JENNY GILBERTSON (WA) - Homage to Georgia O'keefe - Black Cross with Stars and Blue

To work with clay is to develop a deep connection with the most basic elements: Earth, Water, Air and Fire. Clay is dug from the soil, shaped and moulded with water, dried in the air, and transformed by fire, changing a pliable material into something hard and solid. If fired at higher temperatures clay can even resemble stone.

As a clay worker I share a common bond with countless generations of people across time, countries and cultures. I adore the tactile feeling of such a malleable substance, and the ever present awareness of making something from the very earth itself. A practice so ancient it has evolved alongside humanity. An amazing substance that utterly transforms through the application of heat into something enduring - once fired, clay objects can last for hundreds of years or more. 

These pieces stem from my ongoing connection to the American Southwest, in particular New Mexico and the Sonoran Desert region of Arizona.