Michael F. McDonald, Ceramics

A set of nested petal bowls, with some fun glaze combinations. I can get lost in the close up shot, which shows how the glazes swirled together in the heat of the kiln.
#pottersofbluesky #queerartist #queerart #handmade #handthrownbowl #pottery #handthrownpottery

Art as a means of resistance. My outrage at the state of affairs these days spills into my ceramics work. Among other things, I support a woman's unconditional right to choose.
#PlannedParenthood #handmade #pottery #ceramics #pottersofbluesky #HandmadeMugs #queerartist #queerart #handthrownpottery

I unloaded a new kiln full of work today, here's one of the ones I like the most. This lidded form is Black with yellow flowers and orange centers, and stands about 11 inches high.
#handmadevase #pottery #ceramics #handthrownpottery #queerartist #handmade #pottersofbluesky #queerart

These will be in my stash that will be for sale at the Oregon Potters Association Summer Fair:
Dates: July 11-13
Times: 9a-5p each day
Where: Portland Nursery, 5050 SE Start Street, Portland, OR
Free admission. Look for us in the greenhouse!
I hope you can come by and say hello!

Fresh from the kiln today - a couple of lidded forms, finally done!
#handmadevase #pottery #ceramics #handthrownpottery #queerartistsofinstagram #queerartist #moonjar #handmade

Rarely, I am proud of one of my pieces. This is one. It's finished, but hasn't yet been bisque fired or glaze fired - it's still raw clay (a.k.a. greenware). Stay tuned!
#handmade #pottery #ceramics #handthrownpottery #pottersofbluesky #queerartist #moonjar

Recently I've been doing a lot of slip painting, but I took a break from that with this piece. I still loves me some drippy glaze. 😊
#pottery #handmadevase #queerartist #ceramics #pottersofbluesky #handthrownpottery #queerart

In a couple of weeks our studio will be hosting a critique session provided by members of the Oregon Potters Association, and I'm thinking these two pieces will be submitted for feedback. Wish me luck! 🙃

The second vase also has leaves on the vines - a new thing for me, creating using a cake decorating tip to pipe the slip onto the vase.

The first: flame orange with lime green inside as well as at the center of the flowers. The second: turquoise with a white interior and an orange pop in the center of each flower.

Today was kiln unload day! These two vases were in the batch. I hope you like them!
#pottery #queerartist #ceramics #pottersofbluesky #queerart #handmadevase #handthrownpottery #handmadevase

Yep, never had that happen before. Weird!

Was there an imperceptible fracture in the raw clay body? I'll never know. 🤷‍♂️

I was bisque firing a couple of pieces, and when I opened the kiln I discovered that the rim had blown off of this vase. Was there a bit of organic matter in the clay? Was there moisture left inside? (The latter is unlikely, since I did a 6 hour pre-heat at 180 degrees).

There are many lessons to be learned as a ceramic artist. One is to never get too attached to a piece you're creating. See comments for more on what happened.
#pottery #queerartist #queerartistsofinstagram #ceramics #handmadevase #handthrownpottery #lettinggo

Decoration Day! 2.5 hours condensed into 2.5 minutes. Slip painting and sgraffito.
#pottersofbluesky #pnwpotter #queerartist #queerart #pottersofbluesky #pottery #handmade #handmadevase #handmademug

Four new (completed) vases, fresh out of the kiln! I'm really enjoying playing with color. What's your favorite?
#pottery #queerartist #pottersofbluesky #ceramics #handmadevase #handthrownpottery #handmadevase

Preach! ❤️

Work in progress. The next crop of vases - just out from the bisque firing, before being glazed.
#pottery #queerartist #pottersofbluesky #ceramics #handthrownpottery #handmade #handmadevase #workinprogress

A red vase I just finished; this one is now available for purchase in my Etsy shop, along with several others! singingpottershop.etsy.com
#pottery #queerartist #queerart #ceramics #handthrownpottery #handmade #handmadevase #pottersofbluesky

Blue and Green vases, decorated with slip and carvings. Soon to be listed on my Etsy shop - probably by next week. 😊
#pottery #queerartist #queerart #ceramics #handthrownpottery #handmade #handmadevase #pottersofbluesky

This is a slip painted vase, about 7 inches tall, I threw it on the wheel, painted it with black engobe, then I painted uncolored (white) slip flowers on top. Finally I carved the vines/stems, cutting through the black engobe to the raw clay underneath. I hope you like it!

New work, fresh from the kiln. See comments for details. I have many others that I'll be posting soon, this just happens to be the one I like best. 😊
#pottery #queerartist #pottersofbluesky #ceramics #handthrownpottery #handmade #handmadevase #queerpotter

Three of my pieces will be featured in this upcoming art show, which runs from April 4th to May 10th at the Multnomah Arts Center (Portland, OR). They chose to feature one of my pieces in the promotional material! 😁
#pottery #queerartist #ceramics #handthrownpottery #handmade #pottersofbluesky

Work in progress. Thrown, trimmed and decorated. Bisque firing next week after it's dried.
#handthrownvase #pottery #pottersofbluesky #ceramics #handmadeceramics #queerartist #queerart

Hi Lisa, Thanks! it's a combination of 4 glazes. A cobalt blue, a red Mayco Stroke and Coat, a Mayco dark flux, all covered with Spectrum Shallot (a pink floating glaze).

I was after complementary light/dark blues, and complementary visual patterns both in and under the bowl. I like the results on both sides, and together I like them even more. I hope you do too.

Success. In ceramics, and for me, that's when reality meets vision.
#pottery #ceramics #handmadeceramics #handthrownpottery #handmadebowl #bluebowl #queerartist #pottersofbluesky #queerart

SingingPotterShop - Etsy Shop items by SingingPotterShop located in Portland, Oregon. Top shop for gifts. A buyer bought a gift from this shop and gave it a 5-star review!.

They are all for sale on my Etsy shop (singingpottershop.etsy.com). I will donate $10 for each mug sold to the associated non-profit: Pink mugs benefit Planned Parenthood. Blue mugs: Human Rights Campaign. Red mugs: ACLU. This kind of fundraising is a little thing, but little things add up.

Mugs for a Cause. I've created three series of mugs, intended to raise a bit of money for non-profit organizations that help the resistance. See comments for more info.
#pottery #handthrownpottery #handmadeceramics #queerartist #queerart #HandmadeMugs #resistance #pottersofbluesky