Introducing myself and my bonsai pottery

[sorce]

Beautiful.

More....

 

[sorce]

Basically...

If you separate these 2 realms...

Conquer them both....

You'll kill it!

I owe hometeam a purchase, love them, and Chuck Iker will probly grab a few more bucks off me soon...

But I'll probly buy one of yours first!

I'm a fan.

Sorce

 

[GGB]

Don't know nothing about pots. Just buy unglazed yixing. I personally love the orange and blue contrast, some folks are better rule breakers than others . Maybe it applies to you.
Everyone here is awesome, you're in the right place.
Hope this post didn't sound to much like gin

 

[Tycoss]

I don't have a single tree ready for a good pot yet. I like what I see, you may hear from me when my trees are ready. Not a lot of bonsai potters in Canada.

 

[Ashley Keller]

Basically...

If you separate these 2 realms...

Conquer them both....

You'll kill it!

I owe hometeam a purchase, love them, and Chuck Iker will probly grab a few more bucks off me soon...

But I'll probly buy one of yours first!

I'm a fan.

Sorce

Thank you! Really appreciate it

 

[sorce]

Thank you! Really appreciate it

No. Thank you!

You seem genuinely interested in listening to feedback to reach perfection...

Seems quite the short distance!

In fact...it's only about 3-4mm!

I'm way excited!

Hope you Are too!

We're running a Mame Contest.
Lets see if we can get a couple entries in your pots!

Sorce

 

[M. Frary]

I like plain clean pots.
Can you make something like this?
No fancy feet.
No crazy glazes or colors.
Just needs to be able to handle extreme cold.

 

[Eric Group]

Love the first pot you posted. Great glaze, the feet are ornate but fit it well...

Check out the FB auctions pages and post a few there is you want more visibility.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

The comments on cloud feet and proportions are very interesting. I don't disagree but thought I would share a few examples from other potters that I was drawing inspiration from.

Like bonsai, you can follow a more traditional path, or "do your own thing". Rules around proportion and balance and how they apply to trees or pots are pretty universal. I tend to be of the camp that you should try to learn the rules first, and then if you want to break the rules you know you are breaking them and why. Then if your pot "works" it is talent. Otherwise if you just make whatever pot takes your fancy, if your pot "works" it is luck. Personal opinion.

Look at all three pots you posted as examples of cloud feet. What one thing do they all have in common, that your first two pots lack

If this sounds like I am being critical, I am trying not to be. As you can see on this thread, there are plenty of people who like your pots just the way they are However if you want to make the BEST bonsai pots, you should understand why potters use cloud feet. They aren't just decorative.

 

[Ashley Keller]

I like plain clean pots.
Can you make something like this?View attachment 150622
No fancy feet.
No crazy glazes or colors.
Just needs to be able to handle extreme cold.

Yes, I personally really appreciate simple, unglazed pieces like this and have a few coming out soon in about this colour.

A note on handling extreme cold - stoneware pottery that becomes vitrified through proper high temperature firing is frost resistant however it should still be noted that even a frost resistant pot can crack in the winter. When bonsai substrate is wet and the weather begins to freeze it, the substrate will expand and the pot can crack from internal pressure.

Just wanted to clarify since in Canada we can have winter temperatures of -40 C

 

[M. Frary]

Yes, I personally really appreciate simple, unglazed pieces like this and have a few coming out soon in about this colour.

A note on handling extreme cold - stoneware pottery that becomes vitrified through proper high temperature firing is frost resistant however it should still be noted that even a frost resistant pot can crack in the winter. When bonsai substrate is wet and the weather begins to freeze it, the substrate will expand and the pot can crack from internal pressure.

Just wanted to clarify since in Canada we can have winter temperatures of -40 C

Close to the same tenmps here.
It's why I asked.

 

[wireme]

Yes, I personally really appreciate simple, unglazed pieces like this and have a few coming out soon in about this colour.

A note on handling extreme cold - stoneware pottery that becomes vitrified through proper high temperature firing is frost resistant however it should still be noted that even a frost resistant pot can crack in the winter. When bonsai substrate is wet and the weather begins to freeze it, the substrate will expand and the pot can crack from internal pressure.

Just wanted to clarify since in Canada we can have winter temperatures of -40 C

Thats why I would never buy a pot with any kind of internal lip or inward bowing at the top. I look for straight up and down sides or even better a slight outwards taper. Happy to see you here. I've got trees needing pots soon and will keep you in mind. Do you make rectangles?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

By the way Ashley, the question I was asking about your pots (or pots in general with cloud feet) is what functional benefit do they provide? In many (though not all) cases they project outward from the base, giving a tall, or outward tapering pot (tapering outward from bottom to top - ie narrower at the bottom) a broader base - both visually and functionally.

You will often hear complaints from people with taller pots - particularly if they don't have spreading feet - that the tree and pot fall over too easily.

This is much less important when a pot is squat, or has vertical sides.

If you notice in the examples you provided, all three pots taper inward towards the bottom. Your two pots have vertical sides.

 

[milehigh_7]

This is a great thread! I'm learning tons by just lurking. For some reason I have always been intimidated by all their is to learn about pots. I appreciate you guys explaining the "why" about many of these things.

 

[barrosinc]

Hi everyone! My name is Ashley Keller

Hi I really like this pot! do you use regular clay for glazing and add an oxide on the leather hard clay?

 

[JudyB]

This is a great thread! I'm learning tons by just lurking. For some reason I have always been intimidated by all their is to learn about pots. I appreciate you guys explaining the "why" about many of these things.

Hey Clyde, have you ever taken a look at this thread?
https://bonsainut.com/threads/pot-school.12779/
The late great Paul K. was very kind to offer his views on pots and how they work with trees.

 

[milehigh_7]

Hey Clyde, have you ever taken a look at this thread?
https://bonsainut.com/threads/pot-school.12779/
The late great Paul K. was very kind to offer his views on pots and how they work with trees.

I'll go read it. That must have been during one of my many absences. Paul was a great guy and a good friend. It goes to show we should spend more time enjoying the good things other people have to offer.

 

[Ashley Keller]

Thats why I would never buy a pot with any kind of internal lip or inward bowing at the top. I look for straight up and down sides or even better a slight outwards taper. Happy to see you here. I've got trees needing pots soon and will keep you in mind. Do you make rectangles?

Yes, absolutely. I will actually be posting a couple of new rectangles in a few hours and plan to make several more soon.

 

[Ashley Keller]

Hi I really like this pot! do you use regular clay for glazing and add an oxide on the leather hard clay?

Hi there! This style is made from a dark grey stoneware clay which is first bisque fired and then hand rubbed with black iron oxide while it is still very porous. After that it is high-fired to become fully vitrified.

 

[Ashley Keller]

By the way Ashley, the question I was asking about your pots (or pots in general with cloud feet) is what functional benefit do they provide? In many (though not all) cases they project outward from the base, giving a tall, or outward tapering pot (tapering outward from bottom to top - ie narrower at the bottom) a broader base - both visually and functionally.

You will often hear complaints from people with taller pots - particularly if they don't have spreading feet - that the tree and pot fall over too easily.

This is much less important when a pot is squat, or has vertical sides.

If you notice in the examples you provided, all three pots taper inward towards the bottom. Your two pots have vertical sides.

This is great insight into the functional use behind cloud feet, thank you for taking the time to share this. I have found it pretty difficult to find extensive information on bonsai pottery and this community has already provided several resources and really great feedback so just wanted to say how much I appreciate it.