Kent Kraus

I hand make each ceramic sculpture. The clay sculpture begins on the potter’s wheel with several thrown pieces that are assembled. The image is then hand-built and shaped through the process of coiling. The piece is finally scraped and sanded smooth to fully express the movement of the form. I use several different types of stoneware clays depending upon the intention of the sculpture. The sculptures are either fired with a self developed glaze or are kept in their natural clay color to the temperature of 2167 degrees Fahrenheit.The pottery shapes I choose are for their symbolic nature, rather than for any utilitarian function. The pot is no longer a pot, but part of the abstract form. For example, the “pot” in one sculpture represents a bulbous stem of a flower, while in another, the female form.My idea is to literally hand-build upon these metaphorical shapes, the common forms and movements found throughout nature, creating a whole new harmonious expression. Caressing winds, flowing rivers, sensous flowers, graceful animals, and the elegance of the human form, are a few of my subjects that are interwoven into a new life force. The beauty in each piece is to discover the tension and balance of life unfolding in its natural growth.The path betwee reality and the imagination of my soul is the language of art that I choose to express.