Finding My Way

This ceramic sculpture is composed of two tetrahedron elements with glaze and permanent underglaze colors. A tetrahedron is a four-sided shape; a triangular pyramid if you will.

The underglaze color is applied before the piece is completely dry. It is then given its first, bisque, firing. Once coole, it is covered with a glaze designed to crack. It is then raku fired in a kiln to 1900F. While still red hot, it is taken from the kiln and put into a metal bin with pine needles, which burst into flames. A lid is quickly put on, and the piece is left to smoke. This turns any unglazed portion black and allows carbon to work its way into the cracks in the glaze, creating unique patterns.

After being cleaned up, it is filled with a rigid foam, and a metal rod is inserted at which point another tetrahedron element is permanently and securely attached, making the two elements one. The organic flows are then sculpted to offset the uniformity of the triangular shapes which are then gilded with 22K gold leaf.

The artist loves the interplay of the rigid triangles against the unpredictable surface of glaze, and the way the geometric color is countered by the wonderfully organic gold surfaces