Oscar Bucher Ceramics

The Ceremonial Bowls have a serene presence and encourage reflective meditation.

The gold interior creates a focal point contrasting with the rugged textural exterior.

On the technical side: The Liquid Gold aka Fired Gold is a Gold Overglaze that, once it's fired is rated 23+ Karat. Gold is dissolved in an organic acid and suspended in a thick solvent based solution for ease of application by brush. Once the gold solution has completely dried on the piece it is placed in a ceramic kiln and fired to 1350 F degrees. The high temperature burns off the organic acid and solvent, leaving a layer of metallic gold on the bowl.

The Crater and Lava glazes of my own formulation often have the appearance of Lunar Scapes, other times they resemble volcanic Lava flow. After the first bisque firing several heavy coats of glaze are applied, the color is achieved by additions of metallic oxides like copper, cobalt, chrome, manganese and iron. Often the pieces are multi-fired. After glaze-firing to 2200 F  the pieces are cooled, more glaze applied, then re-fired to 1850 F in order to create the unique surface textures.

Crater & Lava

The Crater and Lava glazes of my own formulation often have the appearance of Lunar Scapes, other times they resemble volcanic Lava flow. After the first bisque firing several heavy coats of glaze is applied, the color is achieved by additions of metallic oxides like copper, cobalt, chrome, manganese and iron. Often the pieces are fired several times, first glaze-firing to 2200 F degrees, more glaze is applied, then fired again to 1850F to create the unique results.

Porcelain was first used in China around AD 700 by the T'ang Dynasty. Today’s porcelain is the finest clay one can work with, white and delicate and notoriously challenging. The smooth consistency if handled properly allows delicate necks and thin walled forms. The pure white clay tends to emphasize the color of any glaze. It is also the most difficult medium to work with. Because of its high shrinkage and tendency to crack, slow and even drying is critical. But exceptional results justify the challenge.

Porcelain was first used in China around AD 700 by the T'ang Dynasty. Today’s porcelain is the finest clay one can work with, white and delicate and notoriously challenging. The smooth consistency if handled properly allows delicate necks and thin walled forms. The pure white finish tends to emphasize the color of a glaze. It is also the most difficult medium to work with. Because of its high shrinkage and tendency to crack, slow and even drying is critical. But exceptional results justify the challenge.

The semi-precious Agate was used by the ancient Egyptians in religious ceremonies.

With these lidded forms the concern is to explore the light filtering through the semi-precious Agate reflected in contrasting or complimenting glaze combinations hopefully creating pieces unique and stimulating to the eye and imagination.

The term Stoneware suggests a clay with a more gritty consistency fired to high temperature. All my Stoneware pieces are high-fired to 2400 F degrees, extremely durable and waterproof. All work is one-of-a-kind, created on the potters wheel, sometimes altered. Some pieces are formed by clay slab construction. Using diversified techniques, clay has always been the medium of creative expression for me.