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Clay is a center in my life. I am involved with it in one way or another almost every day. Through it I express my love for the natural world and its continuous beauty. I am fortunate to make my living as an artist, sharing my visions in a medium to which I feel deeply connected. Year after year clay has pushed my artistry and brought me further into its depths. And I continue to learn to express myself through clay. By putting my hands to it each day, I am able to fulfill a need to create from, and be in touch with, the earth. I work at home from a country studio located 15 minutes from downtown Ithaca. I start each work day with Taiwanese tea brewed Gongfu style in an Yixing teapot. Sipping it, I listen to the birds and enjoy beautiful views of rolling hills, forests and meadows. This and other connections to nature are expressed and shared in my works. Clay found me in 1996 when I took a hobby pottery class to find a new creative outlet and bring more balance to a busy corporate career. I expected to simply discover an enjoyable pastime. Instead, clay dug its way into my very core. I began Muddy Paws™ Pottery, a functional pottery production business, in effort to follow clay's calling and to bring a new spirit and satisfaction to my work life. At present I dedicate all of my studio time to creating trompe l'oeil sculptures. I have a BA in communication from Ithaca College, where I also studied art history in Ithaca and London. My primary applied art training came in the form of two artist residencies studying with trompe l'oeil master Ah Leon and other masters in Taiwan. Both were funded in part by New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) grants. My work is based in the Yixing tradition and of course the influence of Ah Leon. My trompe l'oeil teapot are part of the path I am traveling as I continue to develop my own artistic voice. To date I have contributed work to over 40 exhibitions and have been awarded and exhibited in museums and galleries across the country. Pieces have appeared on the covers of AmericanStyle and Pottery Making Illustrated, and in the pages of Ceramics Monthly, NICHE, Clay Times, The Crafts Report, and Ceramic Art (Taiwan), as well as in several books and calendars on ceramic art. I have participated in The Smithsonian Craft Show and SOFA Chicago, and given demonstrations, workshops and presentations in the USA, Canada and Taiwan. My work is included
in permanent collections including the Everson Museum of Art, the Memorial
Art Gallery at the University of Rochester and many nationally recognized
private collections including the Kamm Teapot Foundation—the world's
largest teapot collection. I am inspired by the purity of nature, the craftsmanship of ancient Yixing masters, and Asian art and philosophies. I appreciate how pottery reflects the earth's durability and fragility—strong, yet easily destroyed if disrespected. Whether premeditated or spontaneously created, each piece is a relationship…the story of shared discovery. The clay and I make the journey together. Often we agree and, many times, we do not. Regardless, the final form, the result of our conversation, has a life all its own. Each piece is made in honor of the earth and with the intention of bringing a sense of harmony and joy to the recipient. My trompe l'oeil sculptures represent a transformation. They are the reflection of philosophies and aesthetics that have formed me and are expressed anew through me. The love of nature and the Buddhist principles of harmony. The fine craftsmanship of wares from Yixing, China. The beauty in imperfection, expressed so gracefully by the Japanese concept of wabi sabi and by nature herself. They represent nature's triumph of existence, regardless of the disregard we humans have shown her. Through my trompe l'oeil ceramic sculptures I challenge the viewer with both the nature of the material and the messages within. Whether wheel-thrown or hand-built, these forms are completely hand-carved and transformed to mimic birch trees and weathered logs. I strive to show how nature maintains its splendors through tenacity and triumph of existence despite the disregard we humans show her. I appreciate how ceramic mirrors the environment's fragility and durability-—easily damaged if disrespected and yet invincible in its inherent beauty. Each piece I create is a relationship-—the story of shared discovery. The clay and I make the journey together through the tension of disagreement and the harmony of accord. The final form-—the result of our conversation-—-has a life all its own. I strive for the life
in each creation to foster awareness and influence viewer behavior toward
the environment. My hope is that at least some will acquire new ways of
seeing and learn to walk with softer steps. |
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Home About Gallery Exhibitions News Visits Links Contact Last Updated: July 8, 2010 ©Eric Serritella, 2010 — All Rights Reserved |
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Introduction
Trompe
L'oeil Philosophy