Terry Gess

Bakersville, North Carolina

Title: Curvilinear Vase

Year of Creation: 2006

Glaze: Saturated black glaze, porcelain slips

Clay Body: White Stoneware

Dimensions: Height 12 inches, Width 7 inches

Artist's Statement: Pottery is one of the oldest expressions of human culture, a cornerstone of the domestic interior. Every pot's personality is a blend of character and poise determines in equal parts by the potter and the process.

I especially appreciate pots that are subtle, filled with presence and bearing. My pots are meant to express tactile and visual qualities that will accentuate one's individuality. To quote William Morris: "Keep in your homes all that you know to be useful and all that you believe to be beautiful."

I approach pottery much like a jazz musician, improvising with form and surface patterns. My work is hand-constructed of white stoneware clay laminated with layers of porcelain and saturated black glaze. Each piece is influenced and ultimately completed by the intense atmospheric effects inside my salt kiln. This process, challenging and somewhat unpredictable, offers prized one-of-a-kind results that are a subtle, expressive collaboration between myself, the clay, and the fire.