In "Ode to Craft", ceramicist Rachel Herzer combines sgrraffito, linocut carving techniques, and traditional knitting motifs to explore the pleasures of life through the lens of craft. In a celebration of blue and white clay histories, "Ode to Craft" features bells, wall hung plates, and tiles; carved and painted with depictions of craft and musical practices, the representational imagery interacts with reinterpreted rhythms of colorwork patterns in an unabashed celebration of the joys of craft.

Statement:

This collection of work is my “Ode to Craft”: a portrayal of some of the art forms that bring transcendence, flow and joy into our lives. This work was made in homage to the hedonism of making, the flow state of settling into new technical and intellectual challenges, and the pleasure of loosing oneself to a creative process.

Especially in honor of the often-lost, often-feared process of “beginner mind” within adult or post-academic life, this work is my celebration of the craft processes that kindly allow interaction and satisfaction at whatever skill level we choose to pursue. Whether we are dabbling in low-stakes creative exploration or in pursuit of a highly practiced excellence, this work celebrates the multitudes of avenues that we can use to channel craft and creativity into the pleasures of our daily existence.

Each plate reflects the time and labor of its making: each was wedged, thrown on a wheel, and fired twice. Between various stages of firings, some plates were hand painted with a blue underglaze in a “contour line” style, while others were covered completely with underglaze before being carved in a rhythmic manner reminiscent of block printmaking. Reoccurring motifs visible in most of the work reflect patterns used in stranded color work knitting processes across the world. Two examples of these histories found in the pieces here are the OXO shapes and geometric forms used in Scottish Fair Isle knitting, and the snowflake shapes and tiny repetitions of Norwegian Selbu color work. I’ve found so much satisfaction and fun in this attempt at representing these patterns in an alternative medium - my attempt to pay tribute to the multitudes of crafters and knitters in my own family tree while bringing connection between the crafts I love. Cheers to making!