Clayspace Co-op :: Matt Jacobs

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Matt Jacobs. Wood-fire potter. Asheville, North Carolina.

I work hard to utilize my local resources, which has provided me with education and community as well as with all the clay and glaze materials that I could ever need to create ceramic art. Clay has had a long life of creation before I found it, from the movements of the earth, the weathering, and circumstances that make each pocket unique.
The local clay that I use is rich in particle variation and organics that make it both plastic and unpredictable. My goal is to allow the clay to have its own voice, and in my attempt to work with the earthen material successfully, I find myself mimicking the charismatic people and landscape which are part of it. Many of my surfaces are exposing the interior rather than covering them up and some that do cover are done so in a way that the dark iron clay beneath is allowed to show through.
The works are meant to be functional on many planes, both as utilitarian objects and pieces for contemplation that allow for direct connection to the material as it is, unrefined or altered, honest to the connection to the artist’s hand. Each piece reflects a unique personality that was present in my heart during a time and space, along with an entire life of geological history.
I use the family both in the title and the metaphor of the bottle grouping to call attention the potential for abstraction of simple thoughts that hold human existence together all over the world. The home, the family, and the concepts of trust in nature are central to my message, and within this organic unit each family member is connected to the whole while having a unique place. We all have our own size, shape, and place in relationships.
In the wood firing process I am exposing the clay to a journey of intense heat, time, and space, which contains risk and balance. Along with the visual signs of its existence in the kiln, the work contains a special life force that can only be understood through touch and experience. In encountering my work, I hope the viewer is called to their own unique home, family, and life in their particular place within this spinning ball in space.

Gallery representation.
Crimson Laurel Gallery. Bakersville, NC. www.crimsonlaurelgallery.com.