Michael W. Moses-New Pottery Blog/Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance

I have neglected this blog for awhile. I have previously made a post here and there, but nothing consistent.

I have sort of drifted away from my pottery for awhile having been seduced by digital photography. I have not given up on my ceramic art pottery though, I have just taken a break.

My old Olympus c5060 finally became a bit erratic and a little undependable.  I also came to the realization that it was as far as cameras are concerned kind of on the antiquated side.  I looked and studied up a bit on newer cameras back at the end of 2016 and ended up getting the Fujifilm X-T10.  Since then I have fallen in love all over again with digital photography! 

I am now in the middle of a new romantic affair!  It feels just like the first time I ever took a digital image! So it is all nice and new and shiny once more!

I am going to be featuring more of my art photography on this site, occasionally other peoples work, plus I will still show case my ceramic art pottery a bit also.

I thought that the 4th of July would be a great time to restart(one more time)this blog.  I thought that I would get it rolling, by posting a tribute to the 4th and the U.S.A.

I saw Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance a very long time ago and was highly impressed by the piece.  I recently happened to see it on You Tube and thought I would share it with you as my tribute to the American holiday.  I hope that you will enjoy this video and be en-heartened by it's message of patriotism.  I hope you have a very enjoyable 4th and that you will take a moment to think about how great this nation of ours is to all us folks living here.

Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance

Michael W. Moses Ceramic Art Pottery Now Available at Persnickety in Madison,Mississippi

 Every jewel needs a setting and a collection of jewelry needs a jewel case.  "Persnickety" of Madison is one of those jewel cases.  Set in the small jewel-like city of Madison, Mississippi, the shop named Persnickety takes small things seriously.

That being said, I am happy to say that "Persnickety" is a proud purveyor of Michael W. Moses ceramic art pottery.  I have been searching for just the right place for my pottery and I was very pleased to have "Persnickety" take a hand-picked group of 45 pieces of my pottery.  We went up to Jackson yesterday, 26 June to make the installation and found the owner of "Persnickety", Ben Rogers and his staff to be helpful and knowledgeable.  All went swiftly and the installation was complete in just a couple of hours.

 Here are some photos of the showcase my pottery will reside.  You will note the juxtaposition and contrast is startling.  The placement in an antique style display case which can be seen stage right, just as you enter the door, makes for maximum impact to the eye.  The bright flash of colors and the non-traditional shapes pulls the eye immediately.

 "Persnickety" is no stranger to fine items and their inventory is diverse and well placed.   Discriminating buyers can choose items that have been carefully selected to tickle the fancy of the upscale buyer.  Anybody can have a store, but not all can match the painstaking research and selection available at "Persnickety".

 I’d like to thank The owner Ben Rogers, his Family and fine staff for making this an easy and enjoyable experience.  I hope that people in the Madison and Jackson area will see my pottery there at "Persnickety" and feel like for a brief moment, they are on the Gulf Coast.

"Yellow Red Service Shell Bowl" Hand Sculpted Ceramic Art Pottery by Michael W. Moses Ocean Springs, MS

Fresh to our world from a sun drenched alien seashore comes the "Yellow Red Service Shell" bowl.

A luxurious study in a matt, satiny, sulphur yellow exterior glaze.

The yellow outside is a perfect foil for the shiny glassy red interior of this piece.




 Each little tiny blue dot is painted one at a time and then painted over with a drop of clear glaze. The yellow is three coats of glaze tediously hand painted around the dots.

The flowing pink and red interior is totally hand painted to give it the effect of a natural flowing surface and then covered in crystal clear glaze.

 

The bottom is hand engraved with my signature and place of manufacture. The writing is filled with colored glaze that is fired on to the piece.

For more information, more images and pricing, please visit me at ETSY.Com

Neo Victorian Hand Sculpted Belle Epoque Captive Bulb Vase by Michael W. Moses

 Today I am featuring a brand new work of ceramic art pottery that I call, the "Belle Epoque Captive Bulb Vase"  This is a piece that I can describe as being Neo Victorian.  This pieces is completely modern in manufacture and coloring, but has all of the exuberant qualities that also make it a high Victorian design. This type of work is so reminiscent of the lavish over the top creations that were being produced during the period that the French refer to as the Belle Epoque Era (1871-1914).

