A ewer (ˈyo͞oər)(YOU-er) is a pouring vessel for vinegar, clear sauces, or oil. This was a look into how liquids pour out of a ceramic vessel. The process of glazing prohibits sharp corners, but a clean edge is necessary to cut a flowing stream at the spout. Without that clean "cut" drips will run down the outside edge.
A Project in Making
In sketching ideas, a geometric shape kept returning to my head. Over and over. Everything went back to these angular lines.
Embracing inevitability, I roughed out some forms in plaster. From those, I modeled a version in CAD and 3D printed it.
The Steps:
- Making a buck for the plaster molds
- Making the plaster molds
- Casting slip in them
- Firing
- Glazing
- Firing again
- Test and revise/repeat
I experimented with different opening angles, sizes, and edges, selecting for the best "pouring" ability. Being such a temperamental art, small variations in the natural process meant making the perfect ewer a numbers game. The more tries I had, the better the harvest.
Also, thinking about it a lot helped.
In Sum
I'll let the pictures tell most of the story here. This project was dangerous because it made me want to abandon all other aspirations and open a pottery studio and live off a home garden the rest of my life.
