THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN MY WORK

I have been working full time making and selling my pottery since 1974. I took a couple of pottery classes in college and have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in sculpture but I didn’t really start learning about pottery until after I graduated and I started working clay all day, every day. I learned from the clay. One can not intellectually learn pottery. Learning to throw and fire clay is like a baby learning to move. First you can crawl, then stagger on two feet, then walk well, then run, and after all, that, if you persist, you may finally dance. You can not throw a beautiful, graceful pot if you are struggling to make the clay stand up. You can not dance before you learn to walk. You have to pay your dues by throwing tens of thousands of pots before the clay will open its arms and let you dance with it. I have made and sold several thousand pots every year for the past forty-five years in rehearsal to make one subtle and sublime pot for you.

In my view, the beauty of pottery must be subtle. Pottery is not a cold and distant goddess like that of painting, that demands to be held on high and will only be admired from afar. Pottery is a warm and gentle goddess that gives us daily sustenance. She cooks and serves our food, kisses a drink to our lips and is in our hands every day. Will you think less of her because she does more for you? And still, like any great painting or sculpture, a great pot has something new for you to discover in it each time you give it your full attention. Pottery doesn’t command our attention, it humbly offers the opportunity to discover a beautiful harmony of nature with a little influence from a humble man. I hope you will find what you need in my work.

Each of the pieces I make is a one of a kind, hand made creation. It is thrown on a wheel, no mold is ever used. It is a live performance frozen in time by the fires of its creation. It is shaped by my hands and heart that have given form to clay for over forty-five years. The dramatic effect of each glaze comes from my experience mixed with the particular character of the 2300 degree fire that gave it life. Each pot is fused into a living stone so hard it can endure, untouched by time, for thousands of years.

We express our inner selves with the objects we find beautiful and choose to have around us. I am profoundly touched that you would choose to express yourself with my work.

Now you must discover which piece I made just for you.
Richard White

ArtistRichard WhiteJuried MediumCeramicsLocationStudio 39Phone760-789-5756Emailclayfeet2000@yahoo.com