Teapots: An Invitational - Gertrude Graham Smith Bakersville, NC

Gertrude Graham Smith Fluted Teapot $175
porcelain clay (7" x 9" x 6")

Statement:

The movement and soft responsive feel of porcelain clay thrown on a potter's 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. I'm looking for my vessels to bring joy with their use and presence, to be good companions for daily living.  They will truly come alive when they fond a home with you.  Imbued in these objects with the making are intended qualities; perhaps, when a hand embraces a cup, a heart fills with compassion.

Bio:

Gay Smith, aka Gertrude Graham Smith, is a studio potter and teaching artist.  her porcelain ware is single fired in a soda kiln near Penland, NC.  Recent grant awards include a North Carolina Arts Council Visual Artist Fellowship in 2008/9, and an RAPG in 2009/10.  She held artist-in-residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation and at Penland School.  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, was featured on the cover of Ceramics Monthly, and can be view in publications including Making Marks and Functional Pottery by Robin Hopper and Working with Clay by Susan Peterson.

Website: www.gertrudegrahamsmith.com