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"A Walk in the Park,” 24 in. (61 cm) in height, slab-built, fabric-textured porcelain, stains, with wire and acrylics, fired to Cone 8, 1999. Because of the armatures in the figures, they are slightly moveable.
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September 24, 2007
Incorporating Fabrics into Ceramics
by Ed Wargo | Read Comments (0)
In today’s Ceramic Arts Daily, Laura Peery
explains how she impresses the look and feel of fabric into her ceramic art.BackgroundInfluencesProcessesIntrinsic ValueBACKGROUND
I have the good fortune to own a work of Laura Peery’s
called “A Walk in the Park,” which over the past five years has served as a
kind of free therapist. I like to grab a cup of coffee, plunk down in the
oversized leather armchair and say “Big Joe, whataya know?” To which the reply
is always the same: “Just a walk in the park.”
INFLUENCES
I believe that “A Walk in the Park” provides me
a thread to the past, and I’ve wondered if this has something do to with how
Peery creates. I’ve heard her tell the story of how as a little girl she spent
time in her grandmother’s dress shop in New
Orleans, especially in the attic where the alterations
were done. Recently I started to wonder about “A Walk in the Park” on a much
more practical level. For somebody like myself whose artistic talents are
confined to the realm of paint by numbers, it is hard to imagine the steps in
creating “A Walk in the Park.” So Laura, my faithful friend and porcelain
confidant, how did you make these works?
 PROCESSES“I take thin slabs of soft porcelain and roll
them out, impress them with fabric, and cut them out from paper patterns,” she
explains. “The pieces are then joined together, taking care not to mar the
textured surface. Often, thin strips are added and impressed using a
dressmaker’s tracing wheel. “After bisque firing, Mason stains are rubbed in
and later airbrushed onto the surfaces. Underglaze colors, lusters and unfired
colors also are used.”INTRINSIC VALUEI’m quite confident that Peery’s work has
created millions of smiles. Not the same as dollars, as I’m sure her husband
has pointed out from time to time. What value do you place on your work when
you know the result is that it makes people feel good? It makes them happy.FOR MORE INFORMATIONSee a term you weren’t quite sure of? Then visit
the Ceramic Arts Daily Glossary. To see more of Laura’s work, visit http://creativepartnersart.com/Peery.On Wednesday: Read about Laura Peery’s technical
process for adding fabric details and surfaces into her ceramic pieces.
Read more about these related topics:
Handbuilding Ceramic Sculpture Ceramics Decorating Ceramic Art Techniques Ceramic Artists
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