Ruth Easterbrook

Artist Statement:

 I make pottery as an active participant in the coming together of people, and the pleasures of food. Sharing a beautifully prepared meal creates a celebration. I make pieces of service and I make interaction. Decisions in design facilitate containing, presenting, and serving in the daily lives of others.

My detailed surfaces enhance the importance of a moment—attentive handling that leads to discovery and pleasure. The floral motifs are inspired by wildflowers and gardening, mixing the scientific with the stylized responding to the form of the pot.

My forms embody generosity and communicate utility that welcomes interaction. Using a palette of glazes from matte to glossy I map out the decoration to collaborate with the movement of the glaze as they flux and stretch across the pot’s surface. My decorations become fluid as they melt in the heat shifting and stretching to the form and its multiple planes. I welcome distortion and embrace the power of the heat as it transforms wet earth into rock and ground materials into a subtle range of glazes.