Patricia Mullins

I view the approach to my work as an attempt, through a self-taught and intuitive process, to bring simplicity, elegance, and an intrinsic purity to clay.

I begin by wheel throwing the forms with white earthenware clay. I design the clay with a mixture of hand carving, piercing, incising and stippling techniques. These are accomplished solely with the use of a small spade, x-acto blades and needle tools. I hand burnish the remainder of the piece with polished stones to create a smooth and high gloss surface.

The pieces are then either fired in oxidation to achieve a soft white surface, put through a sawdust sagger firing for a black sheer, or, after an initial firing, finished with a smoke firing technique that creates colorful and hazy patterns. I prefer to avoid the use of glazes; thereby, allowing one’s eye to penetrate the piece for a more natural feel.

The work is done without the benfit of molds, stamps, lasers, templates, stencils or assistance.

Finally, the designsI create are my own, and are executed freehand. They come to me in dreams or while in the midst of creating the design itself. I believe there is something within me that causes these designs to reflect a certain timeless nature. I would like to think that my art form gives one a feeling of peace and spirit.