Taos artist Serit deLopaz Kotowski shares with us this month. Long associated with NMPCA in many capacities, she is an active participant in the vibrant ceramic community where she lives. 

How did you first get interested in clay?

Let me think, I grew up in the Mojave Desert so there wasn't much mud but I definitely loved sand and dirt. And the way the wind could fill the sky with it.

 

"Home." Serit's piece that won Best of Show at the 2025 Celebration of Clay: Of Mind and Matter in Silver City at the Light Art Space. 

Describe your studio. 

I have two studios. One in home I call “my studio”. It literally occupies about 1/3 of my residence including the gallery. The work space is very cluttered with things covering all the horizontal surfaces. I clear out portions to make work. I have lots of clay; wet and waiting to be recycled. I have a friend, Jaques du Potier, who is a Pug Meister. The clay part of the studio is a general wreck.

The other is the Taos UNM studio. I love being around other people who are interested in learning. Lee Akins has been fantastic as a professor and an inspiration in helping me to make sense of how 1 + 1 can equal 4. It's hard to describe in words; kind of like the quantum physics of clay working.

 

Photo of the artist and kiln. Provided by the artist. 

 Soda Goddess. By Serit.  

Describe your “work.”

My work is a reference to spurious antiquities. Earth forms are a great reference as well as entropy. Robert Smithson continues be a great inspiration as well as the “earth workers” of the 70's and 80's. Also, I traveled extensively in Southeast Asia and how people manipulated new materials  to look very old. I have brought that into the clay work. My work looks as if it has been weathered by the elements and formed by forces of nature. I build large sculptural vessels and name many of them after cross cultural Goddesses. 

"Cocoon." Serit's piece that she entered in the 2025 Sunport Ceramic Showcase at the Albuquerque Sunport.

"Ashera." By Serit deLopaz Kotowski. 

Describe any work you do that promotes “clay community."

I don't know so much about the “clay community” promotion but I have focused many works on “globalization of nuclear energy and nuclear weapons” in New Mexico and the overwhelming negative effects on all living beings.

 

When you are not working in your studio, what do you enjoy?

My friends and Flamenco. I also have a job; I am not retired.

 

"Full Moon Over Mora 2022."  By Serit deLopaz Kotowski. 

Do you play music in your studio? If yes, what do you listen to?

No music for me, I listen to podcasts. Trevor Noah because he is young and from the continent of Africa. Through Lines because young people connect the past with the present. This is Love because “love” is such a basic instinct and comes in so many ways. Nuclear Hotseat because it is the pulse of nuclear activism and Time Zero because it is artists and activism on the edge.  All of them keep me informed.

What other pottery do you have in your home?

I collect. I buy and trade and I have been for years.

"Ma'at."  By Serit deLopaz Kotowski. 

What caused you to join NMPCA? Describe involvement with NMPCA, and how many years you have been involved.

I wanted to be more involved with other people who saw clay as an inspiration and a home coming. I have been on the board off and on and have been a part of many projects including Celebration of Clay in Taos, the Sunport Show three times, and as chair of the Bill Armstrong Grant; giving away money is great!

Photo of the artist, supplied by the artist.