Jeff Brown

Seagrove, North Carolina, USA

Title: Woodfired Faceted Stoneware Vase

Year of Creation: 2005

Glaze: Natural ash

Clay Body: Laguna #950 Stoneware

Dimensions: Height 12 inches, Width 6 inches

Artist's Statement: I am drawn to the natural earth qualities of clay: the smell, the look of its granular surface as it's stretched by the pressure of my fingertips. My fascination with texture and the pliable nature of clay leads me to examine not just the outside, or on the skin, but inside, below the surface. The firing process has become as elemental in my work as the forms and textures I use. The controlled chaos of the woodfiring process enhances the surfaces of my pottery in a way that I cannot do in the glazing process alone. Imagining how flame and ash will leave their mark on my work, caressing the textures as they wrap around the forms, affects the way I think of my work in the studio.