"The Constant Gardener" Wall Pocket Orchid Planter by Michael W. Moses...Sold

Initial Fired Bisque Ware

 This is a piece of hand sculpted ceramic art pottery, that I started quite a while back and just finally finished last month.  It seems that the last six months has been so busy with relocating the antique shop and moving into a new home that I just have not been getting much pottery done.

I almost always take images of my art works as they progress.  I do this so I can have a permanent visual record of the development of each piece and also so that I can show people the different stages that my pottery goes through from start to finish.  Here are some of the progressional images of this new Wall Pocket / Orchid Planter

Painted and Selectively Glazed

After Final Firing

Side View

Painted and Selectively Glazed

After Final Firing

Signed Back

 For further information on this work of ceramic art pottery please visit me at Etsy

Michael W. Moses goes to CoastCon 36 Science Fiction Convention in Biloxi, MS

Here is a non pottery related post for you.

Over this last weekend I went on Saturday to the 36th annual CoastCon Science Fiction convention at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Colosseum in Biloxi, MS

This year the convention saw what seemed to me to be a considerable increase in attendees from the last few years. I would like to thank the many people of CoastCon for putting together a pretty good one for 2013. It makes me anxious for the 2014 one next year!

There were a fairly large number of gamers that showed up and there were many people in costume. I found this years layout for CoastCon a bit better than in previous years at the Colosseum. There was a nice flow to the setup that really worked well.

I picked up a few items in the merchant room and went to the costume contest. This year the prize for best costume was a reproduction Brave Heart Sword, that was donated by South Coast Antiques. The sword was won by a young lady that had a great looking Wonder Woman costume that she made herself. I took a few images during the costume contest and once again was not happy at the Biloxi Colosseum's difficult lighting for photography.  After the costume contest I went around and took a few more images with my digital camera.  If you want to see a few more of the images that I took at CoastCon please go to my photobucket gallery.

I spent the evening setting around talking with some of my friends that I do not often get a chance to spend time with. We had pleasant conversation all Saturday evening, until the convention closed and we were sent out into the night.

I have spent the last two evenings processing the images that I took. I have created a few Art Photo Manipulations using some of the images that I took that I thought deserved a bit of a bump up to the next level so to speak.

I have a passion for doing my ceramic art pottery, but I must admit that I sure do love doing digital photography a whole lot.  I just love taking an image and making a collage of unrelated images that create a new and wonderful image to behold. Many do not consider this type of work to be art, but many people in the 1800's and 1900's did not consider film photography to be real art either.  To me it does not matter one way or the other. I just love digital art and photography and to me creating because one loves to create is more to do with being art than solely creating to just make money.

For a few more of my digital art photo manipulations you can see them at photobucket

I Am Back With a New Piece of Ceramic Art Pottery!

I know that it has been quite awhile since I have made a post on my pottery blog.  I must make apologies to you for this.  I have taken a small vacation from my pottery and the internet and have focused on on a number of things in the real world.  I have made it sound a bit dire maybe, but it has been far from being so. I have been working in my garden, entertaining company, working on home related projects, selling antiques, buying antiques, and generally having a busy but enjoyable time of it all!  Now I will be back to doing pottery here in Ocean Springs.  I have many new piece of ceramic art pottery in the processes of being made as I write this. About a dozen or so new works to be painted and fired!  I have gained a new and hopefully lasting focus on my sculptural pottery and I am more than ready to start back to the joy that for me is doing ceramic art pottery.

 Here is one of my latest works fresh from the kiln! I call this one "The Thorny Sea Flower Vase".  This is one of those works that just vibrates with life and color.  The tendrils all have delightfully sharp little points that will actually poke you if one picks it up by the tendrils.  This was a piece that really just came together so perfectly.  This one was a total pleasure to create.

 One last thing about this vase.  It was sold the same day I got it home from being fired!  I love to make these pieces and I must say that I also love to sell them. 

Selling your work is the benchmark to how much your work is accepted and appreciated.  For us artists it is such a feeling of satisfaction to have a piece sell.  I create art, "Ars gratia artis"(Art for art's sake)and I will create if it sells or if it does not sell, because that is what I have done all my life. So it is such an extra joy and blessing that I have been able to sell so much of my works for so many years now.

 I would also like to take this moment in my life to thank everyone that has purchased my art over the years and all the varied people that have helped me,assisted me, and supported me, in my many artistic endeavors over the years. You all know who you are I should think.

More posts and more pottery to come soon!