January 2022: Dick Graveline

Dick Graveline built a kiln and lived my dream of making functional pottery for a couple of years. Although I was in love with the pottery, I found that trying to support a family as a potter during the mid 70’s recession was impossible. So I postponed full time pottery for 40 years, carting my kick wheel with me each time we moved with the hope that one day I could make pots again. Now in retirement I am free to do so. During the last eight years my work has gravitated away from functional pottery and more and more to sculptural forms. Currently my work is almost exclusively sculptural, ceramic torsos. To begin the process, I roll out various shapes of slabs and decide how and where to lay them into the mold I have made from a live model. Then I experiment with various textures and pigments to finish the piece. Since the pieces are made inside out, I like the surprise of not knowing exactly what it will look like until after it is removed from the mold.