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Erik Haagensen Process Notes

The pottery is made of earthenware clay that is fired three times. Most pieces are thrown on the wheel though I occasionally do a little handbuilding.

The pieces are made with red earthenware clay that is then painted with a white slip (liquid clay) and layers of brightly colored underglazes. The work is then dried and bisque fired to Cone 06. After bisque, they are glazed with a clear, stable, non-toxic glaze that yields occasional antiquey crackles. The glazed ware is then fired in oxidation to Cone 04. Once the glaze has been fired on, I add the line drawings. I draw all my drawings with pencil and paper, then using some technomagic, create ceramic overglaze transfers from my original drawings. The work then goes back into kiln, fired in oxidation to melt the overglaze drawings into the glaze. It is possible to keep doing additional decoration and refiring.

There are several things I like about this approach to surface. The earthenware, slip, and underglazes provide a delightfully variegated canvas, full of old-timey pottery goodness, evidence of the hand, unique brush strokes, graduated color, happenstance, and fine crazing. Yet the character of the line is that of a contemporary pen-and-ink drawing, the crisp printed image of a modern comic book. I really enjoy the odd mix of old-timey goodness and sharp contemporary design.