Peggy Loudon

"The process of transforming the intangible idea to tangible object has always fascinated me. With pottery, creating an aesthetically pleasing functional form from a lump of wet clay is particularly dramatic.

Every aspect of that process: throwing, trimming, glazing, and firing requires a critical eye, attention to detail, and for me, the ability to challenge myself artistically-pushing the clay a little more, imagining different combinations of forms, and experimenting with new surface treatments.

I am currently working with a translucent clay body. The bessels are thrown on my wheel, then trimmed 'eggshell' thin. After allowing the piece to dry, it is then gently placed in my electric kiln to be bisque-fired. This process removes all the moisture from the clay. It is then placed back on my wheel, centered, and banded with a 'mud crack' glaze. The surface begins to scale as it dries, creating a fragile yet dramatic exterior. Because of the delicate nature of the glaze it cannot be touched after the application, thus loading the kiln can be quite challenging.

After the pots are glazed they are placed in my gas kiln and fired to 2,350 degrees. This takes approximately 12 hours. Some of my pieces are further enhnaced with a metallic platinum or gold luster. This is an over glaze decoration which is applied to the pot after it is removed from the high fire gas kiln. The pot is placed back on my wheel, the luster is applied with a brush, then low fired in my electric kiln- the addition of the metallic luster to the reptilian like surface creates a contrast which contributes to the unique quality of each piece.

The four elements- earth, air, fire, and water, together with curiosity and imagination, combine to provide me with a way to release the 'fire' within me."