Karen Adelaar

Hopewell Junction, New York

Title: Old Maple

Year of Creation: 2006

Glaze: Natural ash, anagama kiln

Clay Body: Sculpture clay and porcelain slip

Dimensions: Height 17 inches, Width 14 inches

Artist's Statement: I do ceramic sculpture. I am inspired by a lifelong interest in natural history. My choice of clay as a medium is directly related to this primitive material and its immediate connection to the earth's infinite process of decomposition and renewal.

My pieces are hand-built. I do a lot of texturing and carving and I use various clay bodies and oxide-colored slips.

I fire my work in a wide range of kilns including wood-fired, raku and electric kilns depending upon the effect that I hope to achieve.

I currently work at Marymount Manhattan College, where I have been a teacher and studio coordinator for 15 years. Prior to that I owned and operated a small retail bakery in Manhattan, worked as an apprentice to a master taxidermist and sculptor in New Jersey and spent a year at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

All of these experiences are reflected in my work and choice of subject matter.