Bio Kate Waltman graduated from Alfred University in 2010 and has been making pots in Seagrove ever since. Kate’s pots are made using local materials, boldly carved with organic patterns inspired by Art Deco design, and fired in a variety of atmospheric kilns. She is the owner and co-founder of The Triangle Studio, which houses several artists studios and a collective gallery. Kate shows her pots internationally and has lectured and taught throughout the USA. Artist Statement Working with the traditional tools of a potter’s wheel and wood-burning kiln, I transform local clays into objects of beauty and desire. I work in cadence with tradition to bring ceramic objects into the modern age as employable and decorative pots. My vessels begin as raw local earth that are diligently processed into clay, slips, and glazes. This severe limitation of materials gives structure and freedom to my making, allowing me to fully explore the subtlety and character of each variant as I compose a body of work. I begin the surfaces by carving an underlying armature of lines that stick to the bones of my forms, providing an arbor on which to cultivate patterns. Precise incising illustrates the surrounding flora, depicting the constraint of wild plants into domestic gardens. Through extensive drawing I hone a plant to its essential silhouettes, using the resulting motifs to structure my forms with symmetrical balance. Rhythmic ordering overtakes the capriciousness of nature just as the form of a domestic pot masters the feral clay. The pots, damp and raw, are committed to a kiln. The earth joins with the fire’s erratic atmosphere regaining a bit of its wildness, and fusing with the patterns.
Kate Waltman
Date: 11/05/2024
Location: NCSU Craft Center, 210 Jensen Dr. Raleigh, NC.
Time: 7:00