Bruce Gholson

Seagrove, North Carolina, USA

Title: Skull Vase

Year of Creation: 2008

Glaze: Molybdenum and crystalline matte glazes

Clay Body: Red stoneware and porcelain

Dimensions: Height 12.5 inches, Width 7.5 inches

Artist's Statement: I am always amazed at how classically traditional my pottery seems to be after completing a body of work. I try to be unfettered and eclectic in the way I approach working with the clay, especially when choosing clay bodies, forming techniques, and types of firing necessary to achieve the surfaces that I desire. I find that changing between porcelains, stonewares, and red clays, stimulates ideas. The material based intuitions that result, feed back into the creative process. Recently I have been enjoying the effect of using red clay fired at stoneware temperatures. The red clay is now providing me with a whole new palette of color and surface texture, from glazes that I previously used on porcelain. The vase I have chosen for the Vasefinder 2010 exhibition is an Amphora thrown from red clay with molybdenum crystalline glazes. The porcelain, molded, and carved skulls decorating the shoulder, provide a platform from which the handles spring up to the rim.