Edwin Mighell Jr.

MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE:
I use the local Cook Inlet glacial clay found in the mud flats next to Anchorage to make my ceramic tiles. I fire to cone 6 in an electric kiln and mix my own glazes. I design all the images and use Alaskan animals and traditional designs found in the Arctic. The design is pressed into slabs of clay and glazed and fired. I have a BFA in printmaking. The process involves running a slab of clay through an old fashion etching press with a plate that has a design or plant on it. The plate is usually a matte board with a cut-out design glued to it, or a blank matte board that a plant is laid onto. I have done classes with students where a kitchen rolling pin is used instead of a press to impress designs into clay. I use stamps on the back of my tiles to make the back look more interesting and convey information. The bulk of my work is the cut-out designs on matte board.