PARTNERING WITH CLAY

I am a hand builder.  I pound the clay with a concrete idea in my mind of what I plan to make. And then this soft, pliant, willing yet willful primal material takes the upper hand. To date I have never made anything I intended to make. Instead the clay takes the lead and I'm left with the task of intensifying what it shows me. I fire the piece and receive another surprise. You can't be lonely when you work with clay. It forces you to participate in a magical process of give and take.