Holy pottery!
Mar. 3rd, 2016 11:39 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offcntrMy sister-in-law, Cindi, is an Episcopalian deacon, on track for ordination to priesthood this summer. So when she emailed me to ask if she could order a set of altar ware, of course, I said no.
Okay, let me re-phrase that. I said I'd love to make her a chalice and paten, wanted to talk about forms and colors and the like. I just wouldn't be charging her for it. I asked if it'd be okay to make it a gift.
I've done a variety of pieces for churches over the years, biggest and most complicated being the Nativity Set of sculptures for St. Thomas More/Newman Center in Eugene. I've also done a couple of baptismal fonts, which are large, unwieldy and difficult, but very satisfying when they turn out right. And I've done altar ware for Central Lutheran Church in Eugene and Springfield Lutheran in, well, Springfield. Each had its own detailed requirements.
Central wanted two sets, in different clay and glazes (Porcelain, with gold luster on one, brown/tan matte-glazed stoneware on the other), and different forms. It was a long time ago, but I seem to recall one set designed for intinction (dipping bread into wine) that was like a mini chip-n-dip plate, a small cup for wine mounted in the center of the bread plate. Springfield was even harder. They also did intinction, but in a large chalice that needed a divided reservoir, with wine on one side and grape juice on the other. I ended up throwing a separate cup for every two chalices, and cutting it apart to make the dividing wall. Guesstimating the curve of the inside of a bowl when cutting another bowl is a project best left to the imagination. Getting the relative moisture correct so the extra bit doesn't either crack along the join lines or split the cup was another adventure.
Cindi's needs are much simpler. A wide single chalice for intinction, a paten (bread bowl) that will hold at least 50 hosts. She sent me photos of the chapel, a big, airy space in earth tones, dominated by a stained glass window. My regular white/cream base glaze should work perfectly, and just this once I'm leaving out the painted decoration. Just a little thrown spiral in the center of each piece to harken back to the galaxy at the top of the stained glass. Simple. Elegant.
Okay, let me re-phrase that. I said I'd love to make her a chalice and paten, wanted to talk about forms and colors and the like. I just wouldn't be charging her for it. I asked if it'd be okay to make it a gift.
I've done a variety of pieces for churches over the years, biggest and most complicated being the Nativity Set of sculptures for St. Thomas More/Newman Center in Eugene. I've also done a couple of baptismal fonts, which are large, unwieldy and difficult, but very satisfying when they turn out right. And I've done altar ware for Central Lutheran Church in Eugene and Springfield Lutheran in, well, Springfield. Each had its own detailed requirements.
Central wanted two sets, in different clay and glazes (Porcelain, with gold luster on one, brown/tan matte-glazed stoneware on the other), and different forms. It was a long time ago, but I seem to recall one set designed for intinction (dipping bread into wine) that was like a mini chip-n-dip plate, a small cup for wine mounted in the center of the bread plate. Springfield was even harder. They also did intinction, but in a large chalice that needed a divided reservoir, with wine on one side and grape juice on the other. I ended up throwing a separate cup for every two chalices, and cutting it apart to make the dividing wall. Guesstimating the curve of the inside of a bowl when cutting another bowl is a project best left to the imagination. Getting the relative moisture correct so the extra bit doesn't either crack along the join lines or split the cup was another adventure.
Cindi's needs are much simpler. A wide single chalice for intinction, a paten (bread bowl) that will hold at least 50 hosts. She sent me photos of the chapel, a big, airy space in earth tones, dominated by a stained glass window. My regular white/cream base glaze should work perfectly, and just this once I'm leaving out the painted decoration. Just a little thrown spiral in the center of each piece to harken back to the galaxy at the top of the stained glass. Simple. Elegant.