Robert & Bev

Artists' Information Statement


Our work is inspired by the zen of everyday life. Our goal is to enhance life's humblest activities -- the morning cup of coffee, the warm bowl of soup on a cold winter evening, the meal shared with friends -- by the presence of a lovingly crafted utensil that speaks to the soul. And if this utensil was received as a gift from a loving friend or relative, that makes the circle complete.

For those who are interested in pottery techniques, we have, over the years, had to master a wide variety of techniques in pursuit of those elusive forms seen in the mind's peripheral vision. Our choice of a given technique is driven solely by aesthetics, and not by love of technique for its own sake. Our current repertoire includes wheel-throwing, slip-casting, press-molding, slab-building, and extruding forms. Forms generated by a variety of these techniques may be incorporated into any particular piece. All of our round pieces are wheel-thrown, but, since much of our work is based upon the geometry of the square and the triangle, it is often impractical to throw it on the potter's wheel. In these cases, we construct the original prototype from our original design, make all of the molds ourselves, and, in the case of slip-cast pieces, mix the slip to our own carefully formulated recipe.

Our glazes are either our own original formulas, or our variations upon formulas shared with us by friends. We do all of our own glazing, decorating, and firing, which is done either in our 60 cubic foot propane-fired kiln in a reduction atmosphere, or in our 30 cubic foot wood-fired kiln. Glaze development is a major interest -- we have to date done over 5000 test tiles, resulting in our current repertoire of less than twenty of the best of those glazes tested.

In short, from formulating and mixing the clays, slips, and glazes, through the design and forming processes, to glazing, decorating, and firing, all processes are solely performed collaboratively by us in our studio, without the involvement of employees or assistants.


Pillers Studio Clay
3500 Battlefield Blvd. S.
Chesapeake, VA 23322-2422
757-421-2729


home | gallery | studio tour | schedule
new stuff | about us | to order | faq | links