"The Pollinator" Sculpture by Michael W. Moses SOLD

As I sometimes tell people.  I love doing pottery and I love doing bead work and sometimes I just get a bit excited and do both at the same time. This is one of those occasions where I do both pottery and bead work to create the effect that I desire. 

I have been using clay as a creative medium for well over thirty years now and I have been doing bead work for as long as I can remember. By the time I was a teenager I was doing small bead work things on my bell bottom jeans dragonflies and such.  So doing a piece like this that is half pottery and half bead work is not a very unusual thing for me to do.

The hand modeled pottery base  has a solid three dimensional sculpted in the round form, that gives this piece a sense of weight and reality that I really like. The bead work portion has a light weight airiness that gives this work a delightfully alienness that blends to form a truly impressive work of art in my opinion. I call this work  "The Pollinator" and if you look closely you can see why I have chosen this name. The little floater is created out of little tiny mini seed beads and is firmly anchored in place, but looks as if he is just floating or swimming on by after having fulfilled his natural duty in his niche in an alien ecosystem.

 The bead work is all created on wire in the traditional French Beaded Flower technique to make a shimmering delicate presentation that will be both eye catching and sturdy enough to last for a very long time if just a little care is taken.

The hand crafted pottery base is about 6 inches across the bottom at the widest and is approximately 6 inches tall.  The over all height of this piece is 19 inches tall with the bead work in place.

I spent more than a small amount of time planning and setting things in place to get this work completed.  Some of the beads I used have been in my stock of glass beads for well over 35 years and were being saved for something special and I assure you that this was the something special that they were waiting for.  The bead work on this piece trembles with the slightest movement or breeze!  as I look at it setting in my kitchen, it just shimmers and shines as it every so often slightly moves in the warm evening air coming through my windows.

What "The Pollinator" looks like in my kitchen

This piece is now in a private collection in Ocean Springs, MS

Alien Orange Canopic Art Pottery Jar by Michael W. Moses

Alien Orange Canopic Jar by Michael W. Moses

I thought I would showcase one of my newest pieces of ceramic art pottery for you today.  I call this one my Alien Orange Canopic Jar. 

I found this great old heavy Italian marble jar that was probably made in the 1960's or 70's and the moment I saw it I knew that it would end up with me making a top that would bring out the beauty of this solidly made stone jar.

I purposely wanted something that was a bit different and kinda Chthonian looking, a vessel that would have an alien otherworldly air to it.  I have literally created a small hand modeled sculpture and used the white marble jar as a display stand.

The interior can hold an ancient love note, a small special objet d'art, or even a dozen or so Brasher Doubloons. It's all up to you. 

The vivid orange coloring makes this piece not only stand out, but stand out and yell to be noticed.
This is the type of thing that will be the center focal point of any room that one places it in.

Alien Orange Canopic Jar by Michael W. Moses

Symbiosis Ceramic Art Pottery Vase by Michael W. Moses

Symbiosis Ceramic Art Pottery Vase by Michael W. Moses 

This one I call the Symbiosis Vase.  This is a very special piece of ceramic art pottery that I have hand sculpted to show the truly symbiotic relationship that not only exists in nature but also among friends. This piece shows three totally unique entities that have bonded together against all odds and are living a happily contented life together. They will stick through it all and press on with things using each other as a support against the savage harsh world around them. Basically best friends forever, so to speak.

I have, as always, crafted this boldly colored work of ceramic art pottery by hand and lavishly layered the underglaze paints to give the piece that little extra that makes it truly stand out. 

This is another one of those pieces that photographs just do not show off very well. The colors on this work fairly well glow and the dark luster is just wonderful. It really has to be seen to be fully appreciated.

I believe this to be one of my best and most exciting works of ceramic art pottery to date.

Symbiosis Ceramic Art Pottery Vase by Michael W. Moses 

A few more images of this ceramic art pottery piece can be seen on Etsy.com.
 http://www.etsy.com/listing/92548280/symbiosis-ceramic-art-pottery-vase-by

This new piece of my ceramic art pottery may be viewed in person 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.

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.

Newest Bulb Vase by Michael W. Moses SOLD at South Coast Antiques & Gallery

Well, this one did not last long at South Coast Antiques & Gallery in Ocean Springs, MS!
It's about to be boxed and sent off to it's new home in Virginia! I must admit that I really was pleased with the way the colors came out on this piece of ceramic art pottery. The colors really seem to pop and give a truly vibrant character to this lively one of a kind vase.

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 Here  is what it looked like after the first firing.

The bisque stage.

After I have meticulously painted it, before I added the dots

on the roots and before being glazed.

After a coat of glaze over the paint and the second firing.

Tyler Gibson's latest work of cramic art pottery

Here is a new work by my student, Tyler Gibson.  He has entitled this creation "Tongue Kiss This".  He has been studying with me for a very short period and as I knew well before he started, that he would have a real knack for creating great pieces. Under my minimal guidance he is progressing rapidly.  He is taking a break over the summer months though and is currently in Vicksburg, Mississippi, working as an historical interpreter at the Vicksburg National Military Park . He is working in historical clothing, braving the heat in extremely uncomfortable war between the states period wool, educating the visiting public about  the Battle of Vicksburg, waged from May 18 to July 4, 1863. In my opinion even though the weather is exceptionaly hot this is a very cool summer job. Tyler is a student of history, specializing in the Civil War and WWII eras. But he is doing continued reasarch into the theory of pottery, techniques, and the concepts of what makes a piece good, with of course a lot of emphisis on quality. He took a block of clay with him and has said that he will be making further pieces as he gets free time from his work. I am rather anxious to see what he will be producing!

Bird Sculptures of A. Cesar Nogueira at 2011 Pensacola Museum of Art's, Art in the Park, Arts Festival

One of the highlights of the 2011 Pensacola Museum of Art's, Art in the Park, Arts Festival 
for me was seeing the wonderful lapidary avian sculptures of A. Cesar Nogueira.

Mr. Nogueira has been working in the medium of semi precious stone for over thirty years and is following the highest quality techniques of both the Fabergé and Idar-Oberstein traditions

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He does all his works of art without the help of  apprentices or assistants, utilizing large lapidary diamond wet blades to cut and shape the parts, he then inlays the different types of stones with specially developed epoxy adhesives. The detail work is all done by hand with dental diamond hand tools, which provide delicacy and precision.  His intricate hand work provides each of his birds with an uniquely expressive personality.. The natural colors of the gemstones and the entirely free-hand nature of the process make every piece an truly exclusive original work of art.

His work is just a pleasure to see in person.  No photographs can do this type of work justice. Here are a few images of his work to give one an idea as to the type of work he is doing.

 

New Eat More Art Ceramic Art Sculpture by Michael W, Moses at South Coast Antiques & Gallery

Here is a couple of images of a new ceramic art pottery sculpture that I just completed.  It is part of my "Eat More Art" series. This series is based on a late 1940's American fruit growers association ad campaign.