Ben Jensen

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA

Title: Layers of Round

Year of Creation: 2009

Glaze: Natural ash glaze

Clay Body: White stoneware

Dimensions: Height 6 inches, Width 7 inches

Artist's Statement: I believe that functional art can allow the user to experience the work through more senses than simply the visual. Through daily interactions a person may truly have the same if not more profound experience through the function of a pot than can be had from a fine art painting or sculpture. I make specific choices in my work in order to make pots that convey a feeling of warmth and comfort as a counterpoint to a world filled with manufactured objects. I decide to touch the materials at every point of the piece's creation. Each pot is left with a "roadmap" of its creation---the marks of making, the path of the flame, the human hand--all of which can be retraced, studied, and appreciated anytime. The pots I make have straightforward lines and simple decoration, lending them an uncomplicated elegance that allows them to be part of an everyday experience or saved for the most refined events. Each piece is ready for a conversation, eager to become part of a daily dialogue.