Glennis Phillips

Union, Oregon, USA

Title: Crappie in a Vase

Year of Creation: 2003

Glaze: High mag matt with waste glaze over

Clay Body: Recycled

Dimensions: Height 21 inches, Width 16 inches

Artist's Statement: It is my aspiration as an artist is to create work that has an identity that sometimes has an apparent function but at other times has an esthetic and cultural statement. As my body of work has evolved, my goal has been to demonstrate gesture, grace, emotion and in both form and the treatment of the surface of the ceramic piece. I find satisfaction in using detailed surface decoration.

My ceramic pieces are made of stoneware clay which is fired in a reduction atmosphere at cone 9 to 10 or approximately 2300 degrees. Recently I have worked with lower fired clay and glazes and have experimented with smoked firings. I love the challenge of designing and making larger scale work using a combination of press mold, slab, thrown, sculpted, and extruded forms. I mix my own glazes and often use ash as the main ingredient in the glazes because I love the fluidity of the ash when it's fired.

I am not a production potter. Most of my pieces are one of a kind, but may be similar in design. I do try to make work that most anyone can connect with--whether the piece has a function or whether the pot is just to be intrinsically enjoyed. It has always been difficult for me to explain my work. The artist Peter Milton once remarked when asked to write a statement about his art, "I would be a sad father indeed if these children weren't able to speak for themselves."