Heather Ossandon

Artist's Statement

Histories in the Shape of a Pot
Experiences help to cultivate insight into the process and the product. The object is an intermediary, an integral part of a process. The functional object is innately speaking of utility, design, aesthetics, and ethos of the times. Utilitarian objects inscribe the ritual of the everyday, both in my life and for others.

Though everyone indeed has a story to tell, I feel that my initial experiences have indelibly fueled my search and processes in life and art. Having been born in the Philippines, later moving to England, and eventually settling in the land of New Jersey, I have memories of people, places and things that, while initially, foreign, are now inscribed in my own history - a visceral sense of plurality and community made real in my art. These influences were the critical starting point for my work with identity, community, place, and history.

Through seeking out the “roots” of the ceramics tradition, in travel and method, I was exposed not only to process – digging, milling, firing clay, but also the lifestyles and societies that surround them. These pots embody the spirit of those techniques, peoples, and places through my travels in Mexico, Central America, The US and China.

The process of wood, salt, and soda create a surface through the method of production, taking the final surface aesthetic out of the hands of the artist, and into the flame. Adversely, the use of slips, under-glazes, carvings, and paint enable me to dress, adorn, and personify the pots.

The goal of my work is to ask questions, tell stories, and create dialogue. The pots become the narrative of their methods, influences, and ideas.