/* Pinterest website claiming thingie */ /* That's it for the pinterest thingie */ Aberrant Ceramics: June 2011

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Aberrant Ceramics is the artwork of Aaron Nosheny,
ceramic artist and potter in Tucson, Arizona.

I work in the medium of stoneware clay and make hand-built pottery, sculpture, hamsas, ornaments, masks, and a variety of other forms.

I’m a self-taught autistic artist working in my medium for over twenty years. I like monsters, insects, weird animals, body horror, folk horror, horror comedy, horror in general, Halloween decorations, fast food mascots, kitsch – all of these creep into my work, but there’s really no overarching theme.

I am in love with my medium. I love the process of frantically birthing clay monstrosities, subjecting them to an epic trial by fire, and sending them out into the world.



Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Unfired Monstrous Cup

This is part of a series of dysfunctional pottery, this time in the form of an imaginary animal organism called the slobber.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Unfired Demon Goddess

This is a representation of the demon goddess Lolth, based on the infamous "big butt Lolth" image from the Fiend Folio.



Friday, June 24, 2011

Flail Snail

This is the flail snail, the classic bad and/or extremely unlikely D&D monster from the original Fiend Folio.








Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Another Grell

This is another new grell to replace the one I broke.



Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Chamsas 19, 20, and 21

Chamsa 19: The Sara Chamsa

A gift for Sara in exchange for the big blue vase that she made me.




Chamsa 20: The Spider Chamsa




Chamsa 21: The Dog Turd Spiral Chamsa

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Grell Drama

Grell 1's brainlike head was a little loose, so I left a note on the kiln shelf asking whomever loaded it not to lift it by the head. I also left a note outside the kiln saying the same thing, but apparently no one noticed and it survived anyway. I took it inside to glaze and as I lifted it to apply wax resist to the bottom and side of the base, the head fell off and the lower beak broke. If working with clay for seven years has taught me nothing else, it has taught me that

Nothing Can Ever Be Fixed

I destroyed the remainder of the sculpture and spent the next two hours feeling deep hatred towards myself for having broken it. I did decide to dig the remains out of the trash for a picture.




Grell 1 before bisque firing.





I made a new Grell tonight, but I don't like how it came out. I don't think it represents the source image of the grell very well.






The source illustration from The Fiend Folio:

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Robot Goddess 3

Finally, I was able to produce a Robot Goddess that survived the kiln without any missing limbs or extremities.



For the sake of completeness, I'm also including my images of this entity called Dale-a (1986) and Bugmama (1994).

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Werewolves

These are werewolves designed to be used as miniatures in last week's game of D&D Encounters. They weren't done in time and that particular encounter was too easy for the players. They easily slaughtered the werewolf before it had a chance to regenerate, but not before it infected the fighter with Werewolf Moon Frenzy.

The object used for the press mold of the face is shown below. I have no idea what it's supposed to be. I added a snout to one werewolf figure to make it more wolf-like, but I think I like the one without a snout better.




Unfired Menorah

This is my second attempt at a stormtrooper menorah, this time in white clay.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Obama Stamp Column

Another use for the Obama stamp.

Forced Relocation

The pottery studio is doing some reorganization and for a brief period of time, I thought I was going to be ejected from my shelf in the closet and relocated to the ghetto of the members' shed. I made this plaque in protest, but I've since learned that my whining has paid off and I'll be permitted to keep my shelf.



It says: "Forced relocation makes the baby Jesus cry."

Nit Comb

This started out as a random piece of flattened clay from which I had cut some triangles and a circle. It looked like a Mutant Hamster Larva to me, so I fired and glazed it. It's since been pointed out to me that it would make a good nit comb - a comb for searching for louse eggs or nymphs on the scalps of elementary school students. My only regret is that I didn't have one of these back when I was a teacher.












It's fully functional -- and I'm clean!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Unfired Grell

I've been wanting to try to make a grell for a long time, but I couldn't figure out how to make a satisfying image of a levitating creature. This gives me new hope for finally taking on the flumph.



Chamsas 17 and 18

Chamsa 17




Chamsa 18

Sunday, June 5, 2011

The Obama Stamp

This is an impression of a rubber stamp of a sketch of Obama.




The Obama sketch and rubber stamp by Danielle Davis.

Tardigrade 2


This is my second attempt to portray a water bear in clay, inspired in part by the weird tardigrade fetish infecting the internet as of late.

Several of the claw-like structures on the limbs broke off. I'm guessing that this is a common occurrence for tardigrades emerging from vacuum hibernation. It's a small price to pay.








Saturday, June 4, 2011

Small Skull Atavism

Sacrilege/Sex Angst/Break Up Object

This was meant to be a crucifixion statue. It ended up with two faces, two sets of crudely portrayed human genitalia, and multiple horns on its head. The text around the base says, "I have a you-shaped hole inside." I think it's a sacrilege/sex angst/break up object.





Sporeback Frog

A recent episode of Encounters featured a fork in the plot. The players had to choose one of two quests, one of which involved monstrous frogs. They didn't choose the one with the frogs, but nevertheless I attempted the sporeback frog in clay. The sporeback is a monstrous frog with symbiotic fungi growing out of its back. The fungi explode in a poisonous cloud when the frog is killed.










Publisher's illustration of the Sporeback Frog:

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Snail and Werewolves

After several days of coming to the studio and not making anything at all, I got out the Fiend Folio and searched for suitable source material. This is going to be a flail snail.




These are werewolves for an upcoming Encounters game.