LomaPrietaPottery's Profile

Bio

I love to create functional pottery that is well-balanced and pleasing to the eye and touch. I get a great deal of satisfaction from creating pieces enjoyed by people for daily use. I strive to make pottery that works as well as it looks. When you pour tea from one of my teapots, it needs to feel right. The balance should be perfect. Form needs to follow function so that the resulting work is as beautiful as it is useful.

I work in buff stoneware. My pottery is wheel thrown and fired to Cone 10 (2385°F) in a reduction atmosphere. Some forms are hand carved from original designs after trimming and assembling as required when leather hard. For designs that I apply to multiple pieces, I generate an original sketch on 6 mil plastic which I then transfer by outline to each piece to be carved. Each piece is carved individually. After bisque firing, most carved pieces receive layers of glaze that I apply with a brush and wax resist before glazing the remainder of the pot by dipping or pouring. Some carved pieces are glazed inside, top and bottom before glaze is brushed in and around carved areas. The surface is wiped to remove glaze from the flat areas between layers of glaze. I also decorate by overlapping multiple glazes and by brushing wax resist patterns freehand on the first glaze before dipping in a second glaze.

I have been working in ceramics for over 30 years. Although I learned the basics from other people and have attended many workshops, read many books and watched many potters, I learned pottery from doing. I learned by making things over and over, analyzing what feels and looks right, and seeing what works and what doesn't. Most of the pottery that I produce has an intended purpose. Usefulness becomes an inseparable element of the beauty of the piece.

I have lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains for over twenty years and am inspired by the beauty and quiet of the mountains. I just love to be in my pottery studio looking out at the trees and the birds, sometimes through the fog and the rain. I get great pleasure out of not having to leave my home. A perfect day for me is to stay home throwing pots for hours on end, enjoying being in the mountains and not having to go anywhere.

You can see more my work or events I will be participating in at www.lomaprietapottery.com or read my blog -- lomaprietapottery.com/blog

Female, Born on January 22

Favorite Materials

Stoneware, clay