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

Ceramic Art Pottery Works in Progress by Michael W. Moses with Tyler Gibson

 The last few weeks have been going along rather swiftly. I have been getting South Coast Antiques set up at Centuries Antique Mall over in D'Iberville and working on all manner of things other than pottery. I have almost constantly been thinking about doing pottery, but I have just not been getting much done.  I am going through a Zen period where thinking about pottery has to be as good as doing the pottery. Oh, what pieces I have been working on in my mind!

About two weeks ago my apprentice Tyler Gibson came over to finish up his last projects.  He left last week to go off to do his basic training for the army. so I guess it will be awhile before he gets any more pieces made.  He will be greatly missed.  I can only wish him the very best in serving his country!

Here are a few images of the pieces I was working on and the last ones that Tyler did.

Michael W. Moses Ceramic Art Pottery Glazed Waiting to be Fired.

Michael W. Moses Ceramic Art Pottery Glazed Waiting to be Fired. Back View

 

Michael W. Moses Ceramic Art Pottery Glazed Waiting to be Fired

Michael W. Moses Ceramic Art Pottery Glazed Waiting to be Fired. Back View

Tyler Gibson Ceramic Art Pottery Painted Waiting to be Glazed

Tyler Gibson Ceramic Art Pottery Painted Waiting to be Glazed. Side View

A Ceramic Art Pottery Card Holder by Michael W. Moses Incorporating an Antique Doulton's Silicon Ware Piece

Michael W. Moses Art Pottery Card Holder

This post is featuring a piece of ceramic art pottery that I started working on quite a while back.  I was making a point of sales card holder for South Coast Antiques & Gallery.  I had it fired and I put it to the side when I found out that we were going to have to move out of the shop so that a restaurant and bar, could replace us.  Well, I got looking at it and thinking about it and I figured that I would just go ahead and finish it any way. So, there.  It was just as simple as that.

I went ahead and painted it, glazed it, fired it, and then attached the accessory piece.

The attached piece is a great antique piece of art pottery that was made by Doulton of England. This piece was originally a small jug with a handle, but sadly the handle was broken off somewhere along the way.  When I purchased this piece I was so dissapointed that it was broken.  In the past I have usually avoided broken items, but this little piece seemed to nice not to give it a second chance.

I was so suprised to see that it was marked Doulton Lambeth 1883.  Usually when there are numbers on the bottom of a vase or other cermaic piece they usuaally are nothing more than mold marks or a pattern number.  In this case the 1883 is actually the date when this piece was made. This piece is maked Silicon. I had not heard of Silicon ware before I saw this piece.  I have found that it was a major type of art pottery during the late Victorian era. Silicon ware was made by the company that we know as Royal Doulton today.  When this piece was made it was only known as Doulton.

Michael W. Moses Doulton Silicon Ware Vase Attachment

I also have to say that from almost the moment that I laid eyes upon this tiny art pottery vase, it is only 3½ inches from top to bottom, I knew that I would incorporate it into this card holder.  It always gives me such great satisfaction when I have an image of a piece of ceramic art pottery fully realized in my mind and then see it sitting in front of me compleatly finished.

After 129 years and being broken and then being sold to me, this tiny work of art is hopefully going to be able to survive for maybe another hundred years or so with a bit of luck.

As a bit of an aside. While I was taking the pictures of my card holder I was interrupted by one of my two kittens, His name is Spot. He was not going to leave until I took a few glamour shots of him. Here is one of them for your kitty viewing pleasure.

"Spot", M W Moses' Little Kitty

New Art Pottery Piece and Last Day for South Coast Antiques & Gallery in Ocean Springs, Mississippi!

It is currently 10:20PM as I sit at home and type this.  Today was a sad and wonderful day for me.  At 4:30PM we locked the door at South Coast Antiques & Gallery on Government Street in down town Ocean Springs, Mississippi and it was over.  After a little more than five years we closed our door to the public forever at this location.  


It was and is so sad for me.  No matter how much I complained and jumped up and down an yelled at tractor trailers parking in front of my shop to make deliveries to the bars and restaurants, when I was the only shop open on Mondays on that part of Government, I will still miss it so very, very much. 


