BRHpottery

BRH Pottery is a working studio shaped by the Sonoran Desert. This site is a place to share functional ceramics, documented processes, and explore the landscape that informs the work, from clay and firing to wildlife, surface, and form. Move through the site to see finished pieces, studio notes, and the systems behind how this work is made, and how those systems continue to evolve over time.

Sonoran Shino Bowls

Music in the Studio

  • Artist: lempuyang
  • Title: LPY Mix Series 25 - Jamie McCue
  • Genre: Techno
  • Listen: Soundcloud.com

I primarily queue music from soundcloud.com because that's what I mostly listen to. Every now and then, I will add in music from Apple Music.

After many months of trying to grab the colors of the Sonoran Desert, I think I’ve finally come up with a glaze combo that speaks to me. It’s a combination of several glazes mixed together to create what I call “Sonoran Shino”. When staged in front of a Cholla, for example, you can see the greens are right where they need to be. The brown colors are representative of the desert sand (in some places). This is exactly the type of pottery and glaze that inspires me to continue.

I’ll branch out to explore other color glazes, but finally nailing down a primary glaze makes me happy.

Process Notes

I use a brush to get the variations. Places the glaze really stands out revived heavier coats, whereas the areas that are more brown in tone, got a little less on the brush. This is why I like brushing glaze rather than dipping glaze. It really depends on what I'm making, I guess. In some cases, dipping gets me a more modern look as it's more consistently distributed and quite a bit thicker.