| Introduction |
Hello!
I’m Carol Ross and I live and work in University City (an inner-suburb of St. Louis). I grew up in this same neighborhood and decided to move back her a couple of years ago. It’s fabulous!
I am making functional wares at this time. I’m excited by the idea that right now, someone could be holding one of my handmade mugs – someone that I’ve never met has his/her hand linked in a way with mine – and is using this mug! I love knowing that, for example, my platters, plates, bowls are part of others’ lives; they are used for family dinners and maybe when company comes, too.
Before starting to functional work, I worked in figurative earthenware sculpture. I love watching people – as we all do – and I began sketching what I saw as a teenager. I found that forming the body, the face of someone from clay has for me the same intensity and excitement as drawing! I’ve had my figures in galleries and museums shows.
I found as I got older, toting around near-life size figures was getting difficult! And I decided to transition to smaller work, that I could carry more easily. I still do some small sculptural work and have added hand building functional wares.
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| What I Love about Ceramics |
I love the feel of clay in my hand! It moves – and resists moving – with my fingers, as I push and pull, roll and pinch, pat and pound it. The clay will allow me to form a slab into a mug or a pitcher; if I’m very cooperative it will even hold that shape and allow me to handle it! I love that clay is supple as I begin and becomes less so as I work. And I hate that, too, wishing it would wait!
The material seems to transform constantly in a limitless number of ways and that is part of the challenge of working with clay. I have to be patient (and oh, I’m not) and in turn speedy and deft. I am challenged to find a way to make the clay into what I see in my head; sometimes that can be frustrating and rewarding at the same time. Clay accepts texture and color, will let me work small or on a grand scale.
It’s flexibility is what I think I love most about ceramics. I’m able to learn new techniques and adapt them to what I make.
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Community Points
