Samples of People Pots-- Figurative vessel forms

........Much of my life has been spent working with people, and my current work reflects that past. The pieces are made from clay, a richly textured and malleable material which lends itself to the detailing of the individual faces I sculpt. Each is unique, often of a real person, but not necessarily famous, and in each I try to convey human emotion. The placement of the shoulders and the tilt of the head are designed as a gesture to suggest that the person has been caught in a moment in time and could soon change. Most of the pieces are a testimony to my beginnings as a production potter. The majority are glazed vessel forms, and are thus functional. The clothing of the People Pots is an outgrowth of clay itself. I celebrate the flexibility and fluidity of the material in each gown and slab hat, enjoying the folds, the curves and the textures that can be coaxed into the clay. Repetition is often used as a dominant unifying design principle.

........The pieces are made from light and dark stoneware clays and are fired either in an electric or a natural gas kiln. Most are glazed and finally many are partially painted. My primary tools are a slab roller, a pencil and my hands.