Red Lodge Clay Center – Short-Term Resident (AIA) 2013, (AIA) 2019
Chandra DeBuse is a studio potter in Kansas City. She received her MFA from the University of Florida in 2010. She has presented her work as a 2012 NCECA Emerging Artist, she was a presenter at the 2016 Utilitarian Clay Symposium at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and at the 2018 Alabama Clay Conference. She is a founding member of Kansas City Urban Potters. She has led over 50 workshops at art centers nationwide.
My functional pottery incorporates narrative imagery, pattern and form to amuse and delight the user, imparting a sense of play. My work, in practice and product, reflects my approach to make-believe, which I identify through worlds of imagination with determined characters and landscapes of leisure. I incorporate bouncing lines, candy colors, low relief and hand-drawn elements into my ceramic service ware, encouraging a sense of discovery and exploration.
Patterns found within nature, such as tree bark, water waves, or flower petals are abstracted and simplified, ricocheting across forms. My salt and pepper landscapes, treat servers, jars, plates, cups, and bowls become playscapes where pattern and character frolic, inviting human fingers to also roam the topography, seeking out their own morsels of delight.
Only through using each piece: holding and exploring it, can the whole image or pattern be seen. When someone laughs at a character I’ve drawn, spills their drink because they were investigating the bottom of a cup, or finds joy in discovering a plump spoon nestled inside a pocket, I know the pots are successful. Feelings of joy, delight, and amusement tickle the imagination and spark light-hearted behavior, resulting in an enriched life.