Joyce St. Clair Voltz
My process starts with either a wheel-thrown or a handbuilt base, depending on the form and where it falls on the utilitarian scale. All of my work is based in traditional pottery forms, but I will exaggerate aspects of some pieces past the importance of usage. After I am satisfied with the base, I press various found and made stamps to the thickest parts of body and rims, add handles, armature bands and other structures to prepare for the process of sprigging. I have a large collection of bisque mold sprigs, the negative impression of my stamps, that I use to build decoration that suit the forms and that ties together my love for decoration to be as much form as it is surface. After the form is complete and bisqued, I prepare to glaze by mixing some of my glazes with frit, and watering down others to encourage drips that highlight the curves and dips of the piece both in the application process and during the firing. I also intentionally overfire some glazes, and hold the kiln at Cone 6 to encourage glaze movement. My preferred clay is Cone 6 porcelain, and I use both Duncan and Amaco underglazes alongside some hand-mixed glazes.
