Vincent Renou



		Like almost every new potter, I started by making vases, cups and bowls. My first pieces were done by pressing coils in a plaster mold to make plates. On the underside of each plate, an intricate design was created by the coils slightly pressed together. More recently, I started using patterned slabs of paper clay to create trays and platters.

The Takayama series was inspired by my trip to Japan in the winter of 2002. I pressed thin paperclay coils in plaster molds to create designs on the outside of each piece. I rubbed oxide in the cracks left by the coils on the outside and brushed clear on top of the oxide.

The insides are brushed with white glaze, very much like the Japanese pots I brought back from Japan.