CHANGING DIRECTIONS

So who is Cori Sandler and what kind of pots does she make anyway?

For many years I have enjoyed making pots that are bright and colourful, funky and "cheerful".

I have been using underglazes and a cone 6 porcelain body clay with a clear glaze over all to achieve this look.

NAKED LADIES

The clay has been a canvas for my 'doodles' really, and though I have been happy with the forms I make, the decoration some may say, has been louder than the form, not allowing the form to really 'sing'.

I have become known for my NAKED LADY Series - born from a desire to make pots for International Womens Day several years ago.

TULIPS

cereal/soup bowl

These were born after a trip to Holland, after seeing rows and rows of tulips in bloom in farmers fields.

salad/desert plate dinner/cake plate

large serving bowl serving platter

medium serving bowl

CARNIVAL

This series below reminds me of what you'd see at a circus, from the tents to the costumes.

large serving plate wine/ice-cream goblets

wine/ice-cream goblets

TODAY I WILL

These are little reminders of things that are worth doing TODAY, like...

Today I will sing, Today I will dance,

Today I will take time out of my far too busy day to smile at a stranger...

Today I loved myself. Today I will shovel

my neighbours sidewalk... quietly,

Today I will feed the hungry
Today I will eat chocolate

MIDNIGHT BLACK
MIDNIGHT FOREST

This is the beginning of a new direction for me.

As I mentioned early on in this post, the work I have done to date, has been colourful and cheerful, sort of like doodles on a paper while you are on the phone...

This new direction of work is quieter, calmer, and asks of the viewer to take a bit more time with each piece, catching the subtle shades and the depths of shades on each pot. The pots are more introspective, and the form is paramount, allowing the glaze to highlight the form, as opposed to using the form as a canvas for a painting. I am calling this series Midnight Black and Midnight Forest to help illustrate the point that often in the dark, we can see things that we otherwise would not see in the light. I am using scrafitto on some pots, which is a decorative term for scratching through one surface to reveal another. The glaze then brakes, or changes colour where the clay has been scratched. This is only the beginning of a new voice that I am both scared to hear, and need to hear. -

Now the glaze tests begin....