My exposure to clay began as a young girl of eleven while spending many hours at the ceramic shop by my home, working with slip cast ceramic pottery, learning to scrape and smooth and glaze ceramic ware. My mother would give me a few dollars to spend and I would rush across the street to pick out a form that would eventually find its way onto the mantle of our fireplace or the kitchen table. Most of my free time was spent in the ceramic shop until the owners moved and it closed.  

Years passed and I was attending an Artist’s Way workshop. The impromptu question, “What one thing would you like to try?” was asked of us. I immediately blurted out, “Work with clay to create pottery!”

This realization prompted me to revisit my childhood connection with ceramics. So, I enrolled in college-level instruction and was reintroduced to working with clay on a totally different level, thus continuing my exploration of this art medium.    

From the first touch of the soft clay with its earthy scent, to its shaping and forming, to the drying and firing process, I feel a connectedness to Mother Earth while creating each piece.   

The simplicity of form and smooth texture I prefer of my vessels has led me to research and seek out alternative firing techniques to keep the vessel’s integrity visible. I have a special interest in primitive Native American pit firing. Much attention to and handling of each pot is required throughout its formation, allowing me to become very intimate with each piece I create. The pottery vessel is then given back to the Earth, where it is transformed overnight. The final results of a pit firing are always unpredictable, attracting me to the mystery of the experience. Uniquely flame-painted, I consider each of these pots a gift from the fire.  

I feel that we are each shaped and formed, like a clay vessel, by our experiences along life’s journey. My journey with clay is ever-changing and always evolving, opening within me new creative possibilities with each vessel that I form.

-- Bonnie Brave