July 2023
Featured Artists
BUY ART 757-425-6671
pam gray
I am a functional potter. From an early age I have loved pottery. My grandmother’s large collection of flow blue and other fine china displayed on the sideboards in her in her dining room attracted me. I loved the bright colors and the beautiful forms. Then as a young military spouse living in Japan, I fell in love with Japanese ceramics – from the dishes in the dusty dish shops all with beautiful decorations made in every shape to serve every kind of food to the exquisite wabi sabi tea bowls sold in the fine department store galleries where form and simplicity comes from the soul and pottery is meant to be touched and admired.
I had my first opportunity to get my hands into clay at a small pottery studio in Tohoku Prefecture in northern Japan. I was hooked. It was such fun to feel the clay turn and be manipulated by my hands to make a recognizable form. We combined both wheel and hand building techniques to make a small tea bowl. At that point I knew that I would always work with clay in some way.
I have been making pots off and on now for over 40 years and have taught both wheel and hand building classes to share my love of clay with others. Today I work from my home studio. I like to share my joy of nature with others by using nature-themed and textural stamps to decorate my mugs, bowls, and plates. I paint underglazes on the designs and use other ceramic glazes to finish the piece. I fire my pieces in an electric kiln to cone 6, a mid-range temperature.
I had my first opportunity to get my hands into clay at a small pottery studio in Tohoku Prefecture in northern Japan. I was hooked. It was such fun to feel the clay turn and be manipulated by my hands to make a recognizable form. We combined both wheel and hand building techniques to make a small tea bowl. At that point I knew that I would always work with clay in some way.
I have been making pots off and on now for over 40 years and have taught both wheel and hand building classes to share my love of clay with others. Today I work from my home studio. I like to share my joy of nature with others by using nature-themed and textural stamps to decorate my mugs, bowls, and plates. I paint underglazes on the designs and use other ceramic glazes to finish the piece. I fire my pieces in an electric kiln to cone 6, a mid-range temperature.
Elizabeth hamberg
I always played with dirt: making clay bricks to dry by the sun and planting flowers to enjoy. I have a pinch pot made in Elementary School, gifted to my father which he kept in his office until he retired. It's now gifted to me. In college I took Industrial Arts Pottery for teachers which wasn't creative but instructional in the various ways to make something. I was studying to be an Early Childhood teacher which I enjoyed for thirty years. After retiring I decided to find out more about clay.
Elaine Goulart was my teacher and what an artist. Information and skills she passed to her students certainly stimulated me. Sometimes I dream about clay and what I might create the next I have it in my hands. Some say it's dirty, but my mind sees it as the earth and all the beautiful things on it. It was used by ancient people to create needed items. Clay has evolved into much more than that. It is a three-dimensional art which has no ending point for creating. Molding a piece of clay into something else is stimulating and almost surreal. Waiting for the creation to appear from the kiln is always exciting. It may not look as you wanted to look, but that dirt has become something else entirely. It's a rewarding and fascinating art and I'm already mulling over my next piece.
Elaine Goulart was my teacher and what an artist. Information and skills she passed to her students certainly stimulated me. Sometimes I dream about clay and what I might create the next I have it in my hands. Some say it's dirty, but my mind sees it as the earth and all the beautiful things on it. It was used by ancient people to create needed items. Clay has evolved into much more than that. It is a three-dimensional art which has no ending point for creating. Molding a piece of clay into something else is stimulating and almost surreal. Waiting for the creation to appear from the kiln is always exciting. It may not look as you wanted to look, but that dirt has become something else entirely. It's a rewarding and fascinating art and I'm already mulling over my next piece.
rose moon
I find joy in the mud.
I have explored many avenues to express my creativity – sketching, painting, jewelry design, fabric arts, macramé and basket weaving then discovered clay, or I should say clay discovered me. I come from a creative family where the exploration of painting, music and fabric art were encouraged and supported.
I started taking ceramics classes in the early 2000s from renowned local artist Elaine Goulart at the VB Pottery and Ceramics Studio and focused on learning the techniques involved in forming, shaping, glazing and firing raw earth into artistic creations.
When I first started with clay I was drawn to hand building and still am. To me it is a fascinating and endless field. I like to make decorative items but I love the items to be truly useful in daily life. I love exploring the endless textures and colors you can discover and express through clay.
Working with clay means learning something new every day. I’ve taken on-line workshops, spent time learning from artists like Nan Rothwell at the John C. Campbell Folk School, and am constantly learning new techniques and skills from other ceramic artists.
I am always exploring new glazes as I find them fascinating. I truly enjoy seeing how colors mix and blend – will they come together the way I want or will I be surprised by how they come through the firing process?
I’ve shown my work at art shows throughout the Hampton Roads area and plan on resuming shows as that world returns to normal. I enjoy talking with people who purchase my creations and am always pleasantly surprised when they buy my artwork. I love to hear what they plan to do with it. Is it for themselves? Is it a gift for someone special or for a special occasion? The idea that something I created with my own mind and heart and hands might become part of another family’s home and traditions is very special and sometimes a bit overwhelming.
I hope you enjoy.
I have explored many avenues to express my creativity – sketching, painting, jewelry design, fabric arts, macramé and basket weaving then discovered clay, or I should say clay discovered me. I come from a creative family where the exploration of painting, music and fabric art were encouraged and supported.
I started taking ceramics classes in the early 2000s from renowned local artist Elaine Goulart at the VB Pottery and Ceramics Studio and focused on learning the techniques involved in forming, shaping, glazing and firing raw earth into artistic creations.
When I first started with clay I was drawn to hand building and still am. To me it is a fascinating and endless field. I like to make decorative items but I love the items to be truly useful in daily life. I love exploring the endless textures and colors you can discover and express through clay.
Working with clay means learning something new every day. I’ve taken on-line workshops, spent time learning from artists like Nan Rothwell at the John C. Campbell Folk School, and am constantly learning new techniques and skills from other ceramic artists.
I am always exploring new glazes as I find them fascinating. I truly enjoy seeing how colors mix and blend – will they come together the way I want or will I be surprised by how they come through the firing process?
I’ve shown my work at art shows throughout the Hampton Roads area and plan on resuming shows as that world returns to normal. I enjoy talking with people who purchase my creations and am always pleasantly surprised when they buy my artwork. I love to hear what they plan to do with it. Is it for themselves? Is it a gift for someone special or for a special occasion? The idea that something I created with my own mind and heart and hands might become part of another family’s home and traditions is very special and sometimes a bit overwhelming.
I hope you enjoy.
