Sitting down with noted sculptor Ken Jensen
The holidays are a perfect time to see, and hear, a new series of sculptures that are housed among the treasures in the Bluff View Art District.
St. Augustine-based ceramicist Ken Jensen makes clay horns, ocarinas, drums, and guitars that are functional as well as decorative - and River Gallery is one of the few places to find them.
Jensen has been making pottery for a living for 45 years, and has over 1,000 art shows and countless awards under his belt.
His pottery background, and career making pots for a living, began in his college days - his first taste of ceramics was from an elective class. “I had a lot of fun at it,” he says. “I met a man who had a production pottery setup, and I worked for him for a while. I learned how to make pots, and how to sell my work.”
After several years, he returned to art school and learned the other side of the craft.
“I learned practical production pottery before I became an art student—I’ve done many different styles,” he explains. “At first it was functional stoneware, which I always tend to fall back on—if people want mugs, I’ll make mugs. There’s a connection you have with somebody when they’re using your mug in the morning.”
He continues, “I have gone in various directions over the years, developing bodies of work with different themes and styles—I would try to fill my booth up with one style. I had many ideas, and would sometimes shift dramatically, and bring up a whole new body of work—that’s what I enjoy.”
For the last four years, Jensen’s work has all been about music. An avid trumpeter and guitarist (he plays regularly with The Ken Jensen Blues Band), he is looking for ways to make music with pottery.
The project started with a series of horns, which lent themselves to sculpture—they have a variety of shapes, concepts, and titles. The tones made by the horns are somewhat random, and kind of limited as far as their potential for musical performance. This is not the case for his line of guitars, which are tune-able, having proper intonation and comfortable action—they are designed to be played.
Getting a ceramic horn to make a specific note is challenging, because of shrinkage and changes in density caused by the firing process. Short horns create a single note, whereas longer horns create harmonics like a bugle.
“It is more about what they look like,” he tells us. “But they still have to sound good.”
He uses stoneware to sculpt the horns, which have to be high-fired so they will be strong and resonant. To color them, he makes regular use of a calcium glaze called fake ash—mixtures rich in whiting calcium carbonate that cause the glaze to break and run when fired in his gas kiln.
Jensen does Raku firings with porcelain to make his Ocarinas, along with a line of beautiful decorative pottery. The stunning designs that adorn these pieces are airbrushed underglazes applied with stencils and latex resist—a combination of processes which allows him to work on the pots like a painter. The underglazes are made of stains and slip, and covered with a layer of clear glaze which crackles when it is cooled quickly.
The largest possible airbrush tips must be used because the glaze is a crude material—fine tips clog immediately.
“It is fairly tedious,” he explains. “I never really liked the airbrush, but I like what it does—but not like I love the potter’s wheel.”
Speaking about his studio practice, he says, “It is a rare day, and a good day, when I have a completely new idea to develop. Usually I’m making the next of a long line. I’m not always making the next best pot ever—there is a little bit of inspiration and a lot of hard work. It is good to have new ideas, and experiment, and not worry about it failing, and have the time to devote to that - but often times a deadline is coming, and I have to make something I know is going to work.”
In the near future, Jensen intends to make more musical instruments. 2019 is shaping up to be a big year for him, with a multitude of concerts and art shows. For these, he is working on a series of djembes, talking drums, guitars—and some really big horns.
See his work at River Gallery in the Bluff View Arts District, or online at kenjensonpottery.com