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Harry Levenstein

@harrison_lev

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Massachusetts-based Potter
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@claywaystudiotour - Oct. 17 & 18
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Upcoming woodfire workshops 🇮🇹 & 🇮🇳 (links⬇️)

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Last week we finished a 9 day workshop firing of our anagama kiln jointly lead by @harrison_lev and @asartoriusceramics for a great group from @gasworksnyc . There was dancing, hard work, big stokes, and plenty of yummy kiln side treats. The kiln is cooling this week as we all wait patiently. Thanks for all the hard work team we can’t wait to see these pots! #contemporaryceramics #contemporaryclay #anagama #firing #hudsonvalleyartist by @harrison_lev

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3 days ago

Winged bowl circa 2022. White stoneware wollastonite body placed in a more oxygen rich part of the train kiln. With this particular run of these bowls (and other pots in this batch) I was thinking a lot about the stonework of the ancient Cyclades. Their masterful stonework included refined vessels and figurative sculptures that, to me, had a feeling of ancientness, modernness, and futurism all at once. To try to get a similar feeling in the forms of these pots, I was doing a lot of sculpting and edge-refining in the bone dry stage, when the clay was a little bit more stone-like than in its wet stages.
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#pottery #woodfiredpottery #wingedbowl #sunshinensmoke #harrylevensteinpottery by @harrison_lev

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6 days ago

Some more of my last woodfiring with @huntercadyart. I’m bringing lots of these pots with me to the @claywaystudiotour next weekend, Oct. 17 & 18. I’ll be a guest at the studio of Jane Herold in Cornwall, CT. Hope to see you there in the beautiful Autumn woods🍂🙂
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#pottery #woodfiring #woodfiredpottery #clayway #harrylevensteinpottery by @harrison_lev

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11 days ago

Tell me if you can relate. As a potter/artist/person who makes objects to be viewed, used, appreciated, and in some way or another inserted into the consciousness of other humans, I have more and more thoughts about exactly what I’m hoping to put out there. These thoughts aren’t all new; They are actually a continuous thread of trial, error, inspiration, addition, subtraction, science, research, wonder, and hope that have been in dialogue with each other since I first got serious about clay over 14 years ago. They build on each other and inform each other from one pot to the next. From one batch or series to the next. They ebb and flow, sometimes with big swings, but mostly with more subtle ones. My materials are always at the forefront. Which clay to use to make the pot, which kiln to use to fire it, and how to work with that fire to evoke certain effects from that clay. Form is also an important piece. Which shapes are important to me, and why. Which shapes are beautiful to me, and why. Beauty and utility tend to remain high on my list of priorities. Finally, some conceptual ideas tend to find their way into the work as well. Maybe because I have some history with, and proximity to academia, or maybe just because I think too much. Ideas about place and identity seem to be potent for me right now. Anyway, before I begin to ramble too much, my point in sharing this is that this particular jug is one of those special pots that embodies my current set of values and ideas as a maker particularly well. Clay, fire, form, and concept all coalesce into something I find beautiful, intriguing, relatable, and a tad mysterious. It feels good to reflect on that, and notice when these pots come along that really make us proud.
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#pottery #jug #ceramicart #woodfiredpottery #harrylevensteinpottery by @harrison_lev

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18 days ago

Sending out a huge thank you to everyone who came out this weekend! It was such a blast to have the studio open and sharing the space with you all for the first time in earnest, and in spite of the threatening nor’easter running up the coast. I’m grateful for all of your support and words of encouragement as I reach the toward the finish line of the studio build, and begin to turn the page into the next chapter of making pots from home. Y’all are the best. Shoutout to @berkshireflowerwoman for your partnerly support all weekend, and @huntercadyart for being a great guest and bringing some kickass pots. You all braved the weather and came out anyway and that means so much. Let’s make this the first of many wonderful open studio gatherings. Cheers yall🍻🥰🙏
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#pottery #woodfiredpottery #openstudio #berkshires #harrylevensteinpottery @berkshirepotterytour by @harrison_lev

