In 1951 Peter Voulkos smashed his pottery, making it the first
nonfunctional ceramics piece ever made. Ever since then
ceramics artists like Valerie West have strived to find beauty
in pure and simple forms and colors; rather than making its
functionality the main focus.
For her the integration of the hand in the clay and the final
shape become inseperable. Just like the words of a poet, the
clay artist finds solace in the curvalinear shapes and colors;
creating organic plant-like apendages and vessels. She explains:
“To elaborate, I take the basic ideas behind traditional
pottery techniques: throwing, trimming, pulling and attaching
handles; then build the pieces together into unconventional
shapes pushing the balancing ability of the clay to turn
functional vessels into nonfunctional forms.”
As an accomplished exhibiting artist Valerie West will show
her work at Artemis Gallery in a solo show Sept 2nd – Oct 3rd
with a reception First Friday the 2nd as well as Friday Sept 9th.
First Friday Sept 2nd & 9th
Artemis Gallery
1601 W Main St
804 – 353 – 2676
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