Jerry Maschinot

Jerry Maschinot returns to the MudFire Gallery with a solo show of new raku fired vessels. The exhibit and sale opens with an artist reception on June 18 from 6-10pm, and runs through July 10. Jerry creates stunningly elegant vessels that sing with rich color and metallic luster.

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About Jerry Maschinot

Jerry Maschinot is one of the southeast's premiere ceramic artists. He has shown his raku-fired work at juried and invitational exhibitions for over two decades, winning numerous prestigious awards along the way. He has repeatedly won the Award of Excellence at the Arts Festival of Atlanta, shown his work in the American Craft Council shows, and has been honored in exhibitions as far away as Kyoto, Japan. Jerry's work has been collected by noted American artists Ed Moulthrop and Mark Lindquist, and can be found in many corporate collections including Duke University, Delta Airlines, Hyatt Hotels, E.F. Hutton, Southern Accents Magazine, and the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.

Maschinot's work went through a quiet revolution several years ago, and for this show he continues to explore this new direction with a large body of new work. The forms -- large vases, bowls and lidded jars -- provide an elegantly simple canvas for the luxuriantly rich surfaces he achieves. Jerry has developed a unique series of raku luster glazes and innovative application methods, with absolutely stunning results. These pieces sizzle with energy, hypnotizing the viewer with their intensity.

"In searching for a way to describe this new work, I kept coming back to the word delight. I'm delighted to be making these pieces, and delighted to be able to share them with you at the MudFire Gallery," Maschinot explains. "I hope those who visit the show experience a similar sense of delight in viewing these pieces."

About Raku

American raku is a dramatic form of ceramic firing originally developed in the United States by master potter Paul Soldner. The pottery is rapidly heated to approximately 1900 degrees and removed glowing red from the kiln while the glaze is still molten and active. The work is then immediately plunged into combustible material which violently ignites as the piece cools, depriving the liquid glaze of atmospheric oxygen for exciting and unpredictable results. Vibrant colors, metallic surfaces, glaze crackling, and smoke absorption are some of the distinct results. Maschinot has made the general approach his own with unique luster glaze recipes, firing methods, and glaze application techniques.