ELLEN FURIMSKY-Ceramic Artist
The ceramic forms I build are meticulously constructed by hand. Taking advantage of the clay’s plasticity, I push and swell the walls to create volume that imparts sensuality and intrigue to the forms. Like brocade stretched to cover an overstuffed chair, my pieces reveal a sense of expansion as if one form is gently surrounding another. Each piece beckons to be held in the hands, and perhaps brought close to the face, to listen and examine with a greater intensity.
On the surface, a complex layering of pattern and color evolves as the clay is worked at each stage. Precise patterns carved deeply into clay’s surface merge with the form, inviting the decoration to become structure. Areas are then covered with carefully chosen glazes that may run, both enhancing and obscuring the carving. One might recognize floral motifs, snowflakes, microbes or calligraphy within the ambiguous multilayered surfaces.