Liz Sparks
Liz Sparks uses locally dug, wild, clay, and for her this material is a starting point: an initiator of ideas, forms and surfaces. She is conscious of the life force of the earth as she shovels, screens and prepares it for use. The search for clay integrates her, the potter, into society through conversations, stories, and shared clay histories. She makes decorations and patterns from colored clay slips by using traditional slipware techniques.
Liz Sparks at MudFire
Gallery group show Asheville In Atlanta, September 2004
Liz Sparks Artist Statement
The routine of pottery making is grounding to me. It gives me the opportunity to be present and aware through all the steps of the making process. Beauty and usefulness are equally important to me and my goal is to create pottery that embodies both of these characteristics. I am just as inspired by a bowl with a beautifully curved inside as I am by a form or idea that is new to me. I enjoy decorating, and I like the simplicity of using just a few ash glazes on both stoneware and porcelain.
A huge compliment to me as a potter is seeing my work in use, or as part of someone's daily ritual. Still, my reason for making pottery is also self-indulgent. I make pots because I love to do it. I mix my own clay and use local red clay because I am fulfilled by my connection to the place, the material, and the life force within it. Sometimes after I've laid the clay out to dry in wooden racks, I will discover a sprout or two growing in it. This excites me because it is a reminder that the clay is alive! It is validation to me that pots matter, that pottery is worth making, and that life is good and worth living.
