Ann Lahr
I am a potter. After years working in two-dimensional art and experimentation in mixed media led me to the world of texture and form that ceramics has to offer. My experience is that I am on an adventure with the clay, and much of the time I am not sure if I am leading the way or the clay itself is. My hope is that my work will take the viewer to a place where they would not have gone on his or her own. I do not have a specific destination in mind.
Working with children’s drawings as inspiration has been my primary body of work for the past few years. I have aspired to retain the essence of the drawing while challenging myself to interpret it with clay, in a way that stands as a piece of art unto itself.
My studio is in the forest on the edge of Corvallis, Oregon. I spend hours with slabs of wet clay following ideas that lead me down interesting paths. The firing techniques I use are primarily wood, soda and salt. These processes have a life of their own which seem to complete the adventure of each piece.