Josh Boock

Master Potter of Functional Stoneware Pottery & Face Jug Artist
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Animal Pottery & Animal Sculptures
Growing up here in the north woods of Minnesota, I grew up with a passion for the wilderness and animals. Very soon after learning to work in clay, I was figureing out all sorts of ways to decorate my pottery with diffrent animal shapes. I even based my senior show around frog shapes.
 
While in college, the professor always pushed me to move beyond just being a Excellent & Prolific wheel thrower. But it wasn't until I opened my own studio that I really began to munipulate particles into face jugs and eventully animal pottery sculptures.
 
Each animal face jug, sculpture or cookie jar; is first thrown on the potter's wheel and then sculpted and altered into this wonderfully uniquie pottery animals. I do NOT use any sort of molds, and no two are exsactly alike. Each is a origanl and uniquie piece of folk art pottery.
Giraffe Jug
Hand thrown Cone 10 reduction fired, Giraffe scupture pint sized.
 
I first throw the jug and a small bell shaped cup. Then I remove part of the jug's wall and attach the cup to the front.
 
The stoneware horns are also thrown on a wheel and left unglazed, this allows the natural stoneware color and texture to show. Giveing the horns a very realistic natural look.
This Giraffe jug measures about 7 inches tall by 4.3 in diameter.
 
 Bob the Bear -
cone 10 stoneware face jug

This bear shaped whiskey face jug features a iron saturate glaze.
 
There are small floating lighter colored pieces floating all through out its surface.
 
 
 
 
This Black Javelina face cookie jar, features a oil spoting black glaze.
The tusks and eyes are made out of porcline.
The snot had the glaze wiped off so that the rough stoneware surface was revealed.
 
 
 
Blonde colored Javelina face cookie jar.
 
I love how the blonde color of this jug, "breaks" on the texture of the fur.
 
Cobalt blue pottery rooster
These pottery roosters were some of the first animal sculptures that I made.
 
Southern and egyptican inspired. The coloring of these pottery chickens is truley unique.
 
When I start construction on one of these roosters, I first throw a bottomless jug, a base, a tringular shaped cup, and some of the tail feathers.
 
 
Copper red and shino glazed rooster face jug.
 
After throwing all the parts of the rooster, I start to add them to one another. Cutting and removeing parts of the thrown vessels. And adding clay where needed to sculpt these woderfully uniquie pottery sculptures.
 
Buttermilk and lavander glazed rooster.
 
This rooster was one of the first I did with access to the space inside the roosters main body.
 
I thought this hidden stash spot, really kept with the 1800's folk art idea of the face jugs, by makeing a pottery sculpter in which you could hide "Goods", from undeserving individuals.
 
Just like how the face jugs hide moonshine from the revenures.