After twelve years of ceramic study,
my creative interests remain with functional ware, vessels that
are both pleasing to the eye and whimsical, that are useful but
not self-conscious. And as in life itself, I am drawn to pieces
that are cut and altered, then reshaped, that are purposeful while
appearing imperfect. Since moving four years ago to Galisteo, a
small traditional village south Santa Fe, New Mexico, I have limited
my firings to wood and soda, choosing glazes and slips that reflect
the pale etherial colors of this landscape that I love. The beautiful
yet random, at times directional, caress of the soda and wood ash,
again reflect my own life experience: that beauty comes in unpredictable
and seemingly random ways. As my interest in soda has grown, I
have explored not only shapes and glazes that compliment the firing,
but also surface treatments: under-glazes, surface relief, textures.
I have discovered a special pleasure in patterned paper. By placing
the pattern on the clay, then using varnish, I create a relief,
a raised surface, perfect for the caress of soda. This application
of pattern reminds me of my grandmother's house in a historical
Texas home, filled with wallpaper, where at an early age my artistic
endeavors began. |
