Red Lodge Clay – Center Short-Term Resident 2015
Lauren Smith is a studio potter in Ulm, Montana. She received her BFA and MFA in Ceramics from the University of North Texas. She has completed residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation, the Red Lodge Clay Center, and with Stephen Hill at the former Center Street Clay in Sandwich, Illinois. She has taught classes at the American Museum of Ceramic Arts, the Archie Bray Foundation, and the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art. She has taught workshops and has shown work extensively nationwide. She has written articles for Pottery Making Illustrated and was awarded Emerging Artist in Ceramics Monthly 2016.
I enjoy making things with my hands and clay lends itself to many possibilities which allows me to stay engaged with the process. I dress my pots with ruffled collars and skirts in order for them to attend fancy dinner parties, if so desired. The ruffles also serve as pockets for the glaze to pool and collect. When the glaze pools in this area, it changes from matte to glossy, giving variation. I used to soda fire, and I loved the differences you can get from one side of the pot to the other and I think about that when I glaze. Each pot has three glazes sprayed and the layering is what gives them depth and variation.
My work is fired in a gas kiln to around cone 8/9 in a mostly oxidized environment. My inspiration comes from nature, specifically flowers and the infinite patterns their pedals make as they begin to unfold. I have around 200 house plants and they have crept their way into my work. I began slip trailing leaf patterns which now gives my glazes more places to pool. It gives my work a new layer and breaks up the surface while also re-energizing the repetitive make cycle for me. I hope the work I create brings joy to my collectors in their everyday usage.