Raku Masters
November 5 - 7, 2004
Steven Branfman
Linda & Charles Riggs
Marcia Selsor
Steven Branfman wears many hats. Among them: potter, teacher, writer, and businessman. His raku has been shown in galleries and exhibitions in Canada, Mexico, and throughout the United States and appears in many collections.
Steven founded The Potters Shop & School more than 25 years ago. He is the author of Raku: A Practical Approach, and The Potter's Professional Handbook as well as many articles on raku, the business of pottery, and studio management.
Raku technique and process has held Steven's attention and to him, the primary attraction of raku is the never-ending variations of applied techniques, the spontaneity of the firing process, and the always present degree of surprise. Steven's surface techniques range from applying dry clay to the use of inlaid glass.
"My concern is to make good pots, pots that hold up to thousands of years of ceramic history. My work is about vessels and the characteristics that make the vessel come alive: volume, texture, color, and scale. One of my objectives is, through my vessels, to preserve the connection between contemporary pottery and its origins as functional containers, not to transform and abandon it. Though my forms are not functional as in domestic ware, they do suggest function and are certainly containers."
Linda and Charles Riggs collaborate with each other to create unique surfaces on their pottery including saggar-firing, naked raku, and carvings and slip designs.
Charles sees his work as a reflection of the balance between chaos and creation, order and structure. According to ancient mythology, in the beginning out of chaos and creation brought forth order and structure. Life is a continual dance to keep these forces in balance.
In his artist's statement, Charles creates his forms with a plan, exacting straight smooth lines from the clay, creating curves that mirror the spheres and ovoids of the natural world. When the forms are finished, Charles has created blank white canvasses that are later submerged into a chaotic atmosphere of fire, smoke, and chemical fumes. Each piece is unique and has the imprint of unpredictability painted on its surface.
Linda is motivated by the beauty of the natural world and by ancient cultures. Low-fire fuming techniques create clay surfaces that resemble smooth rocks with organic patterns. The techniques also utilize the same ingredients and processes as ancient cultures resulting in a continuity of time, both in the forms and in the creative process.
Both Charles and Linda have been featured in the recent update of the book Raku, The Practical Approach by Steven Branfman.
Marcia Selsor retired from teaching at Montana State University after 25 years. Her work is featured in Raku: A Practical Approach by Steven Branfman and in the Extruder Book by Darryl Baird.
As a ceramic artist, her interests include folk pottery, ceramics in architecture, medieval art, and the world around us. These interests have led to two Fulbright Scholars' Awards, one to study folk potters in Spain and the other to Uzbekistan in Central Asia. Marcia teaches workshops in Architectural Ceramics, Paper Clay, and Raku-Fired Ceramics and other low-fire techniques.
Marcia has been a Resident Artist at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia. After adventures into the Pryor Mountains, her transplanted life from Philadelphia to Montana has influenced her work. She creates raku drawings on clay slabs of the wild mustangs. She feels these wild horses symbolize the vivacity of life in Montana; it's a thrill for her to encounter them in the wild.
Marcia emphasizes the intrinsic relationship between humanity and clay. Contemporary ceramics has transgressed the rigid definitions of traditional techniques. From her terracotta architectural pieces to raku laced with feathers, Marcia captures the essence of the fluidity of the clay.
"To me, ceramics is a very technical medium that requires discipline and exploration. Exploration leads to discovery, and discovery is everything."