Niching Our Niches

My son, Dennis, has been working really hard, developing his pottery niche.

A niche is a distinct segment of a market for a particular kind of product.
As if colored porcelain was not niche enough, we must niche our niche.

Leaves and seashells.

Eight years after our first wheel-throwing class, and after three years of coloring porcelain clay, we have both niched our niches. Without this meaningful "place" to experiment with color and texture in our pottery journey, it would be easy for repetitive boredom to set in. Since we began coloring porcelain clay, and utilizing it in our functional pottery, we have seen an increase in creative enthusiasm.

At first Dennis simply enjoyed attaching leaves to the rim of a plate. This left the leaves elevated on the rim, as if floating without a connection to each other. The coils around each leaf add contrast and a focal point to this candle plate.

A Pop of Color.

Instead of looking at just leaves, we're now looking at leaves with leaf outlines tying all the leaves together. He sometimes incorporates agateware into his leaves by twisting two colors together before pressing the porcelain into the mold. His passion for pottery has once again returned. This time it has returned with great intensity; endlessly talking about what he wants to create next with his leaves (or seashells). Dennis has always been very conscious of little details, and meticulously brushes off dust and flecks on his pottery pieces before they enter the kiln. Now, he's scrupulous! 

I believe his hard work has payed off.