ARTIST STATEMENT

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LELAND SHAW
media: terra cotta clay, thrown, altered,& decorated with mold pressed images.        

My work continues my long-time investigation of three-dimensional surface decoration applied to functional pottery forms. Some pieces only deal with decorative composition, but on many the relief figures are composed to create a specific mythology.

On large pieces, animal, human, architectural, and vegetable images are juxtaposed, fragmented and/or re-configured to  tell enigmatic stories to be freely interpreted by the viewer. Carved textures often form the ground for the figures. The work builds from my formal architectural education as seen in the figure/ground, and recent time living in Italy.

I play with scale and spatial compositions. A love of the unexpected, accidental, and unexplained, tempered at times with humor informs my work.

Individual pieces range from simple cups, mugs, bowls, vases, and platters, to large freeform vessels, teapots, and more heroic multiple-piece lidded vases. All work has various layers of white or colored terra-sigillata applied to the green ware, and rubbed on the exterior prior to the first (bisque) firing. A glaze is  applied to the interior of each bisqued piece and often complex stain washes are placed over the exterior. Pieces are fired to cone 05,  about 1900 degrees Fahrenheit Often several firings are needed to obtain the desired result.