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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, August 13, 2003

Maui artist's feats of clay featured

By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer

 •  'Modern Masters'

Home & Garden Television (analog channel 76 and digital channel 323)

9 p.m. Wednesdays (repeats midnight)

www.hgtv.com

See Maui artist Denise Phillips' creations at www.maui-art.com/hbv.htm.

When Kihei artist Denise Phillips fires one of her clay vessels in an ancient lava-rock pit, she never knows what to expect.

The product, like the process, is one of a kind. Her classic-shaped vessels evolve from plain white to richly-colored pieces with swirling, cloud-like patterns.

"We get some amazing results when we do that," said Phillips, who will share her personalized process tonight on Home & Garden Television's "Modern Masters."

The show takes viewers to workshops around the country to observe crafts experts demonstrating their trades.

The 44-year-old artist said she builds the vessels using techniques of ancient tribal potters. She begins with a round disk of clay that she adds coils of clay to, one on top of the other, then blends and smooths out the piece.

Phillips burnishes, or polishes, the vessel using small polished stones, to create a rich sheen. Then Phillips and her brother, Matt James, fire the vessel in a lava rock pit.

"We utilize those depressions in the lava rock to put sawdust in and then put the pots in and then bury them completely ... it's an all-day fire," she said.

The resulting colors vary from golden yellows and smoky browns to deep blacks and pale pinks.

Finally, Phillips uses a beeswax polish to seal the piece, which is never glazed.

Phillips' interest in pottery began when she took an introduction to clay class nine years ago.

"When I took the pottery class, it just sounded like fun," she said. ... "It turned out to be what I'm supposed to be doing for the rest of my life."

Phillips, born on O'ahu, moved to Maui from Nashville, Tenn., six years ago, and soon after began creating vessels professionally.

Her vessels, which range from six inches to six feet tall, can be seen at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea or on her Web site (see box). The pieces, many of which are commissioned, cost from $100 to $20,000.

Among her favorite customers: Ozzy Osbourne.

"His daughter Amy bought a piece at the Four Seasons, probably about a year ago, and then he bought three more pieces a few months after that," Phillips said. "He is the sweetest, nicest guy."