The Cup: Gertrude Graham Smith - Bakersville, NC

Gertrude Graham Smith Tall Mug
amber, soda fired, porcelain
(6.75 x 4.25 inches) CUP 182 $45

Statement:

Moving softly and responsively, the feel of porcelain clay thrown on a potters’ wheel is celebrated in the vessels I make.  My pots are animated by thoughtful and spontaneous manipulation of their forms, surfaces, and attachments.  Handles sweep up and out from bellies and shoulders.  Jars raised on feet dance in space.  Scale and surfaces appeal to the human hand. In the kiln, flames filled with sodium decorate anticipated edges. 

Gertrude Graham Smith Tall Mug
white and amber, soda fired, porcelain
(7 x 4.75 inches) CUP 183 $45

I’m looking for my vessels to bring joy with their use and presence, to be good companions for daily living.  They truly come alive when they find a home with you.  I’m thinking that when a hand embraces a cup, there’s a distinct possibility that a heart may fill with compassion.

Gertrude Graham Smith Impress Tankard
soda fired porcelain
(5.25 x 5 inches) CUP 184 $30 SOLD

Bio:

Gay Smith, aka Gertrude Graham Smith, is studio potter and a teaching artist. Her lively porcelain pots are single fired in a soda kiln near Penland, NC.

 Grant awards include a North Carolina Arts Council Visual Artist Fellowship, and a Regional Artist Project Award. She held artist-in-residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation and at Penland School.

Gertrude Graham Smith Impress Tankard
soda fired porcelain
(5.25 x 5 inches) CUP 185 $30

Teaching credits include workshops at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Penland School, the Harvard Ceramics Studio, and the Findhorn Foundation in Northern Scotland.

 Her work is represented internationally, is in collections including the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC and Yingge Ceramics Museum in Taiwan, has been featured periodically in Ceramics Monthly magazine, and can be viewed in numerous publications including Making Marks and Functional Pottery by Robin Hopper, and Working with Clay by Susan Peterson.

Gertrude Graham Smith Impress Mug
soda fired porcelain
(3.25 x 5.25 inches) CUP 182 $28 SOLD

Website: http://www.gertrudegrahamsmith.com/