Art by Fuzzy

Pottery, Photography, Design - Brandon "Fuzzy" Schwartz

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Custom Ceramic Sink: Finished

This is actually old news…  but the large ceramic pieces that I’ve been working on are complete.  I was asked to create a bathroom sink by a family that is building a new house.  I had never thrown anything so large on the wheel before but I was excited to try.  The first few attempts turned into large bowls because they weren’t big enough (mostly because I didn’t start with enough clay).  I finally got the diameter that I wanted but then the shape wasn’t quite right and the bottom was too thin.  On my fourth or fifth attempt I finally got a shape and size that I liked.  Then I made an extra just to be safe.  I did some measuring on a store-bought sink and then calculated for shrinkage and cut a hole for the drain.  After bisque firing, glazing, and glaze firing the hole was almost the perfect size.  I don’t know much about drains or plumbing but I hope the installation goes smoothly.  Below you can see a few photos of the finished products.  The sink is about 15 in. in diameter.  The bowl is probably closer to 12 in.

Large Stoneware Bowl
Sink with Soap Dish and Cup

Sink Bottom
Stoneware Sink

As you can see I’m a little closer to where I want to be as far as photographing my ceramic pieces.  I also got to try out my new tripod that I got for Christmas.  I think I pulled the finished pieces out of the kiln in mid February but I’ve been busy working on the Ligonier Elementary yearbook for the past few weeks.  Last weekend I rearranged my clay studio and put up some more shelves.  Be on the lookout for some pictures…

Logo Project: Finished

I was recently asked to create a logo for a new company in Nappanee called CHaSE Manufacturing.  They manufacture doors and other wood items.  The owners are really nice people and I had a great time working with them.  Here you can see what we came up with.

Chase Manufacturing

CHaSE Manufacturing

As you can see they like the more spontaneous and whimsical marks.  It was the first project that I created totally with Illustrator.  I’ve used Freehand before but I thought I might explore Illustrator a bit more and see what it can do.

So now you can look forward to some pictures of a sink or two that I finished last week.  Whenever I get back to the internet…

The Finished Dog Mural

Last Friday school got out at 11:00 and my wife was out of town for the weekend.  So, since I was a free man, I stationed myself in the Knipper’s nursery for the big mural finale.  I spent a couple hours adding a dog house, grass, trees, and some dog accessories.  I think it turned out alright.  It was nice to actually do some painting again.  I feel like I haven’t done a real painting in years.  Below you can see some photos of the finished work.  The lighting wasn’t great and the pictures are even worse but you get the idea.  Next time I’m over there maybe I’ll get my flash out and take some decent shots.

Puppy and dog house.
Nursery Dog Mural

Stay tuned for another glimpse of a finished project or two.  I finished a logo design and the kiln should be cooling off as I post this.

Painting Dogs on a Wall

I currently have a project going in just about every medium that I have experience in.  I’m working on a large ceramic project which I just bisque fired and hope to glaze this week.  I’m doing a little graphic design in the form of a small website and a vector art project. 

But the project that might be closest to completion is a mural for some friends.  I’m painting a family of springer spaniel dogs on what is soon to be their nursery wall.  The dogs are pretty well finished and I hope to finish the doghouse, grass, and other dog-related items this week sometime.  Here you can see a part of the work in progress:

springer spainiels mural wip
puppy with brown spots

Photo Booth for Shooting Ceramics

Here is my biggest project from Christmas Break.  I wanted a place to photograph some of my more appealing ceramic items.  I started thinking and designing a few months ago.  When Christmas Break finally rolled around I put my plan into action.  Since I don’t have large quantities of empty space I decided to make it collapsible.  You can see the whole thing in action and a few test shots below.  Not bad for my first attempt…

The Setup
Side View
Folded

Put Away
Ceramic Photo Test 1
Ceramic Photo Test 2

Ceramic Photo Test 3

[Read more…]

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