These large wall platters are sculptural. They would make for gorgeous table centerpieces, but are crafted with a foot and bottom to fit flat on a wall perfectly. Tension builds when seeing thick, heavy clay floating on the wall.
This platter is inspired by lunar and planetary surfaces and shapes. Vibrant color contrasts on circular, carved textures only come through hours of tedious work. The platter's exterior glazes are also tediously applied with up to 5 different glazes, which must melt perfectly in order for this platter to be successfully finished. If the glazes turn out successfully, the colors will resemble those found in nebulae gas clouds, like those captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. This platter is not meant to duplicate exact lunar surfaces, but instead to represent how these surfaces feel when they are translated into clay in the form of a handcrafted, wall platter.
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This art is directly inspired by two artists who motivated me to pursue a full-time career as a potter and ceramic artist: Peter Voulkos and Don Reitz.
These photos below show my early college experiences with the two men. Voulkos passed away before I got my hands in clay. Studying, viewing and holding his art was the closest I got to him personally. Reitz (who was a close, personal friend of Pete) showed off his skills and radiated enthusiasm during a two day workshop I saw in college.
Reitz went through two wheelbarrows of clay in two days. He brought other artists to tears when talking about his art, life, friends and Pete. It was truly remarkable. I feel honored to have been able to document Reitz at 79 years old, throwing 100 pound platters like it was child's play.
You can learn more about how I crafted my career to follow in the footsteps of these men in my guest authorship for American Craft Council:
"A Potter's Journey: Art Experiences Outside The College Classroom"
*The photo of me holding a Peter Voulkos platter is not the platter you are purchasing. It is a marketing photo, intended to show a link to my historical pottery influences only. You are purchasing one Cherrico Pottery platter only.
