Tag Archives: Green Man

ancient symbol of man’s connection to nature

Green Men/Women

The featured image above is the green man that inspired a custom order. The customer requested a happier visage, most of my guys look somewhat stony. I did do a winking green man many years ago I’ll try to dig up a pic before I finish this post (it was taken in my pre digital days). Most of the green man facial features are limited to eyes, nose and mouth. I often spend time working a dimple or crease only to have it disappear under the leaves. I still do all the foundation work because it defines the lines that I will follow later.

When I do a custom order I usually make at least two, the fire goddess can be cruel. This is contestant number one for my customer to choose from. He is larger, has darker green glaze because of the thickness of the glaze. I think he looks like he has just gotten a joke or he is about to tell one. The next three photos show close ups of him showing the definition in the leaves.

Contestant number two is a little smaller, and a little more triangular in shape. The glaze gets thinner in some spots and lets the leafy details shine through. I poured this glaze onto the piece while I was holding it over a bucket to catch the overflow. I used the same procedure for both, but the results vary because it is very difficult to see the different thicknesses until the piece is fired.

As you compare the two green men consider that I hand form each face. I think there is a strong family resemblance mostly in my magnificent noses but they come by it honestly. I will end this post with a gallery of green men and women that I have made. enjoy

Greenwoman with matte copper glaze and all Maple leaves

one of my early Greenmen with a matte green glaze

the first Greenman with multiple green stains fired on

Bacchus with stains, no glaze

Another custom order from Decadent Greenman

Scarred Woman

Bacchus with light green glaze and red grapes

Sacred Oak Greenman with all oak leaves showing the four directions in a light green glaze

Paw Paw leaf Sun Greenman

Winking Greenman

Don’t count your chickens…

Well I was planning to write this post as My New Medusa, but the kiln goddess decided to take me down a peg. After many years of experience and many hard learned lessons I apparently needed a refresher course in the perils of firing damp pottery, the importance of providing air holes to places that need them and taking the time that is needed to dry out an item that took two weeks to make.

Indeed my outdoor walls are festooned with Green Men that died in the glaze kiln. I like to think those aren’t my fault but seriously, is there any one else in the room? perhaps the cat sleeping under the chair? Perhaps.

However blowing a piece up in a bisque fire is ALWAYS a function of water inside the piece that is trapped when the outer skin is dryer and the resulting steam can’t escape. But it does escape in a most spectacular way.

In my defense it rained for about two weeks straight. I’m kind of surprised more things didn’t blow!

Scarred Woman

Green Man a how-to-tutorial

I recently got a commission to make a Green man and I took the opportunity to document the process.

I make my green men and women using basic hand building techniques. I start with a large lump of clay 5-6 pounds and I form a shallow bowl just like a large pinch pot, slowly pressing into the lump and squeezing until I have an oval shape that is 1/2 – 1″ thick, and the sides are 2-3″ tall. The bowl shape is about the size of a large face. I go large because fired clay shrinks with each firing and I want them to be on the monumental side.

Then I wait,,,when the clay is ready, and this is crucial, it’s time to start pushing, pressing, shaving and adding clay to form a face. The clay needs to be pretty pliable but not so soft as to collapse. The thickness of the bowl helps by giving without ripping. How long to wait? That depends on the humidity and can be slowed by wrapping tight or loosely in plastic. Resist the temptation to hurry the drying as this will probably just form a stiff skin on the out side making it hard to push.

I use photos of faces, my own face and my fingers as a ruler to rough out the proportions. I concentrate on eyes, nose and mouth since the rest will be covered by leaves. It takes several days working a few hours each day to finish the face. The clay is kept moist by sponging with water and wrapping in plastic during the forming phase. This is important so the leaves will adhere properly. It also allows for fine work at the end of the process.

The leaves are cut from slabs of clay about 1/4″ thick. I use real leaves collected in the fall, green leaves rot quickly but some have to be used green for example grape and paw paw because they don’t store well. A large green man can take up to 36 leaves.

The assembly must be done on the kiln shelf because the piece can’t be moved once it is dry. I add a coil of clay in a circle around the face to attach the leaves and give a little space for fingers to pick it up.

After the piece is completely dry, it is bisque fired to cone 04. The item featured here took over a week to dry because mother nature brought on the rain that week and even with fans I had to do a two day slow dry in the kiln to be sure. Be careful drying in the kiln, you can dry out the skin and leave a bit of moisture inside leading to a spectacular explosion and a pile of shards.

drying…

still drying….

After the bisque firing the piece can be handled, the dust washed off, and glaze or stains applied. One more firing to a higher temperature, cone 4, and then we wait,,,,,, for everything to cool off!

all fired up in the kiln

after the first firing

Bacchus /Dionysus Greenman

A new Greenman has made it through the fires. It’s been awhile since I’ve made one and I started this guy in September when I picked a variety of grape leaves. They must be used fresh unlike oak leaves that last for years.

Detail of Bacchus

Bacchus is the Roman god of wine and Dionysus is the Greek god of wine. I like wine too. So I combined the Greenman with a couple of gods and voila!!

The addition of grapes & curlicues completes the references to the fruit of the vine. I finished this piece with a spray of various green stains that are fired on at stoneware temperatures. Ready to hang indoors or outside.

To read more about the process of building a green man see the Women of Appalachia post.

Women of Appalachia

Scarred Woman

This work was recently juried into the fifth Women of Appalachia Art Exhibit on display in the Multicultural Center Art Gallery, Baker Center, Ohio University. The exhibit runs through December 10 Then I believe it moves on to Chillicothe, OH.

There will be two events with spoken word and musical work performed on Nov 1 and Nov 7 details at www.womenofappalachia.com

“Scarred Woman” above epitomizes the Appalachian woman who has been through the fire and may be marked by life but not broken. The resilience and creativity that my friends and neighbors bring to every day life is truly inspiring.

Paw Paw Green Man Sun

Paw Paw Green Man is also in the show hanging beside his sister.

The process for making my green men and women are basic hand building techniques. I start with a large lump of clay and form a shallow oval bowl shape about the size of a face. This is pretty thick and the sides are 2-3 inches tall. When the clay is ready, and this is crucial, it’s time to start pushing, pressing, shaving and adding clay to form a face. The clay needs to be pretty pliable for the first roughing in but not so soft as to collapse.

I use some photos of faces and my own face to get the proportions and I usually go large as the clay shrinks in the fire. I only need to do eyes, nose and mouth because the edges of the face are covered with leaves.

It takes a few days of a few hours each to finish the face. The clay is kept in a plastic bag so it will dry slowly. This allows for finer finishing at the end.

The leaves are cut from slabs of clay, using real leaves. A large Green Man can take up to 36 leaves.

The assembly has to be done on the kiln shelf as the bone dry piece is very fragile. After the piece is completely dry it is bisque fired, if it survives I either spray on stains for a soft finish or dip into glaze for a shiny finish. It is then fired again to a much higher temperature.

C McDonough Designs

Throwin' clay and bailin' the hay!

Tag Archives: Green Man

Green Men/Women

Don’t count your chickens…

Green Man a how-to-tutorial

Bacchus /Dionysus Greenman

Women of Appalachia