Sunday, December 16, 2007








Here are some of my past works. I tried to choose a wide range of some styles that i have tried out in the past.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Ruth's Post

hello everyone,
This is my most recent artist statement. I hope it give a little insite to what I am currently working on, which is different then my pieces I did throughout college. In the past I have uses geometric designs on large areas. Only recently I have simplified a lot by adding this texture and design just to a stripe here and there.

As far back as I can remember appreciating art has always been part of my family. My mother would bring me to museums for what felt like days at a time. Beauty is what attracted me to the art I found on these trips, like Monet, Chagall, and Degas, but I was only allowed to examine them with my eyes. While in high school I began working with clay and was excited when I discovered that there was a way to create artwork that could be held, used and enjoyed, not just looked at. Having developed my skills, I still focus on these qualities creating dinner sets that are removed from the protective china cabinet. My pots reflect the classic patterns and intricate designs of elegant English china or delicate Greek pottery but are also made to endure the stress of a busy household. To heighten the experience of touch, my patterns are created with stamping, faceting and slip trailing to create interesting textures. In creating attractive and functional ceramic ware, I hope to bring art to the table.






Sunday, December 2, 2007

Mel December Post (switching with Kip)

hey guys,
this is the version of my artist statement that will be going to grad schools, so any help would be wonderful! here are a few of my latest pots, too. i've been thinking a lot about your comments last time, and have been working on trying to make the animals on different pots interact with one another. i made a bunch of tumblers (different heights) that have a scene across all of them (birds on a wire, pink mountains) but don't have a shot of them. they're moderately successful, a good first step i think. but i've been having trouble finding other ways of making the pots and animals interact without everything seeming contrived. i guess that if i want the animals to be interacting, which would be interesting, i don't want the relationships to be straightforward. maybe the animals could be sort of indifferent or something. also, i think some of the these animals work with their forms, and some could probably be on another pot just as easily. so any suggestions about how to make the animals seem like they really belong on the forms would be helpful. i don't think they look like they're just painted on there for no reason- i do think they somewhat relate to the form- but i'm working on strengthening that aspect. maybe the forms themselves need to change? i'm not interested in making sculptural, bernadette curran pots that directly reflect the shape of the animal, but just want a these pots seem like they were meant to be, to sing. i think they sort of hum now. :)

Artist Statement
Drawing on my faith in the innate intelligence of the motion of making, I allow momentum and intuition to guide my studio practice. My work is a balance between thoughtful intention, action and instinct, with room for daydreams. Confident and lively movements are juxtaposed with affectionate attention to surface pattern and detail. The imagery reflects an ongoing inner dialogue regarding the domestication of life, animals, and land. Characters are whimsical, but sometimes melancholy or forlorn. Animals might be caged or freed by the form, and the surface landscape speaks both of cultivated earth and open horizons. Throughout the entire pot, I seek to balance comfort with adventure, and structure with romance and possibility. Overall, my work is a search for a connection to new and shifting landscapes, as well as an investigation of my own evolving relationship with the natural world.