Richard Gruchalla Carrin Rosetti

Contemporary American Raku : Our pottery is, before all else, a statement of form. We look first for the silhouette of the piece; the lift from the surface, the graceful extension from the foot to the belly into the curve of the body, the strength of the shoulder, the grace of the neck, and finally the finish of the lip. All the parts are connected and should be cohesive. Surface decoration comes next. We can either tell a story or let the eye silently link the piece to its history. Form itself is sometimes enough to present a narrative to the viewer. Familiarity can often be the catalyst of a conversation between the pot and the audience. Many influences can be seen in our work. Asia and the Far East, as well as Africa and the American Southwest cultures, have given us inspiration. Lately we have been introduced to some of the great ceramic designers from the turn of the century….Fredrick Rhead, Clarice Cliff, Lenore Asbury, Edward Hurley, Kataro Shirayamadani, the sublime Adelaide Robineau, Tiffany, and those marvelous Saturday Evening Girls of Boston. Richard is the trained potter, doing all the throwing and building as well as carving on the surfaces. Carrin is the colorist and breathes life into the bisqueware with her glaze applications. We then put the pieces through the rigors of the raku firing process. We hope to continue with our innovation of this technique to produce work that will add to the library of contemporary American ceramics. We were filmed for a segment in a PBS show called Venture North. It was then put on tube as a video. Raku with Richard and Carrin – Venture North PBS Duluth MN