kris paul - clay
I specialize in thrown and hand built fine porcelain that has been burnished to a soft polished surface that
is fired in a Naked Raku firing. The firing process is a dance between the porcelain and the carbon
atmosphere and it is not until they emerge from the reduction chamber that I know how the surface will
appear. There are distinct subtleties within each individual piece that emerge through the process of
manipulating the clay.
“I approach ceramics with a design aesthetic of wabi-sabi. To transform raw clay into a piece that reflects the imperfect beauty
found in nature is my greatest pleasure. My early influence was my Mother who specialized in black & white photography and
as a young girl I would work in her darkroom, transferring her photos from tray to tray, watching the images captured on film
come to life. The purity of black & white has kept me captivated and translating that into my work has been my passion.
I am drawn to clay in ways that are sometimes hard to translate into words. There is something about molding an object from a lump of clay. There is a balance that can be achieved that draws me into my studio each and every day. I do not sketch my work prior to constructing ir but the vision that is so strong in my mind, guides my hands and eyes into developing the images that I have conceived.
I love finding the hidden nuances and bringing those out in sometimes very subtle ways.
It is a dance, one that I plan on continuing for many, many years to come.
I specialize in thrown and hand built fine porcelain that has been burnished to a soft polished surface that
is fired in a Naked Raku firing. The firing process is a dance between the porcelain and the carbon
atmosphere and it is not until they emerge from the reduction chamber that I know how the surface will
appear. There are distinct subtleties within each individual piece that emerge through the process of
manipulating the clay.
“I approach ceramics with a design aesthetic of wabi-sabi. To transform raw clay into a piece that reflects the imperfect beauty
found in nature is my greatest pleasure. My early influence was my Mother who specialized in black & white photography and
as a young girl I would work in her darkroom, transferring her photos from tray to tray, watching the images captured on film
come to life. The purity of black & white has kept me captivated and translating that into my work has been my passion.
I am drawn to clay in ways that are sometimes hard to translate into words. There is something about molding an object from a lump of clay. There is a balance that can be achieved that draws me into my studio each and every day. I do not sketch my work prior to constructing ir but the vision that is so strong in my mind, guides my hands and eyes into developing the images that I have conceived.
I love finding the hidden nuances and bringing those out in sometimes very subtle ways.
It is a dance, one that I plan on continuing for many, many years to come.
