Helene Fielder, "Spiral Tea Pot"

Helene Fielder, Spiral Tea Pot, 2024, clay

I have taught both pottery and silversmithing and have worked in marketing, illustration and advertising, but pottery is still an enduring passion.  After three decades working with clay, I'm still excited when the kiln lid opens. The clay experiment is still in progress. From the concept on paper, construction and glaze testing. I never stop learning and discovering the diversity of this media. Ceramics is still a pathway to innovation, without forgetting its value in centuries of tradition.

The creative process begins with observation and sketching of forms and patterns, from an endless amount of imagery.  Microscopic cells to the pattern of scaling paint.  The sketches attempt to capture the mood and impressions of these forms, later to be made into Ceramic Sculptures using handbuilding and wheel-throwing techniques.  Glazed and fired to 2,232 degrees Fahrenheit.