close up detail shots dragons

Dragon glaze 

This technique is very expressive exciting and fun and often takes multiple firings to complete just one piece.  ians quest to create a dragon skin texture for a sculpture led  to testing on some vases, the battle begins after we place the pieces into a hot Raku kiln; the anticipation builds as i wait for that final moment as the intense heat begins to fuse the dragon glazes.

 Many surprises wait as I clean the surface and reveal the wonders of enchantment and landscapes infused with dragons

Each piece is a one of a kind work of Fine Art never to be duplicated again, 

ian carty ceramics 

ian carty ceramics Ian Carty

In 2011 Ian set up his own studio in Sligo and is now one of Ireland’s newest up and coming ceramic artists, making a name in Ireland for his extremely creative and artistic work that reflects an understanding of nature and its beauty while drawing inspiration from the landscapes of the rugged Atlantic coast line of his home town Sligo   

Dragon glazes are fired in a rush of excitement, smoke, and frantic activity. This process is very time consuming and often takes Ian multiple firings to complete just one piece.  For most ceramicists this technique is actually an imperfection, or problem that they are always trying to prevent. Ian wanted to take this problem and not seek perfection in each piece but rather expression found through the pursuit of the perfect imperfection, while capturing the rugged yet enchanting Landscape of North Sligo.