Pamela Summers

I am a ceramic artist who makes handmade tiles, ceramic mosaics, and wheel thrown vessels using a variety of methods. My original designs have evolved over twenty-five years and I continue to explore new combinations of texture, shape and color.My ceramic tiles and wall pieces are all handmade. When working in my “Polychrome” style, I use white earthenware clay. I also use Stoneware clay. My designs are painted with several coats of brightly colored glazed and fired multiple times. In addition to my contemporary polychrome style, I produce work using ancient Raku and Salt Sagger firing methods.Due to limited vision in one eye, I have no depth perception. Creating visual depth and texture by weaving my designs and images on the surface of the clay with vibrant glazes makes me feel as though I am creating my own vision of depth perception. My designs often reflect inspiration from Picasso, Matisse, and the tribal art of Southern Africa.I work with pure, elegant thrown forms as my canvas and have developed a library or vocabulary of shapes and designs. When choosing my glazes, I often start with colors opposite each other on the color wheel, creating vivid contrast and then build upon these using complimenting colors. Red is used liberally in my work. I love red. It’s exciting. It is powerful. The eye naturally goes to it and red visually takes the viewer throughout the piece. Red makes me feel good.