In the Studio
I have always been fascinated with the rich, ancient tradition of modeling the human figure in clay which is then baked into a permanent, hard material. Well preserved fertility figures have been discovered which were modeled as long ago as 4000 BC, in soft clay which was then baked. This ancient tradition has been kept alive in such ceramic art work as the pre-Columbian clay figures, the Etruscan baked clay sarcophagi and funerary jars, and the Italian Renaissance portraits.I hand mold my sculptures using rolled slab sheets of clay; my work remains hollow. I use my own glaze compositions which I spray onto the bisqued work. After this, they are fired to a high stoneware tempurature which melts the glaze into a glassy coating. I do both oxidation and reduction firing.