Jim Whitman

Shino Texture

13.75 x 6.5 x 6.5"

Stoneware with Grog and Slip

$125

This highly tactile vase explores the intersection of shino glazes with raw texture. Fine mesh grog is added to a white slip, smeared onto the exterior in bold brushstrokes, and left unglazed. The result offers a stark textural and visual contrast to the dynamic shino glaze covering the rest of the vase.

Artist Statement:

Spotify says I share the same musical taste as just 4% of all listeners. That seems about right.  And the same can be said of my ceramic tastes: I'm a post-punk potter in a pop music world, irresistibly drawn to the odd and obscure.  Finding beauty in restraint, I am drawn to the honesty and immediacy of unglazed surfaces. I want the final form to speak for itself without the noise of heavy ornamentation, to create a tactile and visual bridge between the maker, the clay, and the user.  I apply color intentionally and sparingly—a single, sweeping brushstroke, a spontaneous splash, or oxides that seep into nooks and crannies. These marks are not meant to decorate so much as capture a moment of movement or accentuate the natural texture of raw clay.  I apply these aesthetics almost exclusively to functional ceramic ware—because Joy Division fans deserve hand-crafted vases, bowls, and cups as much as Swifties do. ;-)