My pots

[kitoi]

Still green but wanted to show it off, when complete it will be 12" wide x 3" deep


I think the rim is too wide, what do you think?

[Bretts]

Another great pot Kitoi, It is a nice variation but I would not say my favourite. The right glaze could make the mineral in the sand pop hey?
I was looking through your blog the other day looking at some of the glazes you have been using. I loved the link that sent me too that guy that uses clay powder to do the crack effect. Some amazing work. It was intresting how he pushed the clay in before back out again to get the crack effect without losing the form as much.

[kitoi]

Bretts,
Just curious, what attributes are not to your liking?

My plan with this is to stain the texture and glaze the rim, I'm thinking a greenish tone but haven't found the right recipe yet.

Have you tried the push/stretch method yet? made two pots tonight that way, 1st one came out so-so, the 2nd was much better. Too dark to take photos now, will get some tomorrow.

[Bretts]

Not sure it just reminds me of something that I don't relate to Bonsai is the best way I can put it. Some thing out of a pensioners cupboard
It must have something to do with the larger rim and the space under that before the cracking? The smooth is fine the cracking is fine but the tecture between upsets me some how. It may very well not be there after glazing and I could change my mind
I am only making the odd simple thing out of clay at the moment until the busy season is tapering off.
I made a garden lantern and a flop pot that could make a decent literati pot.

[Petra]

Hi Kitoi, nice pot, i like. Hey noticed you also like succulents. Its right down my alley mate.Tell me what is the rarest one you have.You know this pot you made would look fab with some of my succulents in. Keep up the good work, hey.Cheers Petra!

[kitoi]

Bretts,
I think the rim is too heavy also, the angle of the photo accentuates that as well. It will take a substantial plant to bring it down to size.

Petra,
Glad you like the pot!

Rarest succulent I grow, tough to say as I have many that are very hard to obtain. Aloe pillansii is up on the endangered list with less than 200 in habitat, I have 4 plants. Cyphostemma uter, their numbers are dwindling as well, I have 3 of them. I could go on and on but you get the idea.

Here's another rare one I just got, Digitostigma caput-medusae

This pot was made from scrap black mountain clay that I mixed with tissue paper resulting in what is called "paperclay". The fibers in the clay make stronger bodies and bonding as well as reducing weight. I wanted to make the walls an 1/8" thick and could not have done that with traditional clay, it would have been too brittle. The texture on the outer surface is from slip made from the scraps and brush on diagonally. The grog shows up do to the brushing, it wipes away the fine clay that makes the surface smooth.

[kitoi]

These were made using the push in and stretch out technique to create the fissures

[kitoi]

[kitoi]

5in oval crackpot

[anttal63]

keith my man its coooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooolllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

love the colour.

[aaron_tas]

that' such a sweet combo, rugged as...

i love the aqua colour too

[Bretts]

Looking great as always Kitoi. I bet you are the envy of the cactus world with those pots.

These were made using the push in and stretch out technique to create the fissures

How did you find this comapred with the just pushing out method?

[kitoi]

Appreciate the positive comments guys!

Bretts,
Look at the difference in the cracks in the oval pot and the ones in the post above, the oval was stretch only. The push stretch technique results in many more fissures.

[JayP]

wow kitoi these have got to be some of the most impressive pots i have seen and i collect fine quality pots! you really should consider trying to find the time to produce them in volume, they would really sell like hotcakes!! have you considered focusing primarily an small to medium pots and making larger ones to order, your pots are very unique and collectible and pots in the mame/shohin range seem to be the most sought after by collectors.

i did read earlier that you don't seem to have a lot of time to focus on your pottery being that it is primarily a hobby and you work on two pots at a time but if you could produce say 10 to 15 hand sized pots a week then i think that would be an achievable amount and would provide a steady flow for collectors. i know myself and quite a lot of other people would be more than happy to buy these pots!!

i am honestly so impressed at the quality of pot you are producing in such a short time and i really think there is a definate career in it for you and you have the potential to become a well known potter. keep up the good work

[kitoi]

Thank you for the compliments JayP!
I never thought about focusing on a particular size but now that I think about the bonsai crowd does seem to stay shohin, it's the cactus and succulent people that want bigger. Got an order last night for a 12" x 6" oval crackpot from a C&S guy and Saturday received one from a bonsai collector for two 6" x 2.5" and a 2.5" x 2". Made five 6-8" cascade pots last week, these took a big chunk of time to create, if I try and stay shohin I got crank out more as it only takes me about 20min to throw. 10-15 a week sounds reasonable as long as my real job doesn't get in the way .

Was thinking about that the other day, I've only been making pots for about 2yrs and have had the pottery wheel for half of that time. Most I talk to are surprised are it's been only a short time.

bisqued 6" pots


10" oval


8" literati


5" round