Carolyn Siegel

I live and work in the north valley of Albuquerque, New Mexico, just a short walk from the irrigation  trails (“acequias”)  along the Rio Grande and open fields of the Nature Preserve.

My current inspiration in works of clay and pastels comes from the shape, form, surface and movement of river water and its similarity  to the flowing lines of southwestern rocks, desert and canyons  as well as distant oceans.

To me, it’s absolute magic that I can interpret that inspiration with the science of glazes, clay and fire  —– and make art.

Though an architect by training, profession and practice, during the past few years I have revived my interest in working with clay — an interest that was dormant for over 20 years.  I studied at private studios in Connecticut and always took a few studio art classes during my college years.  In 1998 I began 3 semesters of course work studying the Arita (Japan) method of working with porcelain at the University of New Mexico with Jim Srubek, who had studied under Manji Inoue Sensei, a National Living Treasure of Japan.

My work has since moved outside that traditional Arita method and now takes the form of functional pieces (bowls, vases, flat plates) with “pulled” transluscent waves stretching the clay to its limt at the edges. No two pieces are alike.