KEVIN KOWALSKI

Kevin Kowalski is an artist, educator and owner of Kowalski Pottery. He has been working with clay for over 20 years and teaches beginning and advanced Ceramics at Esperanza High School. He is married to his wonderful wife Abi and has two fantastic daughters. He also runs and operates Kowalski Pottery in Placentia, California where he makes and sells soda fired and glazed porcelain pottery. His artwork marries soda firing with the Mocha Diffusion decorating technique to create atmospheric landscapes. Dusk and dawn are the time periods he aims to capture and the carved landscape is the perfect setting for the green trees and bushes. His landscape series also explore a heavily textured lava flow surface and aerial perspectives of the worlds beautiful shorelines. He has taught many workshops including multiple day hands-on workshops at The Palo Alto Art Center, Clay By the Bay SF and Chaffee College in AZ.

Artist Statement

In my current body of work I am using the methods of Mocha Diffusion and soda firing to create decorative landscapes on my utilitarian pottery. I have developed depth in each landscape composition through layers of texture, design and atmosphere.

With references to Mochaware of the early 1800’s my dendritic tree decoration is a dominant feature in each scene. The unique pattern of foliage is achieved in most cases through a brush stroke of chrome green oxide with an organic acidic mixture on top of a fresh layer of liquid clay. The addition of the sun or full moon is a way I add a focal point and create a sense of balance and depth in the composition. The sky and atmosphere in the landscape is created by flashing slips and soda vapor which is reminiscent of dusk and dawn.

After falling in love with the rich and vibrant surfaces of Gail Nichol’s soda fired work and learning about Mocha Diffusion decoration while watching a Robin Hopper video I knew the two techniques could work great together. Nichols and Hopper are wonderful examples of artists using traditional methods and creating innovation in their work. This inspired me to bring together the two methods of Soda firing and Mocha Diffusion to innovate these traditional surface treatments in my work.

TITIA ESTES

Titia brings the wealth of her creative background in a variety of media to her role as instructor at Xiem Clay Center & Gallery in Pasadena, CA where she teaches Beginning and Advanced Hand Building. As a designer, Titia collaborates with various Interior Designers. While some of her work is commissioned, she is also represented at galleries and design stores in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Houston and New York.

Artist Statement

I am a ceramic artist in Los Angeles, California. Living and working minutes from downtown Los Angeles in a loft on the rooftop of an industrial building known as “The Brewery”, I have an amazing view of the skyline. In contrast, my husband and I travel weekends to our home in Pioneertown, CA, where we love the inspiring views of nature in the high desert. Influenced by both, my sculptural vessels and tile designs are based, in part, on the geometric shapes found in nature and the features of man-made structures.

Viewed at a microscopic level, nature consists of diminutive systems, organized to create a larger whole. Simple, yet infinitely complex, recurring patterns are set in motion. Nature recreates itself in perfect symmetry, evolving beyond its origin.

Inspired by this concept, with respect for the geometry and patterns in nature, my pieces are constructed and organized with principles found in both geology and architecture. My creative impetus is to express these similarities, along with their contrasting elements, through form, and the use of crusty and smooth glazes as well as the stony surface of raw clay.

Although I utilize the wheel to throw certain elements of my work, primarily, I employ hand-building techniques. Often a recurring technique, slabs are cut, assembled into multiple, hollow forms and attached to the central body of the piece. These forms create volume while organized to convey the patterns found in nature - similarly duplicated by humans. Construction is architectural and complex, but the eye moves effortlessly over the graceful, greater whole.

Website: www.titiaestes.com
Instagram: @titiaestes
Email: titiaestes@yahoo.com