New Works from River Road Studio

I have been having so much fun since I started making pottery!

You just never knew what new things you will do in your life. I find that being an artist is the most wonderful life a person could ever ask for. No matter what the challenges, art always comes through to bring us new surprises and new beginnings.

I was formerly a painter and print maker and did some tapestry weaving as well. When I lost my vision in 2007 that all changed overnight. At first I thought I would never be able to make "art" again. But I was still an "artist" inside so what would I ever do?

Over the Sight Loss journey I have been on for the past 2 1/2 years, I have started to do pottery. At first, a friend called me and told me she thought I could do pottery. She took me to classes and very slowly, I began to work in 3-D. My efforts at first were tentative and nervous. I struggled with the clay and with the idea of making pottery. But, it was not long until the artist took over and I began to learn to feel the clay, and to be one with the clay. Being one with your medium is essential to making art. You and the medium have to work together and once that begins to happen, it is exciting.

One of the projects I wanted to work on was to make three vessels in a series, using a template. I love to hand build with coils and I love the way you can work so large and powerful by using them. I made a template for the profile I wanted the vessels to have and then I began the process of working that shape into the outside of a 3-D surface.

My vision for the vessels was to reflect an ancient way of working and the image I was thinking about was the Venue of Willendorf. She is an ancient statue, tiny, and was found in Austria in an archaeological dig. I first saw photos of this little statue when I was an art student, in my Art History 101 class.

Let me introduce you to the Willendorf Sisters, a series of three large vessels. They were made with red clay bodies, and have a clear glaze applied. When the glaze is fired on the pot, it turns this soft pinkish/brown color. I was surprised and very pleased.

When I look at these vessels I am reminded of organs and delicate inner tissues inside the body. The color of them is feminine and delicate and they seem to ppulsate with life forces. I am very pleased with how they have turned out.