Title of Art Piece: Large Bowl
Category: Ceramics
Student/Artist’s Name: Kyle Wisner
School: Homer High School
Grade: 12th
Artist Statement: For me ceramics is a form of self betterment; it’s a type of meditation. I spend my life searching for things that inspire me on an entirely affecting level. I only enjoy something if it consumes 100% of my attention and effort, and ceramics does this for me. To throw a beautiful pot requires me to be focused, centered, and emotionally calm. Wheel throwing is a true mind-body connection, as your brain has to be perfectly in tune with your hands in order to create.
While my pots are definitely functional, the main focus for me is form. I strive to create subtle extremes within the pot that make the viewer wonder how the pot was created. I personally only enjoy a pot that I have created if I feel that it has pushed my abilities to their limits. I focus on the weight of my pottery because low weight demonstrates a true mastery of the craft. I feel that a master potter can create a pot that looks incredibly simple as well as extraordinarily complex at the same time. My pottery is defined by its erratic yet flowing lines, its size, and its low weight. Though I feel that these principals and ideas are apparent in my work, I have not definitively found my signature shapes yet. I’m still a developing artist, and the shapes I make come directly from within and are greatly affected by the mood I am currently in. Therefore, not many pots I make look the same. My work is predominantly cone 10 stoneware. I really don’t like this firing method, because I think that the finished product is too far removed from its original state. I would like to start working with a wood kiln because it seems more earthy and connected to the wet state that clay comes in.
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