Laurie Childers
“I love the smooth sensuality of porcelain and the way it wears glaze like a cloak of jewels. I am fascinated by how sculpture can bring multiple associations to the brain at once. Likewise, I am drawn to the beautiful patterns in nature that reappear from element to element, species to species. What is the mystery we call beauty?
“I knew that clay was the medium for me when I was 13, because I thought (rather optimistically) that it could do anything. I always planned to teach, and so retained every detail I absorbed with the intent to be able to share it again. I had the great fortune to work with many traditional potters in Africa and Asia (and some in the Americas), helping them produce efficient wood and charcoal cooking stoves with ceramic parts. Their skill and techniques filled in many of the gaps of my formal education in ceramics (BFA Louisiana State U 1979, MFA U of Oregon 1981).
“My students at the Benton Center (LBCC) give me joy and inspire me with their enthusiasm. I seek to guide or nudge them along their path, but let them choose the direction based on their own passions. Understanding technical basics and the effects of design choices provides the necessary foundation to build ideas into reality.”