In the Studio

My work has taken a decidedly-different turn this past year, and it felt like something that just slipped naturally in, without a lot of contemplation from me.

Before I dived headlong into creating in clay, I was a painter. The word “dived” implies that I had a lot of active say in the matter. I am looking for a truer description and it might be: got sucked into the orbit of clay, never to return! For a long time I kept up with painting and pottery. But one day I realized that the work in my studio that kept tugging at me and calling me back—the work I woke up thinking of new forms in at wee hours of the morning—was clay. I still draw and have recently taken up ink wash painting, and maybe I’ll post a few of those in the future, but my heart, mind and hands are firmly grasped by the world of three-dimensional vessels in ever more sculptural (architectural?) forms.

Since I came to clay from a colorful world of paint, that is where the surface decorations of my clay started—very colorful, painterly. But this past year I have seen my inspirations more focussed on form, with a gradual dropping away of reliance on many colors within one piece. And although I am nowhere near producing what I see in my mind, I am inspired by the description the wonderful and inspiring ceramic artist, Peter Beard, has used to describe his work: vessel-based sculpture. First is the form, and the surface details should support that. One would think it might be easier to work with more simple surface colors, rather than using a lot of color. I have found it incredibly challenging (in a good way) to find ways to work on the finish of my sculptural vessels that don’t detract from their forms. I have ended up with quite a few pieces that I adored in their leather-hard stage, only to completely ruin them by “over-decorating”. I’m learning! And, old, painterly habits are hard to break, sometimes. Anyway, here are a few things, in progress.