It is wonderful in that this will be leading to a new and different future that I surly believe will be every bit as exciting as the last five years.  We will be reopening South Coast Antiques on approximately 2 April at Centuries Antique Mall over in the neighboring town of D'Iberville.  It is located at 4030 Suzanne Dr, DIberville, MS 39540 

"All The Treasures of Heaven Shall Be Yours"
by Michael W. Moses

The above image is a piece that I started a long time ago.  About a year or so back a friend of mine brought me this huge flawless ruby exquisitely done in an emerald style cut.  It is breath taking to behold!  It is so perfect that it is beyond words.  It is a real genuine ruby.  The only thing is that it was lab created.  So it looks like a million but is not worth quite that much.  


When it was given to me the first thought I had as I held it in awe of its great and almost magical beauty was that "All The Treasures of  Heaven Shall Be Yours" and I immediately saw an image in my mind of a saintly like being wearing ancient armor.  I had an old clock case that I had been saving for something special and this was going to be it!  


I crafted an icon like figure out of the fine white pottery clay that I use to fit in the case.  I fired it then painted it with under glaze colors and then glazed it and re-fired it.  I then took the clock case and stripped it down to the raw wood and then gave it a hand rubbed old fashioned finish.   


Once done I encased it and added a few small details and used a drop of museum putty to hold the ruby in place.  This is one of those special pieces that I am just not sure that I want to sell.  I may just keep this one for myself!

Cretaceous Carapace Ceramic Art Pottery Bowl by Michael W. Moses, Ocean Springs, Mississippi

This is my Cretaceous Carapace Bowl. This one looks as if it might have been found on the glittering white sands of some warm exotic ancient sea.  Reminiscent of the shell from some ancient or alien sea life this art pottery bowl is approximately 6 inches long and about 4 inches wide and around 3½ inches tall and packs a lot of great eye appeal.  I was very pleased with how vividly the colors came out on this hand sculpted piece of art pottery. This piece is now available at South Coast Antiques & Gallery in Ocean Springs, MS or through my online Etsy shop!

Cretaceous Carapace Ceramic Art Pottery Bowl

Cretaceous Carapace Bowl by Michael W. Moses

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

This is a new piece that I call the Domed Claw Reliquary.  This is a small, many clawed ceramic art pottery base that has a great little tubular dome.  I made it to specifically hold an item of either great interest or value or maybe both! Imagine if you will, maybe an outrageous piece of alien like jewelry, or maybe some exotic prop specimen that one might see on a blog like Propnomicon.  The base measures approximately 5 inches by 5 inches and is about 3¼ inches tall.  With the dome in place this piece is around 6¼ inches tall. There is just that one perfect specimen that will fit perfectly beneath this little dome I guess I will know it when I see it.

Domed Claw by Michael W. Moses

Domed Claw by Michael W. Moses

This piece is currently available for view at South Coast  Antiques & Gallery here in Ocean Springs, MS. and
through ETSY.com.

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.

Finished Orange Captive Bulb Vase by Michael W. Moses at South Coast Antiques in Ocean Springs

Orange Captive Bulb Vase in Heinrich & Co Cup 

This is my latest piece of ceramic art pottery. I call this one "Orange Captive Bulb Vase"  I showed what it looked like when it was just painted, before being glazed and fired in my Friday, November 18, 2011 post.
I was very pleased at how this little fellow looked when it came out of  the kiln. The colors are absolutely vibrant! It just sets and glows in its own garish brightness.
When I was photographing this piece which I do it in our shop, South Coast Antiques, I had a customer come in and they were watching me doing the photography. She says to me."Why is that vase chained to a cup"?  I very quickly responded, "Because it is so wild that it would escape if it were not chained to the cup"! She looked at me and says, "Oh, well that makes sense". It really makes me wonder when people say things like that to me what they are actually thinking.

Orange Captive Bulb Vase Out of It's Cup

 This bulb is chained to a really nice, absolutely paper thin porcelain tea cup. The cup has a great intricate hand painted Greek key design going around the lip and is an antique that was made by Heinrich & Co of  Selb, Bavaria in the early 1900's.

Orange Captive Bulb Vase From Top

Orange Captive Bulb Vase Before Being Chained to Cup

Dotted Blue Bulb Vase by Michael W. Moses SOLD today at South Coast Antiques & Gallery

This afternoon we sold one of my bulb vases. This one is called the "Dotted Blue Bulb Vase". It was purchased by a man and woman from Biloxi that were getting it for a Christmas gift for their daughter in California. This little bulb vase has so much lively movement that it just seems as if it will run away at any moment, but it's created to be stable and support one long thin blossom with maybe a small leaf or two on it. Imagine a brightly colored tulip, a long stemmed spider lilly, or even a single orchid sprouting from it's bulbous body. But in my opinion a flower is not even necessary to make this work of art a stand out piece in any room.

