Interviews

When did you start working with textiles? I started making purses in 1970 and had my first solo exhibition in a gallery in 1983.Do you remember how much you asked for the first bag you created to be sold? It was about JPY 12000 (=$150). That purchase made me confident and gave me the power to go forward.More than 30 years ago,...

You are a very young and talented ceramic artist. Can you tell us what was your first experience with ceramics? Thank you, but I’m not that young actually. I studied art in school, liked it very much but never considered it as a possible career. After many years training and working in various environmental management roles, I began to realise...

We know that you are a successful ceramic artist and also a scientist. How do you find time and motivation for both of your jobs? Science is a continuous stimulus for me; it has broadened my creativity thinking; it has pushed me to experiment and taught me that patience and perseverance lead to improved results. Art and science are integral...

Your work with ceramics has been active only in the last three years. What did you do before that? Tell us about your first experience with ceramics. Well, my mother was a potter, starting back in the early 70’s, and so when I was a teenager I was exposed to clay through her work. She had a studio in our...

What was the starting point for your investigation with Saggar firing and Terra Sigillata painting? Terra sigillata painting intrigued my imagination when I was a teenager.  At first, I saw Venetian vases decorated with black and white figures and later with color painting, as part of the history and heritage of the eastern Mediterranean board. Years later, when I was...

Collecting the edges is the name of your work exhibited at the Overthrown: Clay Without Limits exhibition. It’s a site-specific project that enhances the corners and the ceiling of the space, but it also enhances the edges of the exhibition. Tell us about this project.Collecting the edges is a response to the architecture of the two buildings one designed by...

Tell us about Mast Year, the work you exhibited at the Overthrown: Clay Without Limits exhibition.I chose the Oak, America’s National Tree because it has long been a symbol of endurance and strength. The title, Mast Year, refers to the phenomenon in which Oak trees produce a prodigious abundance of fruit. This proliferation has been recreated with emblems of beauty...

Paul Sacaridiz, An Incomplete Articulation, 2011. Cast, extruded, pinched ceramic, wood, powder coated aluminium, cut vinyl, board. Photo by Jeff Wells.Tell us about the work you exhibited at the Overthrown: Clay Without Limits exhibition.An incomplete articulation is a new work designed for the Denver Art Museum. The piece utilizes the conceptual framework of a schematic diagram to point towards differing...

Benjamin DeMott, Untitled Thumbnail, porcelain, paint, glue, glaze, gum, 2011, H 6” x W 9” x D 7.”Tell us about the work you exhibited at the Overthrown: Clay Without Limits exhibition.Diminutive and impossibly fragile my instillation is an object. Constructed on site I consider the project situational and site specific, a foil among the monumental scale and mass of the...

Del Harrow, Wedgewood Black Hive/Hole, 2011. Slip-cast black porcelain. / Links, 2011. Earthenware, glaze, and platinum luster. / Copper Fade, 2011. Earthenware and glaze. Photo by Jeff Wells.The Hamilton Building at the Denver Art Museum responds to the natural landscape with carefully calibrated geometric volumes. I think of my installation as a kind of tapestry – or embroidery – embellishing...

Linda Sormin, Mine (i hear him unclip me / blood runs cold), 2010–11. Glazed ceramic; souvenir kitsch. Photo by Jeff Wells.Tell us about the work you exhibited at the Overthrown: Clay Without Limits exhibition.This installation, Mine: i hear him unclip me, explores forms and structures of uncertainty height, and depth. I am curious about the sites and processes of mining....

Martha Russo and Katie Caron, Apoptosis (detail), 2010–11. Photo by Jeff Wells.Your collaboration transformed into an outstanding piece of contemporary art, Apoptosis. What can you tell us about this collaborative work? Working in collaboration with Martha Russo was such a positive and inspiring experience. We have known each other’s work for years, and always seem to be following similar paths...

John Roloff, The Sea Within the Land/Laramide, Landscape Projection, Seascape Structure 31You use many materials and different techniques when making your works. What did you learn from the process?The earth materials (and photo images) used in The Sea Within The Land/Laramide were based upon paleogeographic research of the site.  A lot was learned about the previous landscapes and geologic materials/processes...

The theme of your works is very dramatic and sometimes macabre. Why did you take this challenge of confronting with your subconscious?I want to make work about whatever comes naturally to me. Instead of, for instance, sitting down to brainstorm different ideas to see what comes up, and then pick the ‘best one’ to use, I would rather see what...

What is your present project, what’s its history and how do you make the pieces?I am exploring using soluble metal salts on low-fired porcelain clay, a project I began two years ago and am just now achieving the effects I desire.  All of my work is hand coiled, then carefully burnished to a smooth finish.  I bisque fire the clay...

What was the starting point in your investigation (research) with earthenware clay?When I set up my studio, I bought an electric kiln which satisfied my needs as I was interested in making objects that were not meant to be functional or to be displayed outdoors. I did not want to cover the clay with a glaze; I wanted the earthen...

In what techniques do you usually work and what materials do you use?I usually use two different techniques for my artworks. One is slab-building for the architecture, the other is plaster casting for the swine. I use stoneware for the architecture, firing at cone 04 while porcelain clay for the swine, firing at cone 6.What is your present project, what’s...

How did you find the artists for Overthrown: Clay Without Limits exhibition? Was it hard or you already had their names in mind?I spent many months researching, talking with artists in the field, and visiting artists in their studios.  I also participated in symposia at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I...

In what techniques do you usually work and what materials do you use?All my work is made using clay and fired ceramic glazes and  materials. I am a bit of a purist about this in my own work. I love ceramic materials and surfaces and do not feel the need to use cold finishes. I enjoy mixing my own glazes...

What was the starting point for your investigation with paper clay?Some years ago, when I had finished some jewelry pieces using porcelain together with paper, a  friend suggested translating the paper part in porcelain as well. I tried and failed, but my mistakes turned out rather nice in their own way. They encouraged me to explore this path.Now observing earlier...