Ariana Bronson
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Artist Statement
My work draws from connections to everyday life, domestic spaces, nature, craft, chemistry, and moments of curiosity. The associations we form with objects in our life are commonplace, but through using the handmade pot we discover it can be so much more. It is a carrier of ideas and memories, from the mug you choose for morning coffee, to canisters used for storing sugar and flour, the robust stoneware crocks that are likened to workhorses, or your grandma’s dinnerware set that is rich with chips and scratches from meals enjoyed and plates well cleaned.
It is these seemingly ordinary and mundane objects that leave me chasing after what it is that makes a pot resonate with both me and the user. My work investigates and draws from the rich history of craft and the role ceramics plays in everyday life. With an emphasis on technical aspects of throwing, glazing, and firing, the myriad of processes in ceramics offers an opportunity to answer these questions and see ideas come to fruition.
Inspirations for my work range from memories of cooking with my mom and her Pfaltzgraff ceramic canisters, to a middle school science fair project on rocks and minerals, watching delicate ginkgo leaves drift down outside my community college studio window where I learned how to throw, and hiking alongside towering shale mounds that were cut away to make room for train tracks. Glossy, green glazes are reminiscent of wet, mossy shale, painted ginkgo leaves fall onto my pots, crystalline glazes bring back the same fascination as rocks do in the hands of a child, and the use of local materials puts a literal piece of my home back into my work.
Ultimately, the notion of a successful pot doesn’t boil down to skill, practicality, or learned craftsmanship, but includes thoughtfulness, and communication, as well as a generous love of material and process. For my pots to be truly successful, a dialog and relationship must be generated between maker and user. What matters most is that my work is inviting while conveying a sense of confidence in its function and intent. The work I put on the table is as important as what the user brings and takes away from it.
Click to view A group of iron red pots containing a cup and saucer, mug, and a tall vase-like form with a tan woven reed handle. Full-Screen
Iron Red Collection // Basket: 10.5” x 6.25” x 5.5” , Cup: 2.5” x 3.5” x 2.75” , Saucer: 1” x 6.5” x 0.5” , Mug: 4” x 4.25” x 3.5” // Cone 10 Stoneware, high iron glaze (Oxidation and Reduction fired), with hand-made woven reed and cane handle.
Click to view A line of four soda fired teacups with a carved ginkgo leaf design. The surface shows orange and brown atmospheric flashing with deposits of soda glaze, the interiors are glazed in a green celadon. Full-Screen
Ginkgo Teacups // 3.5” x 5” x 2.75” // Cone 10 Soda fired, sandy Stoneware, green celadon glaze, flashing slips.
Click to view A large green celadon teapot with an exuberant overhead handle. Full-Screen
Green Celadon Teapot // 10” x 9.5” x 3.5” // Cone 10 soda fired, Star white stoneware, green celadon glaze.
Click to view A bulbous crystalline vase form. From the top of the vase, the color of crystals fades from variations of tan and lilac to purple then to matte black at the bottom of the foot. Full-Screen
Crystalline Geode Vase // 5.75” x 7” x 5” // Cone 10 Oxidation, stoneware, white slip, Macro manganese crystalline glaze, Matte black glaze.
Click to view A wood-fired teapot sits on a stand, surrounded by a set of four matching cups. The surfaces are whittled in appearance and color, as if they were carved from wood instead of thrown on the potter’s wheel. Jade green and gold natural ash glaze cover the dark brown surface of the clay body. Full-Screen
Hewn Teapot, stand and cups // Teapot with stand: 10” x 9” x 2” , Cups: 3.25” x 3.5” x 2.75” // Cone 10 Wood-Fired. High iron stoneware, natural ash glaze, green celadon interior glaze.
Click to view A large, dark brown, wood-fired jar with sculpted ginkgo leaf lugs around the neck. Brown, natural ash glaze accumulates on the leaves and around the top shoulder of the jar, then drips down the side of the pot. Full-Screen
Ginkgo Lug Jar // 16” x 12” x 15.5” // Cone 10, Wood fired. High iron stoneware, natural ash glaze, green celadon glaze.
Click to view A bright, luscious red mug sits on top of a matching saucer in the middle of the photo, to the left is the side of a jar, and to the right the side of a vase. Full-Screen
Iron red mug and Saucer // Mug: 4” x 4.25” x 3.5” , Saucer: 0.5” x 5.5” x 0.75” // Cone 10, oxidation. High iron stoneware, iron red glaze.
Click to view A collection of functional soda-fired pottery with green celadon glazes. The collection includes plates, bowls, a cup, teacups, and a teapot. Full-Screen
Soda and Celadon Collection // Teacups: 3.5” x 5” x 2.75” , Cup: 2.75” x 4” x 2.75” , Top plate: 2” x 9.25” x 1” , Bottom Plate: 1.75” x 11.75” x 1.5” , Back Plate: 2.25” x 12.5” x 2” , Bowl: 4.5” x 13.5” x 4” , Teapot: 10” x 9.5” x 3.5” // Cone 10 Soda Fired, Reduction. Sandy stoneware, yellow and orange flashing slips, green celadon glaze.
Click to view A dark wheel thrown stoneware jar that is covered in white slip with carved ginkgo leaves that wrap their way around it. Subtle blushes of orange, yellow, tan, and pink can be seen on the white surface. Full-Screen
Cascading Ginkgo’s // 6” x 5.5” x 3.5” // Cone 10 Wood Fired, reduction. High iron stoneware, porcelain slip, interior crystalline glaze.
Click to view Dinner plate with abstracted glaze painting of a landscape. Shades of tan, blue, green, brown, and periwinkle. Full-Screen
Landscape Dinner Plate // 1.75” x 11.25” x 1.25” // Cone 10 Soda Fired, Reduction. Sandy stoneware, various cone 10 glazes.