Pottery

Beautiful art should be part of everyday life and not just something hanging over the couch. Art nourishes our spirit the way food nourishes our body. That’s what makes functional pottery so special; it combines the two. Pottery is part of our rituals: the start of the day with a morning beverage, or special occasions around the dinner table.

Ken’s pots are made, using a technique (called sgraffito) that is similar to relief printmaking. Unlike printmaking, there are no copies. Each piece has to be individually carved by hand. The time consuming process requires a special touch, because the clay is still unfired and extremely fragile.

Ken’s latest pots are made from porcelain, the finest of clays. It’s able to be thin and translucent, while still being strong and durable. They are made with non toxic materials, and are safe to use with food. These are unique and one-of-a-kind, so treat them the way you would the rest of your fine china. Use caution with microwaves or dishwashers.

Posted on September 10, 2023September 10, 2023 by ken — 4 Comments

10 Sept Mini kiln opening AND some news

9 new cups came out of my mini kiln today, I’m super excited to show them off!

Swipe or use the arrows to see all the cups in the slideshow.

chicken square cup
rainbow Bear Cup
yellow Photo Cat With Tree Bird
Flying Pigs With Apples
Rainbow Goat Cup
yellow Photo Cat Rainbow 2Doves
we Love Cups Cats
yellow Heart Rainbow Cat

it can be hard to get the idea of what a 3d object is like from photos (even when i take 4 photos at different angles) so here’s a short video with a 360 view of each cup

This coming weekend (16 and 17 of September 2023) is going to be a great time to visit Old Washington (Maysville, KY) We are having the Simon Kenton Festival, and as part of the festivities, I’M GOING TO HAVE MY NEW STUDIO IN WASHINGTON HALL open to the public.

Artist, Ken Swinson, standing in front of washington hall in old washington ky with cups in his hands

I haven’t announced the new studio until now because it’s just a work space, but this weekend, I’m going to give a FREE hands on printmaking activity, and will also have some of my pots on display. You might know that I don’t sell pottery online because i want you to come see it in person and hold it in your hands before you decide to buy one or not ($50 each).

The address is 2111 Old Main Street, Maysville KY. To get to my studio, take the second staircase by Lil Jumbo’s Coffeecompany, and I’m upstairs across from The Rewind Books and Design.
Hope to see you then!

Posted on September 4, 2023 by ken — Leave a comment

Mini Kiln opening: 4 September 2023

Hope you all are enjoying this Labor Day! My big labor day festivity was opening my mini kiln and bringing 9 new cups into the world

Hope you like opossums, because 6 of the 9 cups feature north America’s only marsupial

swipe or use the arrows to see the whole gallery

Fox Cup
deep green Opossum Cup
nose touching opossums cup
bird dog cup
mama opossum cup
opossum with acorn cup
rainbow goat cup
opossum with bird cup
opossum cup 1

i don’t sell cups online, but these (and more!) will be on display + sale at my studio in Washington Hall during the Simon Kenton Festival in Old Washington 16 and 17 of September. Hope to see you there!!!

Posted on August 24, 2023August 24, 2023 by ken — Leave a comment

pottery 24 August 2023

I just opened the kiln and have 9 cute little cups to share TOMORROW at the Pendleton Art Center in Cincinnati.
Cups are all wheel thrown and hand carved/painted. In person sales only-you must hold it in your hand before you can decide-no dibs-first come, first served 5-9pm.

See you tomorrow!

swipe or use arrows to see all the cups

fox admiring chickens cup
bear making pottery cup
goat and corn cup
bear loves cups
opossum cup 1
opossum cup 2
flying pig cup
bunny cup

Posted on August 18, 2023 by ken — Leave a comment

18 August 2023 pottery mini firing

a few pots from my most recent mini-firing
Swipe or click arrows to see them all

storm cloud cup
bear on bike cup
goat-flying pig cup
bunny cup
opossum cup
bird cup
bear with teapot cup
green goat cup

Posted on January 24, 2023 by ken — Leave a comment

Kiln firing 24 January 2023

I just opened the mini kiln, and welcomed 8 new cups to the world.
Some of the cups are decorated with an experimental woodcut transfer process.

This is a significant firing, because it is the FINAL FIRING for this season. I won’t be making any more pottery until Summer 2023.

swipe or use arrows to see all the pottery

If you’d like to see them (and more) in person. They will be on display this friday (jan 27th) at the Pendleton Art Center – Cincinnati.

Posted on January 21, 2023 by ken — Leave a comment

2023-01-21 Kiln Opening

I had a small kiln firing last night (8 cups – 1 plate)

Here are the results!
Use the arrows or swipe to see them all

Sheep Dog Plate
Bear and Bunnies Cup
Fox and Sheep Cup
Tea Party Bear Cup
Fox and the Hound Cup
Chickens Cup
Pottery Dog Cup
Goat Woodcut Cup

It’s really hard to get an idea of what a 3d cup looks like from a photo. A video with a 360 view is a little bit better. Seeing them in person-and being able to pick them up and drink from them is still best.

For your reference, I sell cups for $45 and plates for $75. They are only available in person NO ONLINE SALES. You need to pick them up to ‘know’ if it’s the right pot for you. You can find them either on my front porch, or at my studio at the Pendleton Art Center on Final Fridays and by appointment.

Posted on January 14, 2023January 24, 2023 by ken — Leave a comment

Mini Kiln Opening 14 January 2023

photos from todays’s kiln firing. swipe or use the arrows to see them all!

Posted on January 6, 2023 by ken — Leave a comment

Friday Night Throwing pots

First time I’ve been in on the wheel for 2023. (yes, this is my idea of a wild and fun friday night)

I’ve been working removing pots from the wheel with my hands-instead of using bats. Still smooshing some of them, but getting better!

Will trim and add handles tomorrow. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Posted on January 4, 2023January 4, 2023 by ken — Leave a comment

screen print clay transfer fail

The new year isn’t starting out the way I had hoped.

ceramic screen print underglaze transfers

Spent the day making screen print underglaze transfers based on two of my block prints, only for them to be a disappointment. Oh well, will try again another time.

screen print transfer on an unfired stoneware mug

Hope your year is going better than mine!

UPDATE:

Sorry for being a crybaby earlier when my project did not work on the first try. In my experience, neither pottery OR printmaking work perfectly on the first try. Not sure why I thought combining the two would be easy.

After a little more practice, The transfers are a little bit better. Will make more pots and try again later. Thanks again everyone for the encouragement!