A Reverence for the Past
“Victory Falls” is an awe-inspiring feat of ceramic art. At Ephraim Pottery we have great reverence for the past masters and have drawn so much inspiration from their art pottery. In this piece, Grueby and Teco Pottery were both influential. Artist, Kevin Hicks, appreciated Teco’s beautifully complex, double-walled designs – so ambitious they required molds and slip-casting. Similarly, the hand-thrown and organic nature of Grueby’s pottery has always been an important source of inspiration for Hicks. He wanted to merge hand-thrown pottery with the complexity of Teco’s slip cast pottery. The result is wonderfully intriguing. We are happy to share with you the creative journey of this pivotal piece.
Artist Kevin Hicks throwing the upper double-walled section of the vase on the potter’s wheel.
A Process that Requires Skill
Without any straightforward instruction from books or other potters of the past, Hicks spent six-plus months of trial and error in different methods and materials to create Victory Falls. Two thrown parts must come together with an exactly equal diameter to make this piece. Hicks throws and scores the bottom of the upper, double-walled portion of the vase. He sets this first piece aside and carefully throws the lower form. Hicks delicately connects the two parts, finessing them on the potter’s wheel to join them seamlessly as one piece.
Artist Kevin Hicks throwing the lower section of the vase and attaching the upper double-walled section to blend into a single seamless form.
Sculpting & Carving: Finishing of the Form
After the form dries to leather hard, Hicks intricately carves into the form and applies the sculptural details of the bridge, rocks and water.
Kevin Hicks sculpting “Victory Falls” – Limited Edition Fall Collection.
Collaboration of Glaze and Gravity
Once the form is fully dry it goes to the kiln for the bisque firing. Our master glazer, Becky Hansen, then applies the glaze – utilizing pouring, spraying and hand-brushing techniques – to finish the form and create the illusion of moving water with flowing glaze.
Artist Becky Hansen glazing “Victory Falls” – Limited Edition Fall Collection.
The Best Yet!
Kevin Hicks, “I like to look outside the box for creative ways to push forward – beyond what we have done in the past, beyond what other potteries are doing, and beyond what is typical.”
Victory Falls – Limited Edition Fall Collection, $598
This special design is part of our Limited Edition Fall Collection and will be available for order only through September 30, 2017. It is our third version of a waterfall design and shows a progression of our creative expression. Below you can see “Victory Falls” beside our older waterfall designs.
An Evolution: Ephraim’s Waterfalls, since 2003
Left: #323 Waterfall Vase, retired in 2008, 354 made, $148. Center: Water Under the Bridge, 2010 Showpiece, 97 made, $428. Right: Victory Falls – Limited Edition 2017 Fall Collection, in production through 9/30/17.
Read more about “Water Under the Bridge” – BLOG post from 2015.