Thoughtful Play

My work is the outcome of many years of looking at both figurative and abstract sculpture as well modern architecture and of course pottery. As a potter I have a keen interest in bowls from small tea bowls that fit into your hands to large sculptural bowl forms. My sculptures came about from a time when I was assembling rather traditional vases from clay elements formed in an extruder (think Play-Doh machine on steroids). Invariably I would have cylinders or square tubes left over from the forming process. I used these leftovers along with bits and pieces of clay to put together small sculptures that I would fire just for fun. I used these as “kiln gods” to watch over my firings. I did not think much of them until an artist friend came to my studio and was really interested in the tiny sculptures that were strewn about my shelves. When I took a long hard look at what I was doing, I too realized the little kiln gods had more energy and vitality than did the vessels I was making at the time. I finally gave in and started assembling these sculptures on a larger scale and running with the ideas generated from those first examples.

As for the bowls I have always been interested in this form. The shape is both simple and elemental yet complex and profound as well. I suspect the very first clay vessels were simple bowl forms made to fit into cupped hands for drinking or cooking. From a visual perspective, bowls allow access to both its interior and exterior surfaces simultaneously. Dealing with both the positive and negative curvature of a bowl form is extremely demanding visually and presents a challenge that I have to address with each bowl I make.

The stripes are another matter. They seem to be reminiscent of the wave diagrams from my Physics days, and they also evoke thoughts of the lumber used to build old sheds or wooden hulled boats. However I believe my real interest in them is in their repetitive and patchwork nature, like a visual form of chant or meditation. At first glance they appear the same yet on closer inspection each has a slightly different character, shape, texture and width. And trying to draw parallel lines on the curved surfaces of the bowls is a fun exercise in Non-Euclidian geometry. I try to allow the stripes to enhance the surface yet also redefine it, almost breaking the areas down into sheets or sections patched quickly together.

Barry