Click on the image or here to learn moreEach Wednesday, I gather the artwork of a C2C artist and share them virtually. This week, we are looking at Richard Aerni’s pottery. Richard has connections to the midwest and lives in upstate New York. He uses wood ash glazes on his pots. His work is exhibited in the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute, the American Craft Museum in NYC, and Ceramic Monthly Magazine’s Permanent Collection. Pots like this aren’t always accessible. Being able to drink coffee out of a Richard Aerni mug is a special thing.
Richard says: “Growing up, I never thought of myself as a creative person, a potential artist. My serious interests were history, archaeology, gardening and geology. When my academic career was put aside, and I began to explore other paths, such as cooking and running an organic food coop, my eyes were opened to other avenues of expression. I took an introductory ceramics course at a local pottery studio and found myself hooked with the idea of creating useful objects out of such a base material, transformed by fire. I was on my way to mastering the process on the wheel, but was lost as far as glazing and surface finishes. After much experimenting, I discovered wood ash as a glaze material, with the attendant naturalistic patterning that it always brings, and I was transfixed. That moment opened doors for me that I am still pursuing, forty years later.”
I hope you enjoyed our virtual show. Please consider adding Richard’s pots to your collection. Take care, C2.
