Robert Graydon has been a professional potter and has lived off the sales of his work since 1977. He started making pottery at the age of 14 at Whitford Intermediate school in Beaverton, Or. and at 18 he was one of the youngest vendors at Portland Saturday Market, where he sold for approximately 6 years.
In 1986 he relocated to the high desert of Central Oregon desiring more space and a drier climate in which to make his pottery. Robert travels throughout the west selling his pots at premier art events and fine art galleries.
Robert Graydon's pottery is all his own original hand made artwork. Each piece is signed and dated. Most of his work is wheel thrown stoneware or porcelain. A very small amount is hand built from slabs. Robert fires most his pottery using the raku process. He takes the pots red hot from the kiln using tongs or gloves. He places them into a nest of straw, leaves, and pine needles inside of a large can, or barrel. He then smothers the fire out by placing a lid on the container. Once they have cooled, they are removed, cleaned of ashes and burnt material, and are ready to be sold.
He is also firing some of his work using the horse hair firing method which involves taking unglazed burnished pots hot out of a kiln and throwing horse hair on the hot pots. The hair shrivels up and burns black lines onto the white pottery.
“I have always been inspired by the open space where I live in Central Oregon and the timeless connection that pottery gives us to a past way of life.”
Robert Graydon