 

 This one of a kind hand modeled work of ceramic art pottery comprises 4 distinct pieces that I have assembled together into one bold artistic statement. I started out with a really great circa 1910 hand etched glass sugar bowl. I then made a small root system shaped bowl that fits into the bottom of the sugar bowl, Then hand sculpted a bulb vase to fit into the sugar bowl, over top of the small root shaped bowl to create a small covered box like area. I then perched a lively little alien creature upon the side of the bulb vase. Once it had been fired, I meticulously painted all the details, glazed, then refired.  I added a vintage silver tone costume jewelry quality chain and two vintage red aurora borealis rhinestones for the happy little creatures eyes.

The Belle Epoque Captive Bulb Vase is basically a hand sculpted bulb vase that one can use for flowers and that has a small place where one can hide a ring, a few gold coins, or a small precious note. That is attached to a beautiful antique sugar bowl with a chain.

Just to let you know, if you do not know, The chain is added to keep the bulb vase with its sugar bowl home.  These bulb vases can get a little on the wild side sometimes and one will need to keep it chained so that it does not escape into the wild.

An image of what it looked like just after I had pained it and just before it was glazed.




 This work is available

Crystal Anchorite Vase by Michael W. Moses and Other Ceramic Art Pottery Incorporating Found Objects of Virtue

Crystal Anchorite Vase

I had a vintage cut crystal paperweight laying around for many years.  I just loved the deeply crenelated bulbous shape of this lead crystal paperweight but it seemed like it was just missing something.  I got looking at it one day and I envisioned it as a mixed media ceramic art pottery sculpture and it came to be called the "Crystal Anchorite Vase". 

Crystal Anchorite Vase

It now looks to be an exotic alien life form.  It's bright orange tendrils virtually writhe with movement.  This piece seems to be anxiously waiting for that one perfect addition to be added to the small vase opening at the top.  A magic wand? A beaded rod?  An outrageous feather?  A  single rare blossom ? Or just maybe just left as it is. This will be your decision.

I have on a number of occasions used found objects, as they can be called, in connection with my hand sculpted ceramic art pottery.  I have used everything from jewel studded earrings to slightly damaged antique frosted glass toothpick holders.  I always try to use items that are going to last and not be overly fragile.  But items of beauty and having just a special something, an indefinable thing that makes it worth incorporating into my work. 

I like items that may have a bit of history or damage that in some cases will actually add to what I am trying to get across with a particular work of my ceramic art pottery. There are pieces that I look at and I will immediately see the finished work that will come from it and there are items that I look at and look at and over a long period of time I will see what they shall become.

Either way, I only use pieces that are special in my vision of how my pieces should and ultimately will be.  Also one of my big things is that I want to use some very crazy and expensive items, but I  do not do so because, one might think it silly of me to think about this, but I would hate to have my pieces destroyed to get a highly precious item removed from it by future scrapers.

 

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 Grenade Reliquary

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Orange Captive Bulb Vase

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Alien Orange Canopic Jar

Kutani Coral Artifact Ceramic Art Pottery Sculpture by Michael W. Moses

Here are a few images of me working on one of my latest pieces. This piece is called, Kutani Coral Artifact. This is (for my work) a large piece. It measures about 13 inches tall.

Here I am at my work table listening to music with my headphones on.  I  was listening to

Woods of Ypres and Old Crow Medicine Show at the time.

At this point the work had been sculpted, slowly dried, and fired to a bisque state.   I have just started to do the underglaze painting.



This is what the piece looked like after it had been completely painted, overglazed and fired. I added a number of  inset vintage glass rhinestones and a beadwork yellow sea anemone to give it just a tiny bit more pizzazz!.

A view of the back.  The front is all smooth and glassy, while the back has a rough almost rusted iron feeling.

This work of ceramic art pottery is a one of a kind item that will surely be a stand out piece in any setting that it may be placed.

Three New Ceramic Art Pottery pieces by Michael W. Moses at South Coast Antiques & Gallery in Ocean Springs, MS

Letter Embossed Orchid Pot  by Michael W Moses

I just finished three new pieces that I thought that I would share here on my blog. The first is a Letter Embossed Orchid Pot That I made for an orchid that I have that I have just not had any luck with at all. I may just put it out in the shop with a new orchid plant in it. 

Red Yellow Sponge Pot by Michael W Moses

The second is a matt Red Sponge Pot with a glossy yellow Interior that fades into a dark red.  This piece has an organic quality that I really find appealling.  It looks like some form of life that could be setting in a crystal clear sea basking in the hot noonday sun of an alien world.  Two delicatly painted stones accompany this piece, one is almost jade like and the other is possably an azurite, who knows maybe they are gemstones that do not even exist here on Earth.

