On Capturing Positive and Negative Space

The act of creating an object provides a place where time stands still.
Time allows me to reflect on questions such as: ‘How would I point to the negative space that occurs between petals unfurling?” Or “How would I capture the tautness of a pod in the process of casting its seeds?”

Just as ‘Pods and Petals’ appear to transcend the notion of ‘container’ by pushing the limits of the clay walls I wonder how I can reverse the attraction to the exterior and point to the interior space. I attend to this question by making new decisions about the kinds of forms and surfaces I choose to create.

Currently coils of natural occurring glacier clay that I use are pinched, rolled, pounded, scraped, paddled and attached to one another in order to achieve the form. When the piece is complete they are dried until the ‘leather-hard stage’. They are then burnished with a smooth stone. Rubbing the surface creates a smooth glossy surface.

The pots are filled and then covered with sawdust. The sawdust smolders for twenty-four hours. This process is done without intervention.

The smoke and pitch released during the sawdust firing process mingles with the form and produces unexpected results.

Working with clay in this way is contemplative and soothing. The firing process connects me to the elemental world. The nature of the firing process produces an air of mystery. Unexpected images of people, birds, or whales appear.

- Laura Wee Láy Láq