I graduated Tyler School of Art as a printmaker, but since 1999, I have immersed myself in clay. I now consider myself a clay artist who uses many printmaking techniques, which are pivotal in my approach to ceramics. I press into the clay surfaces, creating embossed images or calligraphic narratives. Use of typography, handmade stamps, & found objects help create a meaningful visual collage of current social issues and my own continuing spiritual journey. The surfaces are textural, usung words, for both their literal meaning, and the shapes they create. The use of engobe borrows from printmaking, and I sometimes work in a series, much like creating a suite of prints.

While I often have a specific form in mind, the surface decoration is usually a combination of conscious thoughts & intuitive gestures. When I add color, it is to create an ambiance that ties all of these elements together. The clay slab structures intentionally balance the awkward with the elegant, much like the Japenese aestetic of Wabi Sabi , which expresses the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent & incomplete. It is the beauty of things unconventional, characterized by the natural process, irregularity, intimacy, earthiness & simplicity which inspires me.
Linda Schwartz