Clay is a way of life for me. I have been entranced by the fluidity and feel of clay and by the power of the big fire since the age of thirteen, when I first entered the art world. I have worked with various media, but I always return to clay. I have lived as a country potter, homesteader, and carpenter all of my adult life, and I’ve worked with many clay artists who helped shape and influence my interests: building and firing kilns, combining Eastern and Western influences in my work, and creating both functional and sculptural pieces. For me, working with clay is an ongoing tending to the creation process: shaping and embellishing the pieces, then stacking them and moving them through the fire. I want to make this entire process discernible, so that each of my pieces, whether a pot, a sculptural vessel, or a sculpture, has a form and surface that tells the story of its making. Firing with wood captured my imagination from the beginning, and over my forty-plus years as a clay artist I have built more than ten high-fire kilns. I believe I have found my ideal in the anagama, an ancient Japanese wood-fired kiln design that requires an extended burn time of five days or more to build a natural ash glaze. This glaze manifests itself on the fire-facing side of the pieces, so their markings are determined by where and how they were stacked in the kiln. I use this to my advantage in loading the anagama (which is an art unto itself). By positioning each piece I invite the fire to reveal itself. In recent years my work has become more sculptural and less vessel-oriented. The human figure and shapes from the natural world have emerged as two of my primary themes. My hand-built sculptural forms tend toward soft, often bulbous shapes, such as seed pods. I often feel that clay is at its most beautiful when I have pushed against its surface and found its expressive limits. Part of my philosophy as an artist is to emphasize simplicity: basic tools, simple clays, maybe two or three glazes, and always the use of local materials. I am constantly searching for native substances to incorporate into my work, and I have come to discover that many of the best materials are often right at my feet. Photography by Rob Amberg, an award-winning photographer and writer who does assignment work for nonprofit organizations, foundations, and publications. Rob lives in Madison County, North Carolina. Visit Rob's website by going to www.robamberg.com.

Home   |    Resume   |    Biography   |    Contact   |    Photo Gallery   |    Links

Knight Clay Works   ::    379 Doe Branch Road   ::    Marshall, NC 28753 ph (828) 649-3804   ::    info@knightclayworks.com