Category: Experimental Pottery
Video: Making the Miniature Snowdrop Tile
See Jennifer in action glazing the Miniature Snowdrop Tile in this one minute video.
At the studio, we make a wide selection of unique art tiles. Our innovative tile-making system allows us to rapidly test new designs and all of the artists involve themselves in tile design. We want to shine a light on Jennifer Alexander’s tile designs. Her tiles – known in the studio as the ‘Jennifer tiles’ – have a distinctive style with heavy outlines and thick, rich glaze application. Jennifer was inspired by the idea of translating stained glass design to ceramic art. We love the rustic, handmade quality of these tiles, which complement our other pottery.
New Studio Collection Opening & Experimental Pottery Event March 17
Studio Gallery – Lake Mills, WI
West Gallery – Cambria, CA
10 AM – 5 PM
Join us on St. Patrick’s Day for the release of our newest Studio Collection. The 2018 Studio Collection will include 12 new vase designs and 8 new tile designs. We have worked hard to bring these designs to you early in the new year and are excited to share the results of our creative musings.
In addition to a full showing of the new Studio Collection, each gallery will have an offering of Experimental Pottery designs available. Select pieces for each gallery are shown below and many more will be available in the galleries.
Experimental Pottery – Fall 2017
Online Experimental Pottery Event
October 18, 2017 – Beginning at 12 PM (CDT)
Shop from our website during this special offering of one-of-a-kind Experimental pieces. Each item will be unique and the exact item shown in the photos.
Tips for online buying during Experimental Sales:
1. Log in to your account (or create an account) so that your personal info is saved and ready for you to checkout as quickly as possible. For your security, we do not allow you to save your credit card number.
2. Refresh your browser frequently to see accurate availability. If you have the Experimental page loaded and just wait for the items to appear at 12 PM you will miss the sale. Be sure to refresh your browser window.
3. The first person to complete a transaction with an item will receive that item. It is possible to have items in your cart that become unavailable if another buyer completes their transaction before you. Just having an item in your cart does not guarantee that you will be able to buy the item.
4. We will offer free shipping on all orders, so you do not need to worry about multiple shipping charges if you make multiple purchases.
5. Our Wisconsin studio is in Central Daylight Time. The Experimentals will become available starting at 12 PM (CDT).
6. If items sell out and you are not able to purchase an item that you really want, please contact us in the studio to discuss the possibility of custom work. We can never make an exact duplicate, but we can create something similar that would bear the custom “C” stamp.
7. During online Experimental sales, we experience heavy web traffic that is mostly handled very well by our ever-improving website, but the rush of shoppers can cause occasional errors to happen in the checkout process. The typical error is for the system to sell 2 of a one-of-a-kind item. In this rare case, we contact the second buyer and remedy the situation with a mutually agreeable solution. We ask for your understanding should this unlikely event occur during your shopping experience.
Fall Experimental Pottery Gallery Events
October 14, 2017 – Studio Gallery in Lake Mills, WI + West Gallery in Cambria, CA.
10 am – 5 pm
Join our gallery events in California or Wisconsin to shop select groups of one-of-a-kind Experimental pieces. These unique designs will feature fall motifs but include a variety of designs. We will have coffee & bakery to share. Come and handpick your pottery!
Experimental Pottery May 10, 2017
As a result of months of work developing and refining designs, the studio is full of Experimental pottery. A sizeable group of these one-of-a-kind designs will become available online starting Wednesday, May 10, 2017, @ 12 PM (CDT). Each Item is unique, the exact piece represented in the photo and ready to ship in 2 business days. The following pieces and many more will be included in the sale. Prices range between $148 and $950.
Colossal Dragon Vase – Experimental
Have you heard of the phrase: “Art for art’s sake?” Once in a while we get the urge at the studio to push boundaries. We take these risks for the thrill of the ‘what-if’, to find the limits, to stretch ourselves, and frankly to see something new. Kevin came to work one quiet weekend in June and in a fit of inspiration threw this colossal form. No small task, the forming and sculpting of this piece took a couple days of work and a lot of careful handling through the modeling, drying, and firing processes. We expected to learn a lot along the way, but we never expected a first quality piece to result from this experiment in ‘art for art’s sake.’ Follow the blog to see the process of making our Colossal Dragon Vase and witness our jaw-dropping excitement at the beautiful end result.
At 23 inches tall, 15 inches wide and 39.6 pounds this form is more massive than any previous ceramic work from Ephraim Pottery. We are thrilled and amazed by the first quality results of this ambitious form and excited to offer you the chance to own this historic piece.
Kevin began this form to explore creative boundaries, not thinking at all of the potential profit. We feel tremendously lucky to have received a first quality result from our kiln and wish to share our good fortune. 50% of the sale of this vase will go to charity. To carry on the spirit of Kevin’s original artistic freedom expressed in this dragon we will donate 25% of the proceeds to local youth arts programming (in Lake Mills, WI & Cambria, CA). In addition to supporting the arts, we feel a strong need to support the hungry in our community. A further 25% will be donated to our local food banks. The remaining 50% will cover shipping costs and the expenses accrued in creating the piece.
The Colossal Dragon Vase Experimental will go to auction on eBay beginning this Friday evening with the auction closing Nov 2.
Update: Thank you everyone for your interest in the Colossal Dragon Vase. The vase fetched $5,487.88 at auction, which means we raised $2,743.94 for charity! We had a lot of fun creating this unique piece and greatly appreciate your positive response to it.
