Ceramics by John Gregg

Artist Statement

Clay is my breath as in meditation. It brings me back to the earth and making me whole. My favorite pieces come from the Wood Fire or the Sawdust Fire Kilns. The clay shows tracings and the movement of the fire on the surface.

Biography

John Gregg was born in Yuma; Arizona in 1957. He was the second generation raised in Arizona. He has hiked the back country of Arizona, Utah, Nevada and the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. His main interest was photography. He has extensive collection of photographs of the petroglyphs he has found. The southwestern influences show in his work today. John took pottery classes at Arcadia high school in Phoenix. The major influence behind his art was his mother, Corrine Mathiesen Gregg who was a prolific artist. After her passing, John returned to pottery in her memory. He now focuses on honing his design skills and experimenting with alternative firing methods. He has a studio in his home and also works on his art at Pottery West in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The major part of my ceramic work is wheel thrown using stoneware and porcelain clays. I fell in love with throwing clay on the wheel. I have a deep passion for clay. I try to give the clay the texture and forms of the natural world. Most of my pieces are thrown on the potter's wheel first, then carved and texture into their final shape.

I use earth tone glazes called Shino. Shino glazes came from a part of Japan. They contain more clay than most glazes. This gives them the rich earth tone. I also use Terra sigillata. Terra sigillata is made from any kind of clay, mixed as a very thin liquid and settled to separate out only the finest particles which then are painted on the body. Then can be polished with a soft cloth or brush to achieve a shine ranging from a smooth silky luster to a high gloss.

Wood firing is done in ether a Wood Train or a Sasukenei Smokeless Kiln. The fire flows like water thru the kiln and the clay records the flow of the fire. There is no wall separating the fire from the work and through the duration of the firing ash from the fire lands on the pots. This ash melts to form a natural ash glaze. The clays respond to the flame and the atmospheres generated within the kiln. Some of my pieces are conventionally glazed with glazes will modified again to respond to the atmosphere within the firing chamber. Most firing are heated to 2420 degrees also called cone 12.
The Sasukenei Smokeless Kiln is all so used as a Wood Fire Soda. When the soda ash is added to the atmosphere at the end of the firing it forms a soda ash glaze.

Alternative Firing can be Raku, Barrel, or Saggar. I built a Barrel Kiln which is used for sawdust firing which gives each piece a unique carbon imprint from the organic material burned on its surface. The piece is placed in the barrel and saw dust is poured no top. Every couple inches copper oxide (copper rust), iron oxide (iron rust) and sea salts are added. These natural oxides and salts give some of the rich reds color when the saw dust is burned.