by Bella Erakko
It’s called obvara, ceramic potter Steve Ryan says of the 12th century or Middle Ages process he now uses. Before this technique evolved, pots could not be used for cooking because the earthenware was too porous. Why? “Because,” Steve explains, “the firing process wasn’t hot enough.”
“A couple of years ago,” Steve goes on, “I saw an article in a ceramics magazine about this, and I wanted to do something new.” Basically, obvara seals pottery but the process, from our modern perspective, seems akin to baking bread. Steve mixes flour, yeast, sugar, and water; lets it sit for about three days; and then drops pots straight out of the 1650-degree kiln into the yeasty liquid. That’s when the magic begins.
“It is very quick,” Steve describes. “The mixture starts burning, scalding the pot. It smells like burnt toast. Wonderful color patterns start to appear: earth tones, browns, dark black, golden tan, white speckles.” It keeps transforming even as he pulls it out to cool it.
The process is akin to raku, but the flour mixture makes the pot “soft to touch, buttery.” Best of all, the ceramic piece becomes sealed and waterproof. Steve’s ceramics have a distinctly zen look to them—and mystery. Customers call them “stick pots” because each lidded piece has a twig handle woven with waxed cord through the lid. For Steve, “Bowls are open and have no mystery to them. Lidded jars let you wonder about what is in it.”
It’s possible that his year and a half in Japan when he was in the service seeped into him, much like the obvara technique has seeped into his lidded pots. One of the fastest selling items in the Gallery, these new delightful pots-of-mystery are surely destined to find happy homes. For those unable to visit the Gallery, his new collection will be featured at the website, www.allianceartgallery.com.
Extended Second Saturday Second Saturday continues in a new format—Extended Second Saturday—on August 8. Come visit the Gallery any time between 11:00 and 5:30 to see what’s new, and receive your usual ticket to win a piece of art. We will write your contact information on our portion of the ticket, do the drawing at 5:30 live on Facebook, immediately notify the winner, and arrange for pick-up. Although our excellent artist-provided food and wine will be missing, we continue to provide “art for the soul.”
