The Pottery

What is there not to love about pottery?

As an artist you get to play with clay and fire. There are both three- and two-dimensional design elements to consider. I may as well be minoring in geology and chemistry for all the intricacies of claybody, glaze recipes and the interaction between the two in wood-fired environments both rich (oxidation) and deprived (reduction) of oxygen.

There is a rich and complex history in ceramics that ties together the lives of people both living and those who came thousands of years before us. It is, at the same time, an opportunity to appreciate ancient anthropology, and to make something pleasing from which I can enjoy a bowl of ice cream, hot soup or green tea.

Beyond the mere making of, or appreciating, ceramic forms, there is another reason to pursue this labor-intensive art form. The potters that I have been privileged to meet and to learn from, for the most part, appreciate simplicity, beauty and an unhurried lifestyle. There is something about forming earth and the application of fire to yield unpredictable collaborations with a mysterious, “other,” that allows them to live lives that are quite unlike those of most people I know.

I like that.