The oyster of study came from a close friend and mentor, Captain Mike Richards. He was given a bucket of oysters by Captain Ed Farley of the Skipjack H.M. Krentz. The Skipjacks of the Chesapeake Bay are among the last commercial sailing vessels in North America.
Dredging oysters under a massive mainsail and jib is a uniquely Chesapeake Bay endeavor, a time-honored tradition that has shaped the region’s maritime heritage for generations. Many of the remaining Skipjacks are over 100 years old, their weathered wooden hulls carrying the stories of countless oyster harvests. Designed with a wide beam and shallow draft, these remarkable boats were built specifically for navigating the Bay’s intricate network of oyster-rich tributaries. Today, Skipjacks remain a symbol of the Watermen’s deep connection to the Bay, preserving a way of life that continues to endure despite the passage of time.
The skipjack arose near the end of the 19th century. Dredging for oysters, prohibited in 1820, was again made legal in 1865. Boats of the time were unsuitable, and thebugeyedeveloped out of thelog canoein order to provide a boat with more power adapted to the shallow waters of the oyster beds.
The bugeye was originally constructed with a log hull, and as the supply of appropriate timber was exhausted and construction costs rose, builders looked to other designs. They adapted thesharpiesofLong Island Soundby increasing the beam and simplifying the sail plan. The result was cheaper and simpler to construct than the bugeye, and it quickly became the predominant oystering boat in the bay.
Debate remains to this day about the origins of the name. Some speculate it came from a name New England fisherman called theflying fish, bonita. Still others claim it is derived from an archaic English term, meaning an “inexpensive yet useful servant.”
It was COLD yesterday, but I love a cold kiln day! I enjoyed hours of warmth next to the ol’ 88 on the wrapped front porch with snow on the ground. I’ll be firing the glaze tests you can see in the background today. Perhaps an afternoon beer in my balmy little space. Friday!
..of and to the kiln on this beautiful Eastern Shore morning.
Yesterday, while 3 pieces cooked to cone 05, I experimented with some glaze application techniques for the shell interiors. The challenge with trying to create some amount of accuracy is working with the unpredictability of glazes, underglazes and stains. Once fired, those things almost never look the same as they did during the application process. So, to the boneyard we go.
On average, I loose 30% of the green or unfired pieces to cracking. The natural oyster is so varied in it’s texture and thickness and clay doesn’t dry evenly when the thickness is too varied, especially at this scale. The most vulnerable areas are the lips where the difference of 1/16″ could mean a solid candidate for an ultimately finished piece or another addition the the “boneyard” under my wife’s buffet in the foyer of our home.
I actually only fire a few of them. Most of those that crack or are just plain bad get rendered back into clay. I still have a never-ending supply of failed but fired pieces to experiment with.
Once I’ve gleaned what I can from the glaze experiments they go back to the “yard”. In the case of these four examples, I see they’ve spilled over into the living room. As you can see, when they fail during glaze firing to cone 6, they fail spectacularly.
This is the first study of shell #07-84,01 that came straight from the drying rack this morning. The porcelain clay dries to a cool light grey. Once bisque fired to cone 05 or 1870 degrees Fahrenheit it will have a light warm cream color. Being a mid-fire clay, it will ultimately be heated to cone 6 or 2165 degrees where the unglazed or tinted porcelain will become even warmer in color. At this temperature the clay will become fully vitrified, or transformed into a solid glass like ware. The fact that it has survived the drying process is a great sign! We’ll see how it handles the two firing processes. Check back later and see how it turns out
This morning I opened the ol’ Parragon 88 and found two of three pieces of work cracked during bisque fire.
The price I pay for the style of work that turns me on is frequent cracks and failures. Of course a more uniform thickness of the sculpture results in a higher success rate. Yes. I get that. The challenge then is representing a natural oyster and it’s variations of thickness and texture in porcelain in such a way it doesn’t crack during the drying process. If the piece dries completely without cracking, the odds of it surviving the bisque firing intact are pretty good. But with anything, there are no guarantees. Hence, I give you….The Boneyard.
I don’t know why we keep all of my work that missed the mark but we do and have from the beginning. Every couple of months we empty the space and relegate my sad little collection to boxes in the basement or recently to the garden in the yard. Yard Art.
The squirrels seem not to mind and the birds enjoy a good bath. I can live with that.
Last Thursday I reconfigured the studio for photography and created still photos and videos for promotional purposes. The work looks great on film and I’m very pleased with the content.
The three most recent Eastern Oyster Studies fired well. Big things are happening on Wharf Rd!
