BH Claysmith, Cherry Hill, NJ
My ongoing exploration into engobes & terra sigillatas has helped me discover new ways to generate colorful patterns, textures and finishes on all sorts of clay bodies. Whether shaping simple clay beads or fine tuning a transfer-to-surface process, I enthusiastically explore ALL my clay options, asking myself ‘what if’ every time I’m confronted with clay and its possibilities. But once techniques are mastered it is time to really listen…
First I wanted to build with clay, eat off its river rock surface and drink from the empty spaces it defines. I then wanted to hear the sound of clay as it moves to and fro within itself or as it tries to be its own call in the wild - so I make rattles which memorialize beginnings. Now I want a total “Clay Shibumi” where I am the adaptable turtle or the Bodhi leaf impressed in the clay’s surface; where I know the power of each single hand-formed bead touching my skin. I want to be what the clay is saying as I wear it and fondle it (the way old Greek men stroke their worry beads). So I strive to compose the language of clay and I eagerly impart (to anyone interested) the intriguing ways of clay beads. Whether knotted together in strands or left as single symbols of contemporary artifacts for carrying in pockets, these miniature manifestations personify peace, harmony and partnership in a time when dominance & strife seems the norm. Beads worn or handled absorb our very essence becoming an extension of who we are and what we wish to become.