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20 days ago

Second half of the studio featuring @huntercadyart ‘s sweet soda fired pots with layered glazes and reactive slips.
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#pottery #sodafiredpottery #berkshirepotterytour #huntercady @berkshirepotterytour by @harrison_lev

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20 days ago

Come on in, it’s cozy! Part two with @huntercadyart ‘s pots coming soon👀
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@berkshirepotterytour @berkshireflowerwoman #pottery #potterytour #studiotour #harrylevensteinpottery #berkshires by @harrison_lev

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20 days ago

Day 1 of the @berkshirepotterytour was a blast. Round two tomorrow. Come see @huntercadyart, @berkshireflowerwoman and I at my studio from 10-5. Details @berkshirepotterytour website!
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#pottery #woodfiredpottery #potterystudio #harrylevensteinpottery by @harrison_lev

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21 days ago

Some highlights from yesterday’s unload were these slab-built troughs. High-iron stoneware, unglazed on the outside, and glazed in their interiors. They feel substantial in the hand, and ready to serve you some delicious curry. Come and get yours this weekend on the @berkshirepotterytour ! You’ll find my studio on the map. @huntercadyart will be here with his pots too. Hours are 10-5 both Saturday and Sunday. Come thru!
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#pottery #slipware #sliptrailing #woodfiredpottery #harrylevensteinpottery by @harrison_lev

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22 days ago

Great unload today with @huntercadyart ! Come see all the new pots up close and personal at my studio this weekend on the @berkshirepotterytour. 10-5 Saturday and Sunday. Rain or shine! Looking forward to sharing the new pots and new space with you all!
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#woodfiring #woodfiredpottery #trainkiln #berkshirepotterytour #harrylevensteinpottery by @harrison_lev

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23 days ago

Stoking the train kiln during the night shift. At this point in the firing, a stoke looked like this. First a gentle jostle of the remaining burning logs in the firebox from the previous stoke. This makes a little more space, and helps the loose, mostly burnt pieces fall down below into the ember bed. Then I move to the front of the kiln, remove the bricks to give access to the ember bed, and give it a gentle jostle and spread around to wake up deeply buried dead embers, and increase surface area of hot coals. Pulling out those bricks interrupts the draw from the chimney causing the burning wood up above to seek oxygen by coming out of the open air ports in the front of the kiln. It makes for a dramatic show! Then back to the main firebox to stoke several more fresh logs.
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@huntercadyart and I finished up the firing last evening around 5pm after 35 hours of firing. We closed the kiln with some gentle smoke and a hearty bed of embers. The firing felt good, with a solid 10 hours of soaking at high temps. We’ll be unloading the kiln on Thursday once it’s cooled down enough to safely expose the work without heat shock.
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On my drive home I caught Rhiannon Giddens being interviewed by Terry Gross on Fresh Air. I so admire the way she is moving through life passionately honoring the roots music of her ancestors. She emphasized how this music is both regional in its specifics, but universal in its deeper content and messages, drawing parallels between an old Gaelic song and a contemporary song by Dolly Parton about love and jealousy. I learned that she had married an Irishman and moved to Ireland to raise their children and has embraced Irish roots music as a new part of her identity and the identity of her kids. I love the way she celebrates these things. She’s a true steward of tradition, helping tend their flames and carry them forward.
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#pottery #woodfiredpottery #rhiannongiddens #folk #harrylevensteinpottery @rhiannongiddens by @harrison_lev

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25 days ago

Couple peeks at pots loaded in a well-looked-over kiln @theokidokistudio. Stoking wood for the next 30 hours or so with @huntercadyart in prep for next weekend’s @berkshirepotterytour, and October’s @claywaystudiotour. I will save some special pots just for Clayway so they don’t get all picked over next weekend!😉🙏
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#pottery #woodfiring #berkshirepotterytour #clayway #harrylevensteinpottery by @harrison_lev

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