Jack Moulthrop Ceramic Vessels

As a child Jack was nurtured in an ambiance of art and craft.  His dad was an architect specializing in homes.  He had two talented older brothers.  Philip became a museum mammalogist, but sadly died much too young.  Edward became an award winning Atlanta architect and a world renowned wood turner.  Major museums in the USA have Ed's superb wooden vessels.  Jack, an Ohio State University grad, had a career in large electric motors that overlapped with study and practice in ceramic art.

Jack's huge ceramic vessels are sought for the aesthetic value of their well-rounded curves in forms of ellipsoids, globes and ovoids.  Their volumetric scale maximizes surface area thus enlarging opportunity for pattern.  Think of them as architectural accent energizers.

To create a vessel Jack uses 30 to 40 lbs. of clay slabs to form a large cylinder closed at the bottom and with a hand opening at the top.  Then, using a paddle on the outside backed by an anvil held inside he expands, forms, and refines the shape.  Necking, drying, firing, patterning, glazing and re-firing follow.  The process requires some unique tools and devices.  The weight of a completed piece will be in the 18 to 24 lb. range.