The Finished Dotted Blue Bulb Vase

The Greenware Stage

Getting Ready for Black Friday at South Coast Antiques & Gallery

Some people are avoiding the Black Friday  crowds by starting early this year at South Coast Antiques & Gallery. Today I sold three pieces of my pottery. I had two people that have on a number of occasions purchased pieces of my art pottery come to the shop and spend a bit of time visiting and deciding which works that they wanted. When the dust finally settled they had made in my opinion three really excellent choices. The Golden Triangle Bowl Alien Artifact, The Unfolding (Alien Inscription Bowl), and the Spider Web Matrix, Tree Frog Vase. After which I went out and had a great Red Fish dinner at a local restaurant. Over all a very nice day I must say.

Happy Patron Holding her latest Acquisition!

For more information on the above pictured piece The Unfolding (Alien Inscription Bowl) check out my posts
Sunday, April 3, 2011 and Saturday, April 23, 2011.

The Unfolding (Alien Inscription Bowl)by Michael W. Moses

Spider Web Matrix, Tree Frog Vase by Michael W. Moses

The Golden Triangle Bowl Alien Artifact by Michael W. Moses

The Golden Triangle Bowl Alien Artifact Interior by Michael W. Moses

A Happy Halloween to All From Michael W. Moses!

Jack-o'-lanterns in the front window of South Coast Antiques & Gallery

What do you think of my Halloween photograph of the pumpkins in the window of the shop?

Oh, I almost forgot!!! A Happy and Safe Halloween to All From South Coast Antiques and Michael W. Moses!

"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 Flasher Ceramic Art Pottery by Michael W. Moses. The Ocean is Dead by Mark E. Moses

We sold the Flasher at South Coast Antiques & Gallery, in Ocean Springs, MS, a while back. I ran across this small film clip yesterday that I did  a couple of months prior to the sale of the Flasher We added a piece of highly atmospheric music titled "The Ocean is Dead", that was written, performed and recorded by my musically gifted brother Mark E. Moses. His piece of music seemed very appropriate for this clip and we thought it evoked the mood of my ceramic art pottery piece very well. 

The Flasher was a hand modeled ceramic lamp that was made to resemble an alien sea anemone. The ceramic art pottery base holds a small light bulb that blinks off and on randomly. I added a multitude of beads that seem to wave gently in the warm ocean waters. The bead covered wires were a bit time consuming, but I think that the over all effect was well worth the time it took to make. We hope that you will enjoy this video of the Flasher!.

A Couple of Sales From the Weekend of Crusin the Coast 2011 at South Coast Antiques & Gallery

"The Peeper".

by Michael W. Moses

I just did not get a chance to take many photos of the great classic cars that were here in Ocean Springs last weekend for Crusin the Coast 2011. We had a vast sea of people pass through South Coast Antiques & Gallery. We also had some good sales. I sold one of my signature pieces, "The Peeper". It was one of my most popular works and I am so surprised that it took so long to sell. It was purchased by a young couple from Louisiana . They came into the shop on Friday and looked at my pottery. They stated (as a few other people in the past have) that if they won a jackpot at the casinos in Biloxi They would come back and buy a piece. They came back on Saturday and bought the peeper. They had won at the roulette wheel! The peeper was one of those really whimsical works, that everyone really seemed to like. My business partner, William Murphy made a YouTube video of "The Peeper". I hate to admit it but this is one that I am going to miss.



I also sold one of my watercolors on paper. This was one that I did way back in 1988. It is hard to imagine, but this is now a vintage work of art. This image was titled. "The Iris Were in Bloom". It is a very sensual vision of what a hillside covered my hundreds of iris blooms smells like.  I spent many years doing almost nothing but paintings on either paper or canvas and was fairly pleased. but now I have devoted myself to ceramic art pottery over the last five years and have had great satisfaction doing so. I will not say that I will never do another painting, but I think I will more than likely be doing pottery for as long as I am able. In my opinion there is absolutely nothing more wonderful for me than when I gaze upon a new piece of my pottery in my shop.

"The Iris Were in Bloom" by Michael W. Moses

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.