Teacups

As a child I could sit for hours drawing the outlines of abstract shapes and then filling them in with color. Getting lost in my imagination with the twists and turns of possible combinations, it was a world of shape and color all my own. This way of working has stayed with me throughout my life as a potter: it feels natural. Bringing dimensional form into this world has not always come as naturally. I have always had to work harder on making the pots than decorating them.

Something that has stayed with me after attending the Pottery Invitational at Worcester center for crafts was watching Rob Sieminski make pots at the demonstrations.

Rob Sieminski

He spoke about what he saw as the importance of having a harmonious connection between the process, the clay, and the earth (to use my own words). I loved watching him work, combining intuition, spontaneity, and skill. He creates beautiful sculpture and vessels that remind me of totems from ancient lands, when objects rang with spiritual energy.

My newest pots are these teacups. A play date between form and ornamentation that brings me back a little bit to those childhood shape and color combinations. 

Looking for artists who work in terracotta (as I do) and bring color, form, and fantasy to their work, I am reminded of Jenny Mendes.  I love her approach to surface design, which is so evocative through the use of narrative imagery.