I'm AJ Steele, a ceramic artist based in Colorado. I make all of my work by hand in my studio in Denver, where I focus on making large-scale pots. The methods I use to build these pots are strongly influenced by the coiling and paddling techniques I learned while studying pottery in South Korea. Those methods are traditionally used to make onggi, large earthenware fermentation jars, and studying them changed how I work with clay in a fundamental way. I realized that coiling allowed me to create forms that would be impossible on the wheel, and my practice has increasingly shifted toward large hand-built forms.
Most of my work is built over many days. I enjoy the slower pace of hand-building because it's a process where I develop forms gradually through many stages. I begin by building the base of a pot with coils. I carefully join them together, and then I dry it until it reaches a point called leather-hard. When the clay is leather-hard, it's stronger and less malleable than when it's very wet. Because the clay has dried and firmed up, I can thin and shape the walls. This makes the walls of the pot more uniform, and expanding them outward is how I sculpt the curve of the form.
I try to expand the belly of each pot to be as wide as possible, so that it's just shy of becoming too wide and collapsing. I'm drawn to forms with proportions that have a sense of tension and flair. For my work, this often means I'm trying to create a pot where the base is narrow enough to contrast with the breadth of the belly's diameter, but it's still wide enough to create a stable foundation.
One of the things I love most about big pots is their large, round curves and substantial volume. That ability to make pots on a larger scale is what first drew me to hand-building, and it continues to drive my practice.
When working on a large vessel, I'm intrigued by the nuances that develop as the shape becomes larger and gains a unique character. No matter how many of these big pots I make, I'm still compelled by watching them grow and expand upwards as I build them. I find deep satisfaction in making work that has presence, where the pot is large enough to stand on its own as a sculptural object after being fired.
After finishing the main body of a vessel, my last step is to create a rim with a very narrow opening. I'm drawn towards forms with openings that are so narrow they're nearly enclosed. This step is one of my favorite moments because I'm finally able to see how the different elements and proportions of the pot work together. I'm fascinated by the idea of the interior space inside the pot that remains hidden from view. Because the vessel's opening is so narrow, it's difficult to see inside the pot, and you have to imagine the space inside.
Before glazing, I fire each piece once in an initial firing called a bisque. Then, I create the final surface through many layers of iron oxide wash, porcelain slip, and glaze. I carefully dry each layer before applying the next. I spend a lot of time judging thickness, timing, and how each layer will interact. The final surface develops in the kiln, so opening it after the firing is always a moment of anticipation.
I keep returning to the studio to make these forms because I'm captivated by the slow rhythm of building each vessel. With each new piece, I explore different proportions, surfaces, and curves.
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