Maggie and Freeman Jones of Turtle Island Pottery

Black Mountain, North Carolina

Title: Blue and Gold Twisted Vase

Year of Creation: 2004

Glaze: Cone 6 oxidized matte, gloss, lustre and melted glass

Clay Body: Buff stoneware

Dimensions: Height 18.5 inches, Width 9 inches

Artist's Statement: I have always been an artist; it is a characteristic that is the same to me as the color of my hair or eyes. Nature is my main inspiration, symmetry is appealing to me and I look for balance in asymmetrical designs. Antique art pottery, the Art Nouveau style and the Arts and Crafts Movement are often reference points for new ideas. My greatest urge is to create from the very stuff of earth. Crystals growing, lava flowing and plants blooming are meaningful forms of creation for me. These are activities that occurred when the earth was created and they are still going on today. Clay is the most agreeable medium for me in that it has seemingly endless possibilities and the processes incorporate the four elements: earth, air, fire and water.

Most of these forms were started on the potter's wheel. I have stretched, altered, manipulated and added details to the point where each piece is an individual sculpture. I can reproduce a theme, yet; there are still: no two alike. Layers of a variety of glazes have been applied, mostly by brush, to take advantage of the many ways minerals react with one another to create the textures and colors that I desire. Since 1980 I have made a living along with my husband, Freeman Jones, producing a line of functional, stoneware pottery that is still in high demand. In the 90's I began to create one of a kind art pottery along with figurative sculptures. I have done a series of animal sculptures made entirely of locally found clays and minerals. I have also made a series of highly detailed, sculpted and glazed, ceramic birds.

Functional pottery for serving and dining, one of a kind art pottery for serving and decorating; highly glazed bird sculptures and figurative animals using locally found materials. These are four definitive lines of artwork. All based on clay.

"...It is as easy to judge my productions from four pieces as it would be to take four lines from Shakespeare and guess the rest..." G.E.O.