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Art is primal, a basic instinct. Humans are created with the desire to make things special. We instinctively seek beauty, to capture it, to make it our own. In ancient Norse and Celtic designs, the swirl was often used to represent life, birth, continuity. The swirl is a recurring motif in the history of art in many cultures. For me swirls and curls represent birth and femininity and is a recurring theme in my work. I place the swirl in the bottom of my wheel throw vessels and use it as a design in my paintings. I have chosen to present works that I have done both in acrylics and clay. My father was a painter and painting connects me to him. His landscapes decorated our home. In my landscapes, I select places which have an emotional connection to me and try to communicate those feelings with my brush. For example, the painting “happily ever after” is a narrative about the roles and stereotypes we learned as children through fairy tales. I always dreamed of meeting my knight in shining armor, being swept off my feet and living…. Well, you know the rest. Clay is tactile. Through the process of making, these objects take on marks from my hands and part of me literally becomes part of the piece. Pottery is made to be touched and thereby becomes an intimate link between the maker and the user. I am showing both wood fired works and glazed work which has been reduction fired. The glazed pieces on display are all functional ware which were fired in the downdraft gas reduction kiln at Alabama State University . Most of my pots reflect my aesthetic for European forms. My mugs have an ample handle and will contain a generous portion of liquid. At ASU, I began to make sushi plates and learned to love the ancient Japanese glaze: shino. As a potter, I live a double life. For most of the year, I love working with glazes and producing work filled with color. Then about twice a year I wood - fire my work. These works have no glaze on them. For the wood firing, I consider the form and surface of the piece, choosing to control the surface for best effect in the firing. Smooth areas are nice for the flames to polish toasty brown. Near the end of the 100 hour firing cycle, ash floats through the kiln, riding on the river of flame, landing like snowflakes on the surfaces of the work in the kiln. Carved and textured areas create places for the ash to land and pool. At the highest temperature, ashes become glaze, creating surfaces that range from a mat golden brown to a deep glassy green. After that experience, I struggle to wish for colored and shiny surfaces on my work for a while. We seek beauty in our everyday lives. I like to think that as my work is used it will touch the lives of my audience intimately, continuing to nurture as the vessels are used. Hopefully they will contain not just food for the body but beauty for the spirit and a tactile experience as well. |
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