84. Carolyn Rubin, small pot

84. Carolyn Rubin, small pot

Carolyn Rubin is a Boston-area potter. For other examples of her work, see her page at www.feetofclaypottery.com.

White clay, black and clear glazes, black and brown decoration; base left unglazed. Weight: 316 g (11 oz). Rim diameter: 5 cm (2 in); maximum diameter: 8.2 cm (3-1/4 in); foot ring diameter: 5 cm (2 in). Height: 8.8 cm (3-1/2 in).

This sits on the base of the foot ring, which is 0.4 cm (3/16 in) high on the exterior. The interior has been hollowed out to the same depth. “Carolyn Rubin” was incised into the base. From the foot the walls rise in a continuous convex arc to the neck, which begins 8.2 cm (3-1/4 in) above the base. The maximum diameter is 3.8 cm (1-1/2 in) above the base. The neck rises in a straight line to the rim.

The foot ring and the area within it were left unglazed. The interior of the pot and a band of varying width (roughly 2 cm; 7/8 in) at the top of the exterior were glazed in black. The front of the pot has a swoosh in black. It appears to have been drawn with something like the Chinese “flying white” technique in which the tip of a calligraphy brush is lightly dipped in ink and then swiftly passed over the surface, leaving large areas of white amid the black and showing the tracks of individual hairs of the brush. The horizontal squiggle on the lower right was drawn in dark brown. A clear glaze or luster was applied over the white portion of the exterior walls.

A simple decoration creates a dramatic piece. The pot is also unusual in having an obvious “front side.”  

Purchased at the annual spring sale at Feet of Clay Pottery, Brookline, Massachusetts, April 2019.