The Smoker Art Pottery by Michael W Moses

The third is an incense burner that I call the smoker. It is a bowl that has a small three rhinestone attachment on the inside. It sets on a stand and has barnacles that have openings that allow an inscense cone to be laced undernrigth so that the smoke can drift out of the barnacles and drift up around the bowl. This piece was inspiered by stories about life around the thermal vents that occur in the depths of the oceans.  I will make a small video clip of this piece that I will put on YouTube shortly so that one may view this piece in action.

The Smoker Art Pottery by Michael W Moses inside

 All three pieces are currently available and may be viewed at South Coast Antiques & Gallery in Ocean Springs, MS.

The Smoker Art Pottery by Michael W Moses

Queen's Tears Bromeliad Billbergia Nutans in Green Blue Dotted Bulb Vase by Michael W. Moses

The other day I noticed that my Queen's Tears Bromeliad (Billbergia Nutans) is in bloom once more so I clipped three off and put them in one of my ceramic art pottery vases. This particular Green Blue Dotted Bulb Vase is a favorite of mine. It is just perfect for displaying so many different flowers. I was so pleased with the over all effect from this arrangement that I took my camera and fired off a few shots. This is one that I particularly liked.  The colors of the flowers make it look as of I had specifically chosen these colors to match the flowers.

I featured this same vase on my May 31, 2011 blog post showing it with a totally different type of flower.

This vase and the Queen's Tears blossoms are currently on display at our main counter at South Coast Antiques & Gallery in Ocean Springs, MS.  They will be in bloom (with any luck) for about the next three or four days, so if you are in the area stop by and have a look at them up close and in person.

Prints of this image available.

"Napoleon's Bee Bowl" and "Where the Red Tendril Grows Bowl" by Michael W. Moses

Here are two of my latest works of ceramic art pottery.

The first piece is a thin walled bowl, that I call "Napoleon's Bee Bowl".  It is a small bowl that has a small bee, which was the Emblem of  Napoleon Bonaparte.  

The link is to a great blog post about the Napoleonic Bee with a few great examples, including one that is really special!

The exterior of the bowl is done in lively tidal pool colors and the interior is in tones of  royal purple.  All pulled together with a neat little sunshine yellow and bright turquoise blue bee.

 

 My second new bowl  is called "Where the Red Tendril Grows Bowl".  It has a pink exterior with baby blue and red detailing and a rich interior that is done up in squash bloom yellows with blue designs and one small bright red, probing tendril coming out of the side of the bowl.  This one of a kind, hand crafted, work of ceramic art will radiate a feeling of unbridled exuberance to any location  it may be placed!

Both pieces of art pottery are currently available and may be viewed at South Coast Antiques & Gallery in Ocean Springs, MS.

A New Plate and a Freshly Painted Dragon Pod Vase by Michael W. Moses

Here is my newest piece of ceramic art pottery  I call it "Yellow Scholars Plate".  

This work is a vaguely oriental looking piece that I have embellished with three applied sculptured alien seeds.

This plate is currently available and may be viewed at South Coast Antiques & Gallery in Ocean Springs, MS

This is a dragon fruit pod vase that I have recently finished painting. I will post more images of it once it is fired.

The Green Hunger Ceramic Art Pottery Vase by Michael W. Moses

I did  a post on Wednesday, August 31, 2011 showing a new piece of ceramic art pottery, that I had just fired.

Here is what it looked like when it was painted.

"The Green Hunger" After Being Painted.

 

"The Green Hunger" After Being Painted. View Form the Top

Now it has been fired and is ready for your viewing pleasure! 
I have titled  it "The Green Hunger".

"The Green Hunger" After Firing

"The Green Hunger" After Firing. View From Top

 This is a piece that I really like. It has movement and color. One can almost see it moving as one looks at it and the color just draws ones eyes to it. This new piece of ceramic art pottery may be viewed at South Coast Antiques & Gallery in Ocean Springs, MS.

New Cramic Art Pottery by Tyler Gibson

Here are two new works by my student, Tyler Gibson.

 This piece exhibits a great use of form to create an illusion of movement. One can almost see this pod exploding outward and releasing its contents into the world! Or maybe it is some type of omnivorous alien  plant! Either way Tyler is doing very good in my opinion and proceeding by leaps and bounds.

With this piece Tyler has taken a free form shallow bowl, embellished it with stamp work and then given it a two color finish and glaze. The over all effect has a very traditional look while maintaining a fresh modern appearance..

I will post more of Tyler Gibson's works as he progresses.