Clay artist Mary Holmes has worked with clay for over 30 years, having studied art and
ceramics at Arizona State University. Today, Mary's pottery is well known through out the U.S. Mary travels regularly to Belize to study ancient Mayan pottery and work with the Mayan
people in the small village of Succotz. By sharing technique's Mary has expanded her own clay knowledge.
Mary uses a specific process to create her unique horse hair pottery.
First, the clay sculpture is built by hand. Once dry, the sculpture is sanded to a satin finish, and then a fine slip called "Terra Segillata" is applied in a number of coats. When the piece has dried enough that it can be handled, the surface is polished to a satin finish.
Sculptures are placed in a kiln and fired to 1850 degrees to harden the clay and mature the glaze. Then they are allowed to cool slightly to 1000 degrees. Once the kiln temperature has reached 1000 degrees, one by one the sculptures are removed from the HOT kiln and strands of horse hair, feathers, and other combustibles are applied to the surface. There are only about 30 seconds to place the horse hair and feathers so they will carbonize into the surface, creating the wonderful designs you see.
"This is a fascinating process to me due to the randomness of the patterns that vary
and can never be repeated," says Mary, "Each piece is unique and has its own character. Each piece is a beautiful surprise each and every time; an amazing experiment in randomness."
