian belief in the devil. The Africans then created face jugs which were placed on graves, intending to be ugly enough to keep the devil away, so that the dead could go to heaven.


The Africans embraced this practice to honor their dead.


Ugly face jugs were also created to drive away evil spirits. In the early 1900’s, bootleggers relied on potters to provide them with non-transparent vessels for their whiskey. The ugly face jugs were made by the potters to show their support for Prohibition while providing the jugs for the bootlegged whiskey. It was also thought that the ugly faces would scare children and keep them away from the whiskey.


So I guess we will really never know for sure how it all started but I decided I wanted to add my version of the face jugs to the mix.


Jugs are created entirely by hand/sculpting process. Each are one of a kind.

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About Me

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Many years ago I decided to start teaching. Originally it was a way for me to get out of the studio, enjoy people and take a break from myself, It has since become an extremely rewarding experience for me, In fact, every time I teach a class or workshop I learn something. When I do demonstrations (as levels progress) I'll usually try a new pot or technique for the first time, I figured if I'm asking my students to take risks and try some new things then I should be willing to try too. I have exhibited my work internationally in juried and invitational exhibitions, as well as taught workshops around America at schools and have also spent years working in galleries eventiallly opening one in Santa Monica CA. (Dahl & Gallant Fine Art Gallery). My work is in numerous private and public collections. North Seattle Studio http://dahlartsstudio.com/

About Raku

My face jugs are all wheel thrown then hand altered and are traditionally Raku. fired.

Raku is a Japanese centuries old technique of firing pottery from raw clay to the finished product. Because of the enormous stress and thermal shock each face jug is subjected to during the raku firing process, cracking occurs throughout the glaze and the clay body. The cracking of the glaze acquires carbon during the reduction process, highlighting them and adding beauty to the piece.

The raku process is amazing. Each piece is bisque fired, glazed, then I use gas propane to raku fire to approximately 1800 degrees F. Once that temperature is reached the piece is then quickly removed from the hot kiln with tongs and placed in a barrel of combustion able material, straw or wood chips. When placed in the barrel the material immediately burst into flames. The piece is covered with additional straw or wood chips and a lid is placed on the barrel to produce an oxygen free atmosphere. After about 2 - 3 minutes the piece is then removed from the combustion chamber and soaked with cold water to prevent any further oxidation. Once cooled the piece is scrubbed to remove smoke and excess carbon revealing its beauty. This technique of firing produces truly original "one-of-a-kind" pieces.