Pottery is the process of forming vessels and other objects with ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard, durable form. It is one of the oldest inventions and has been around for many years. Many pottery artists come up with various dynamic designs that never fail to amaze us. One of those creative people is Washington- based artist, Sean Forest Roberts who uses his vast knowledge and background in chemistry to create and develop complex porcelain forms and patterns. This artist is best known for his colorful, multi-layered ceramics. Robert is a full-time ceramicist who with his partner Valeri Aleksandrov, runs a ceramic business called “Forest Ceramic Company”. He and his partner have developed these processes together for the last five years including developing marketing techniques.
The 29-Year-old artist says that his passion for pottery started in high school when he tried arts and crafts for the first time.”I am often asked about my art background, and I inevitably tell my story about studying chemistry at Carleton College, with my serious hobby of ceramics, which started in High School with a love of throwing pottery on the wheel. I think it’s a fun fact that I have never taken an art class other than ceramics, and my formal education in ceramics was very minimal. My ceramic knowledge is self-taught, and I am most interested in exploring processes that are not common knowledge. I continue to learn every day through my experimentation.” says Robert to Bored Panda. He has been doing ceramics for the past 15 years and for the last 7 years he’s working on colored porcelain.
His Instagram account boasts around 363k fans and Robert often posts his unique ceramic designs and also the whole ceramic-making process. These satisfying videos depict the process of carving pottery and it’s quite captivating for the viewer. The ceramic carvings show a mix of different colors and they also vary in shapes and sizes.”The process I use is called slip casting. The first step is to create a prototype form on the wheel, then create a plaster mold of that form. Once the plaster mold has been made, it can be “cast” a couple of times in one day, using slip—liquefied clay—to recreate the original prototype form. After casting there are 10-12 steps to undergo for each piece, and it takes about a week to have the final product out of final glaze firing,” Roberts explains.
When asked where he seeks inspiration, the ceramicist said: “My studio is half laboratory and half playground. The majority of my inspiration comes from nature and chemistry. I bring my experimental mindset to the studio, and my work is constantly changing as I explore new techniques and materials. I thrive most when I am trying something new, and learning through the process.”
Take a look down below for some of his best and unique ceramic creations and also don’t forget to click on his Instagram page to see his whole pottery making process!
More Info: Instagram | Facebook | Forestceramic.com
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Nethmi Jayatilleke is a University Undergraduate by day and Freelance Content Writer by night. An avid lover of music, theatre and poetry, Nethze (Her Nickname) considers herself to be a professional procrastinator. She loves adventure, wildlife and is a caffeine dependent. Nethmi enjoys writing articles ranging from serious topics like politics and social issues to more lighthearted things like art, pop culture, and nature. In her spare time, nethmi loves writing food reviews and poetry.
