The glazes produce a metallic effect with crackling from rapid cooling. Visitors will witness the results immediately. Although Phil has worked with many varieties of sculpture and ceramic styles, he prefers raku to all others at this time. Since he is particularly attracted to the green and copper colors produced under certain conditions in raku, he likes to make his own glazes. It's a spontaneous process that can't be duplicated.
Nature provides the crackling.
Phil has always been fascinated by ceramics. As a child in Greece, he lived in a neighborhood by the sea where water was stored in ceramic containers. When he began to explore art at Shari's suggestion, he took a ceramics class from John Anderson at Lake Tahoe Community College. In addition to their two art studios, the Monos have recently remodeled their home to include Phil's beauty salon, Hair and Now. This enables Phil, who has been a professional hair stylist for 27 years, to maintain both his art studio and his salon business.