Barbara's work will be on display in the gallery and front window throughout July.
Artist's Statement Clay has sung its siren song to me nearly from the cradle, though I didn't start potting until I was 15. I’ve lost and found myself in its intoxicating melody on and off for many years. Mud is in my soul, you might say.
Clay touches me on a few different levels. First, feeling the underground cool of its earthy bulk restraining my fingers as it works its way into my skin, under my fingernails, over my wrists and onto my clothes, both mushy and crusty, smooth and scratchy.
And that smell. Some days, when I'm walking to LaMano, I can smell it halfway down the block and I smile. Clay carries the musk of ancient soil, which might sound dramatic, but to me, it’s a soothing, primordial, this-is-where-we-all-came-from scent. It smells like home to me.
I’ve always preferred wheel-throwing over handbuilding, primarily because of the instant gratification factor. Watching and feeling the clay turn under my hands mesmerizes me and sends me into blissful alpha state, so it’s like meditation with my eyes open. Over the years, I learned and honed my skills, which never matched the passion I held for the process. I’d watch other potters with envy, as they turned out matching sets of mugs or plates or vases and marvel at the level of their skill. I’d get all inspired, and toss a big, fat lump-o-clay onto the wheel with the intent of beginning a series of masterpieces and then....play with it.
Thoughts of overcoming the clay with my will fly completely out of my head as we dance and breathe together. Clay is first and foremost my friend and never are we each other’s taskmasters. I guide and persuade it, tease it and cajole it, but ultimately our best selves are brought forth during our silent, intimate conversations over muddy water and a spinning wheel.
Creating pottery has saved my heart and soul on a few occasions. When I was in my 20s, I was married to a man who knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life. This moved me to try to find that same certainty in myself of who I was going to be in this world. I’d been away from the clay for about 7 years, but it was the first thing that came to mind to do. I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I knew that throwing a pot made me really, really happy. I worked at it for a few years and then, for some long-forgotten reason, stopped.
I began again in 2002, when a boyfriend told me about a new studio in town. When the bf and I split, it was clay - and the other artists in the studio - that saved me from the Bad Breakup Abyss of Misery (heh.). It was then that I began to find my identity as a potter, discovering my style through failed attempts at mimicry. A key moment came when a lovely vase I'd thrown fell on the floor and as I reached to smush it, another potter cried, “Don't! Look what a cool shape it has now!” That opened something in me and my work took on a different direction. It freed me to make mistakes, force errors, poke a hole in a perfectly balanced cylinder if I felt like it. Sometimes I'd take a tool and randomly hack away at a piece, just to see what might come of it. And some mighty cool things emerged.
When I found LaMano last year, I also found fresh inspiration in the skilled and outrageously creative ceramic artists here. So much talent and love of mud in one place feeds my potter's soul. I couldn't ask for more.
The pieces on display in LaMano's gallery reflect a few different phases I've gone through and some I'm just beginning to explore. The clay bodies and I hope you enjoy them. Thanks.
Nonna Hall is the potter of the month. Her artist's reception will be at the studio on June 12 at 7–9pm.
Artist's Statement
Although I am relatively new to pottery (only two and a half years), I know for certain that it is now a significant part of my existence. It’s like I found a part of me that was missing my whole life.
Every stage of creating something with clay is really exciting for me. First comes the inspiration. I can be inspired by almost anything, pieces in a museum, trinkets in antique stores or at fleamarkets, a scene from a movie, or some images in fabric. Next, I think about my project, drawing on the inspiration but making it mine and mine alone. Finally, the fun part, making the piece.
I love to make functional pieces, but I feel especially uplifted and excited when making teapots and bottles. I also like to think that if one of my pieces lives a functional life, then my work is complete. It might be a very nice piece of decoration in your home, but if you can use it then the piece is alive and happy and brings happiness to you as well!
My new direction with bugs and butterflies was inspired by my coloring books when growing up in Russia, those coloring books with big butterflies that I could make any color I wanted. I fell in love with those creatures! And all these butterflies, ladybugs, and other beetles are so summery that I wanted to share this part of my memory and my summer mood with anybody who will welcome it.
Thanks to everyone who joined us to celebrate pots that pour! The delicious sangria was generously donated byAra Wine Bar, and organic tea blends were from Stiggly Holistics NYC.
The show will be up for the entire month of May, so come by any time (T-F: 12-9; S-S: 12-6).
Artist's Statement
Pottery for me is like a resting place, a place to get out of my head and breathe. It's corny to say it's about getting centered, but there is such a truth to that cliche for me. It is at the pottery studio, much like in yoga, where I find a sense of personal peace.
Part of my pleasure with pottery is creating something with a person in mind, I love to imagine that person as I work, putting positive energy into their piece. I like to wedge my clay 108 times, and when I stir the glazes I do so in multiples of nine, always trying to think good thoughts. It's a bit magical to me I suppose.
I have been very drawn to the spiral, the symbol of the Wise Woman, and so prolific in nature, and when working on the wheel, the spiral organically appears. I like to exaggerate that and make it very visible, using it as my signature and sometimes inside a piece, as its statement. The spiral is a reminder of life ever evolving. My work outside of pottery is in the healing arts and I love to work with herbs. The earth and her well-being is always at the forefront of my thoughts, and again it is this image of the spiral that to me serves as a reminder to take care, to tread gently. It's such an honour to have this opportunity to celebrate my work as a potter.
La Mano Pottery is having our first (Stone)Warehouse Sale during the whole month of February. All the pottery, made on the premises by our studio potters, will be on sale at reduced prices. 40% of the proceeds will go to The Children's Aid Society. There will be an evening event on Friday, February 12th, 5-8 p.m.
Please come and stop by for beautiful pottery at cheap prices -- maybe a Valentine's Day gift for someone special!
Jessie Lazar is the potter of the month for September. Her opening reception and sale will be at the studio on September 11th from 7–9 pm.
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