Texture Sketch Series | Palm Tree Trunk

Palm Tree Trunk | Texture Sketch Series 

This flask is part of my ongoing series of surface explorations. This texture was gathered in Seacrest Beach, Florida.

What is the Texture Sketch Series? A Texture Sketch is a 3D exploration in clay of the everyday surfaces we live on and among. 

Where are the textures from? The textures are collected out in the 'wild' away from the studio. Gathered from architectural remnants, sewer covers, shoe treads, tree bark, doormats, broken pavement, gravestones, rocks, wicker, anything with and interesting texture can be collected and altered into a slab bottle. Many are made during my travels and vacations. Some impressions are captured walking around my neighborhood or in nearby Detroit. 

How are they made? Using my Traveling Clay Kit, I can take my ceramic art studio with me out into the world. The kit is an old fishing box containing all the basic items needed to create a simple slab bottle. This approach is a ceramic art version of the landscape painter's Plein Air Painting. It is my way to directly capture authentic textures from the raw world onto clay and turn those dimensional imprints into a functional, interesting, hopefully attractive, yet oddly curious ceramic artwork. During the day I will make a clay impression and later I build out a flask in the hotel room or wherever I can find space. I am not chasing perfection - I am interested in the process of exploring ways to invigorate the clay surface ... including all the grit and grunge I may encounter! For glazing, I only use a matte black underglaze to highlight the nooks, crannies, bulges, and recesses. For this aesthetic, the black underglaze contrasts against the clay body to create drama, simplicity, and purity. 

Stoneware with cork: Approximately 4.125 inches height, Cone 6 fired, interior is food safe.