Ira Burhans
I am currently exploring new forms and glazes in stoneware pottery. Each piece can be used in the oven or microwave and washed in a dishwasher. I feel this is very important because I want my pottery to become a part of your everyday life. Because stoneware pottery can be vitreous without a glaze this allows me the latitude to explore more aggressive clay like forms resulting in the ability to create pots that have aesthetic curves and textures. Also, the glazes I am exploring will react to the different shapes of the pot to give a variation in color and texture. As a result each piece is unique and one of a kind.
My teapots and pitchers with bird like spouts are reminiscent of a spout found on an old watering can and have evolved to be more bird like. The curled handles and carved surfaces are influenced by the natural seaside; patterns in the sand when the tide goes out, and waves curling toward the shore.
