Mark Terry

Ceramicist

al . che . my [al-kuh-mee] noun 2. A magical power of transmuting a common substance, usually of little value, into a substance of great value. 

My current work is about the quest for a more intimate and immediate relationship between vessels I shape and the phenomenon of fire. I am captivated by what I call alchemy - the inextricably symbiotic relationship between artisan and fire, and the uncontrolled and organic beauty of forms glazed by wood ash and fire.

This body of work considers the similarity between the corporeal body and the record etched into it by the act of living, with surfaces on figural forms created entirely by organic firing cycles. I believe it speaks with apt metaphor of the communal dance between bodily experience and the marks – both visible and invisible – that remain behind as journal of our bodies’ journeys.

Along with the grace and beauty inherent in the human form, the idea of the body as a sacred vessel for the spirit, and as the vessel in which the seed of life is nurtured and born resonates with the powerful labor and childbirth imagery attendant in the cycles of primitive firing techniques I employ in my work. With each firing I rediscover the unique relationship between the artist and fire, and the corresponding magic that transforms the surfaces of the figural forms given over to its power.