Covered Tray 2
Veronica Watkins
Mid-range red stoneware, nichrome rod, terra sigillata, underglaze, glaze
Art Dimensions: 8" x 5.5" x 6.5"
Exhibition - Iowa Clay Conference | River 2 River
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Artist Statement
My work displays an interest in groupings of similar forms to explore the implication of ritual objects and to celebrate human traditions. As I raise my family, I find it important for me to question the need for rituals in our ever-changing society, whether these ceremonies are occasional or daily. My work is consciously constructed to present and relate to food and its nourishment, potentially connecting nostalgic memories of many to the gathering of families and friends for special events. Historically we see that ritual objects are set apart. My process is a thoughtful conversation about how an object is set apart and how it has the power to create an atmosphere of its own. I want the work to have an intimate presence and invite the viewer to pick up and use the pieces, and therefore have a tactile experience associated with the appreciation of the handmade. Abstractions of landscape and architecture become the conceptual underpinning for my approaches to painterly surfaces, glaze color, and texture. Experimentation and improvisation continue to be important to me as I am repeatedly questioning the balance between the rational and spontaneous making processes.
Artist Biography
Veronica Watkins grew up in the Kansas City Missouri area. She received a BFA from Northwest Missouri State University in 1996; she went on to receive an MFA from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 2000. She now resides on a 100-acre cattle ranch in Maryville Missouri where she takes care of her family, teaches and maintains a studio practice. She is the Associate Professor of Ceramics at Northwest Missouri State University.
